MULTILINGUAL STUDENT AGENCY IN CLIL : EVIDENCE FROM POST-SOVIET KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

This qualitative study examines the challenges faced by secondary school students in Kazakhstan in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) classrooms where STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) courses are taught in English. With a particular focus on students from the leading CLIL institution in Kazakhstan, Bilim Innovative Lyceum (BIL), the study explores how students cope with emotional and intellectual challenges by using agency to move beyond them. The study used a qualitative multiple case study approach following a grounded theory design; the research involved semi-structured interviews and classroom observation with 13 students. The results show that in addition to academic challenges such as language adaptation, vocabulary acquisition, and transition from Kazakh/Russian to English their learning process is further complicated by emotional challenges such as language anxiety, fear of criticism, peer comparison, and testrelated stress. Despite these challenges, students exercise their agency and demonstrate resilience, using a variety of strategies such as organizing their own learning, using digital resources (ChatGPT, YouTube, Duolingo), and structured study of textbooks helps ensure comprehension. Teacher assistance and peer cooperation are fundamental instruments for academic achievement. Over time, many students become more confident, some even select English over their mother tongue for STEM degrees because of the long-term effects. The research reveals how in a CLIL setting students actively create their own learning process and overcome linguistic and cognitive obstacles. These real-world implications for CLIL practitioners and policymakers in Kazakhstan and such environments help contribute to the broader conversation about multilingual education, understanding students’ adaptive methods helps teachers create more inspiring classrooms that promote topic mastery as well as linguistic competence.