“I am a mixed person of Kazakh, Turkish and English”: Multilingual students’ identity in EMI universities in Kazakhstan

Gulnissa Zhunussova; Mir Afzal Tajik; Lyudmila Fillipova; Seth Kwadwo Antwi

doi:10.1016/j.system.2023.103159

“I am a mixed person of Kazakh, Turkish and English”: Multilingual students’ identity in EMI universities in Kazakhstan

Gulnissa Zhunussova
, Mir Afzal Tajik
, Lyudmila Fillipova
, Seth Kwadwo Antwi

Graduate School of Education

Suleyman Demirel University
Nazarbayev University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

20 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

With the increasing growth of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) programs around the globe, there is a need for systematic research situated within the multilingual nature of EMI settings. Drawing upon the theory of Pavlenko and Blackledge's (2004) identities in multilingual contexts, this study investigated the construction of students' identities in EMI universities in Kazakhstan. The data analysis revealed how multilingual students' identity can be affected by language ideologies and power relations of the wider sociolinguistic and socio-political context in Kazakhstan. The empirical evidence indicated that identity may consist of multiple domains, which can be reshaped depending on the contextual features. Multilingual students in EMI programs can construct a variety of identities due to the existing macro discourses shaping language ideologies in Kazakhstan and resist the imposed identities by exerting their agency. The findings of this research contribute geographically and theoretically to the existing EMI scholarship with nuanced insights on the sociolinguistic role of multilingualism in students' identity, which can be used to inform EMI policies and practices based on a bottom-up approach.

Original language	English
Article number	103159
Journal	System
Volume	119
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2023.103159 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2023.103159
Publication status	Published - Dec 2023

Funding

This paper is part of a large-scale collaborative research project supported by Nazarbayev University's Collaborative Research Grant Program (Grant # OPCRP2021013) in Astana, Kazakhstan. While studies elsewhere have stressed the need for context-oriented analysis of multilingual students' experiences of studying in EMI programs (Hau et al., 2000; Lin, 2018), the current study suggests that such a context-oriented analysis may also attain to specific EMI elements that may support or hinder multilingual students' national, cultural, and linguistic identity construction. As the trend of internationalization and Englishization of higher education in Kazakhstan and other countries in Central Asia continues to expand, the current study provides useful insights into the interplay between established linguistic ideologies and students' agency that shapes multilingual students' identity construction. This study also suggests that university leadership, faculty and policymakers may take a proactive step towards promoting students’ agency in relation to their national, cultural, and linguistic identity. Further studies may be conducted to examine how local and international students from non-English speaking backgrounds experience EMI studies and construct their linguistic identities during their EMI studies in Kazakhstan. The design of EMI programs may consider the wider sociolinguistic and socio-political context and consider how to draw on these contextual features for the benefit of students. This work was supported by Nazarbayev University's Collaborative Research Grant Program (Grant # 021220CRP1322).

Funders	Funder number
Englishization of higher education in Kazakhstan
Nazarbayev University	OPCRP2021013, 021220CRP1322

Keywords

English medium instruction (EMI)
Identity
Kazakhstan
Language ideologies
Medium of instruction (MOI)
Multilingual graduate students

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Language and Linguistics
Education
Linguistics and Language

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title = "“I am a mixed person of Kazakh, Turkish and English”: Multilingual students{\textquoteright} identity in EMI universities in Kazakhstan",

abstract = "With the increasing growth of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) programs around the globe, there is a need for systematic research situated within the multilingual nature of EMI settings. Drawing upon the theory of Pavlenko and Blackledge's (2004) identities in multilingual contexts, this study investigated the construction of students' identities in EMI universities in Kazakhstan. The data analysis revealed how multilingual students' identity can be affected by language ideologies and power relations of the wider sociolinguistic and socio-political context in Kazakhstan. The empirical evidence indicated that identity may consist of multiple domains, which can be reshaped depending on the contextual features. Multilingual students in EMI programs can construct a variety of identities due to the existing macro discourses shaping language ideologies in Kazakhstan and resist the imposed identities by exerting their agency. The findings of this research contribute geographically and theoretically to the existing EMI scholarship with nuanced insights on the sociolinguistic role of multilingualism in students' identity, which can be used to inform EMI policies and practices based on a bottom-up approach.",

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“I am a mixed person of Kazakh, Turkish and English”: Multilingual students’ identity in EMI universities in Kazakhstan

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