Bridging Language, Identity and Integration in the Ethnic Migration- Student Experience of China-Kazakhs in Kazakhstan

Abstract

The Kazakhstan government launched ethnic immigration policy since becoming an independent nation. During this post-Soviet ethnic migration, ethnic Kazakhs from far abroad with limited knowledge of Russian have faced social, language and cultural challenges in their ancestral homeland. Returnee students also emerged in this migration flow. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the language challenges of ethnic Kazakh returnee students from China and their social integration in the Kazakhstani higher education institutions. Along with research problem, the research questions were framed with reasons for migration, language background, student experiences, identity and social integration of ethnic Kazakh returnee students from China. This research employed combined narrative and phenomenological inquiry approach to fruitfully provide insights of the phenomenon of being ethnic Kazakh returnee students. Sample was only chosen among ethnic Kazakh returnee students from China enrolled in the Kazakh-medium program in a Kazakhstani university with less than five years living and studying in Kazakhstan before higher education. Eight China-Kazakh returnee students were purposively selected by maximal variation sampling strategy and involved in the semi-structured interview. Major findings were that all participants migrated to Kazakhstan for maintenance of Kazakh identity, and the Kazakh language in relation to ongoing assimilation in China; all participants consistently identified themselves as Kazakh but not totally Kazakhstani or not Kazakhstani yet because of their language challenge of Russian. This study demonstrates the complex relationship between language, identity and social integration with the migration context of ethnic Kazakh returnee students in Kazakhstan. It was anticipated that knowledge generated from the study could benefit administration and educational staff to better understand and support these typical students with long-term Russian language programs to gradually accelerate their language adaptation.