Methods of teaching additional languages: Kazakhstan medical students’ perceptions

Abstract

The present case study research is focused on the methods of teaching Kazakh and English to Russian medium groups in one medical college in Kazakhstan. Teaching languages in colleges and universities aims to develop the ability to study professional literature and to communicate for professional purposes in Kazakh, Russian, and English. In this frame, teaching methods are seen as the major factor to influence educational outcomes (e.g., Entwistle, Kozeki, & Tait, 1989; Pimparyon, Roff, McAleer, Poonachai, & Pemba, 2000; Ramsden & Entwistle, 1981). In addition to investigating the teaching methods applied in Kazakh and English classes in one medical college, this study investigates students‟ thoughts about them. More specifically, whether students feel satisfied or not and why, what challenges they experience, and how language teaching can be adjusted in their view. The data was obtained through six classroom observations and five one-on-one semistructured interviews of students. The classroom observations revealed that teachers employed mainly the method of lecturing focused on grammar and vocabulary. The analysis of students‟ insights showed that they felt satisfied with teaching through lecturing. Students‟ satisfaction can be explained by a number of reasons such as poor facilitation of communicative tasks by teachers, large class size, or the overuse of grammar-oriented textbooks. Overall, the findings proved that students have the image of what and how they should be taught in the language classroom. Based on the discussions of the data analysis, the Conclusion chapter contains the possible implications of the findings. METHODS OF TEACHING ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES