The Socio-Linguistic Adaptation of Migrants: The Case of Oralman Students’ Studying in Kazakhstan

Abstract

This article examines different aspects of the oralman students’ socio-linguistic adaptation. Scientific research has identified various obstacles oralmen face when studying at Universities in Kazakhstan, especially in the context of the English language studying process. The data used in this paper explores certain peculiarities of oralman students’ adaptation to new educational environments, their attitude towards English, and their difficulties in advancing in foreign language learning. The electronic questionnaires, which included the Likert scale, multiple choice and open-ended questions, were offered to 600 students, while interviews were conducted with 90 students in the last stage of the research. Descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance were used to analyze the data. The scientific findings indicated some unexpected difficulties in the oralman students’ socio-linguistic adaptation, which decreased their motivation for learning the foreign language and reduced effectiveness of the teaching. However, certain noticeable discrepancies between the anticipated and real educational context were revealed. The interview and data analysis made it possible to uncover cultural, linguistic, social, and psychological problems. The scientific research suggests that the incorporation of some integrative effective methods and techniques into English classes would be useful for improvement of the oralman students’ English language skills.