Identity options in the textbooks of Russian and Kazakh as second languages

Abstract

Identity options available in secondary school textbooks may play an important role in stimulating or inhibiting the learners’ success. They are particularly significant in the multi-ethnic Kazakhstani context with a large number of minorities and their cross-cultural communication in the society.This paper investigates identity options provided in second language textbooks for Kazakhstani secondary-school students. The identities of imagined learners, imagined interlocutors, and hidden identities that are not included were analyzed in the texts. The study resultsconclude that the textbooks’ sets of identity options are likely stimulate or impede language learning. Findings from this study may contribute to the evaluation of current teaching methodology and materials and inform future textbook development with regard to identity representations and identity construction.