Student-Centered Learning Starts with the Teacher

The use of student-centered teaching methods is a significant challenge for many secondary and tertiary educators in Kazakhstan. Since imple-menting the
Bologna Process, more attention has been paid to student-centered learning in Kazakhstan’s educational system. Prior to joining the Bologna Process, education
in Kazakhstan was primarily based on teacher-centered learning. Educators who have experienced mainly teacher-centered learning ap-proaches still need
methodological help to transition away from traditional frontal teaching.
This article discusses ideas for student-centered teaching methods. The Dialogue method is explored as an active and cooperative teaching technique. The term
“Dialogue of Cultures” (DoC) is utilized for a studentcentered teaching methodology based on an online course titled “Language and Globalization” at
Nazarbayev University (NU). By engaging in a dialogue, students interact with each other; this interaction increases students’ interpersonal, presentational,
interpretive, and intercultural speech competency and is one of the most effective means of shaping students’ linguistic ability. This approach fosters creativity and
deep thinking when used alongside various virtual educational tools, such as Padlet board.
In a student-centered learning environment, professors and students learn together through stimulating, interactive, thought-provoking experiences. This
approach is believed to improve teaching and student learning. Students develop cross-cultural, critical thinking, and active citizenship skills and are thus better
prepared for the current and future labor market and social membership (Warming & Frydensberg, 2017).