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THE LATINIZATION OF THE KAZAKH ALPHABET

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Толық мәтін

The transition of the Kazakh alphabet was a topical issue in the language policy of Kazakhstan. In this regard, the present study aimed to examine teachers' . perceptions of the transition and of their learning and teaching readiness as educational aspects of Latinization.

Introduction

Therefore, it is of utmost importance to explore teachers' perceptions of learning and teaching the Kazakh Latin alphabet. How do Kazakh language teachers perceive the learning of the script themselves and by their students.

Literature Review

Therefore, this concept will be used to generate and process data on the learning and teaching of the new alphabet and spelling. Other studies have highlighted the issue of social acceptance of Latinization (MoCS & SANA IIAC, 2018; Kadirova, 2018).

Methodology

Before beginning the data collection process, the interview questions were tested with the NUGSE community members. Each location was visited to present the research to the heads of the schools. During the meeting with the potential participants, the researcher distributed the paper copies of the informed consent forms so that the participants could learn about the study, their rights, and ethical considerations.

During the interviews, the researcher showed the current versions of the Kazakh Latin alphabet so that the teachers could remember its features (See Appendix B). Before beginning the one-on-one interview, the researcher reiterated the research description, participant rights, and anonymity and confidentiality. Based on the ethical considerations of research involving human subjects, anonymity and confidentiality of the participants and the site were ensured from the beginning of the study.

To maintain confidentiality, the researcher ensured that participants' responses and information about their participation were protected from disclosure outside the research setting. This chapter describes the methodology for the current study investigating Kazakh language teachers' perceptions of the transition to the Latin script. The participants of the study were eight Kazakh language teachers from three regular co-educational schools in Nur-Sultan.

Findings

This excerpt illustrates that Aisha perceives the benefits of switching to Latin-based writing in relation to the recognition of the Kazakh nation and language around the world. According to the data collected, most of the teachers reported that the lesson was easy for the students. Interestingly, however, most of the teachers who answered the question about difficulty had previously been trained to teach the Latin script.

Thus, she also attributes the difficulty in learning the script to the knowledge of the English Latin script as mentioned earlier. This implies that teachers still need teaching guides to facilitate the teaching of the Kazakh Latin alphabet and orthography. When asked whether the teachers have taken measures to introduce the students to the Latin alphabet and orthography, five out of the eight teachers answered.

A few teachers revealed their efforts to contribute to the teaching of the Kazakh Latin script within the scope of their schools. According to the teachers' perceptions of learning, illiteracy may occur due to the translation of the learning material into the Latin script and a lack of hours allocated to classroom practice and mastery of the new script. Based on the teachers' perceptions of their readiness to teach the new script, it appears that they are prepared to a moderate level, taking into account the continuous changes of the alphabet.

Discussion

Among these symbolic associations, the teachers usually referred to Kazakhization, a covert policy that presupposes spreading the scope of the Kazakh language (Fierman, 2005; Kadirova, 2018; Konyratbayeva & Satemirova, 2019; Smagulova, 2016). It is consistent with the evidence from previous studies that the orthography and orthoepy of the Kazakh language were vast. However, the teachers also mentioned the possibility of gaining more global recognition for Kazakh through the Latin-based alphabet (Dotton, 2016; Kadirova, 2018; Winner, 1952).

From the perspective of language education, teachers perceive that Latinization can stimulate students' interests and thereby increase the prestige of the language. This type of interpretation is present in the studies of Fierman (2009) and Winner (1952), who argued in favor of changing the alphabet by bringing an "international" identity as it fosters an invisible bond. How Kazakh language teachers perceive the teaching of writing by themselves and their students.

It was important to discover how teachers perceive the learning of the alphabet in an educational environment. The results of this research question are particularly crucial in relation to further considerations about the implementation of the Latin script in the field of education. According to the teachers' opinion, it is easy for students to learn the Latin script, as they can transfer their knowledge of English letters to writing and reading.

Thus, the basic factors that facilitate letter learning, as stated by the teachers, were the features of the Kazakh alphabet, which is based on the Latin alphabet, and the knowledge of the Latin alphabet, which is based on the alphabet of other languages. The transfer of skills, which should happen easily, as the students have prior knowledge of another script based on the Latin alphabet, i.e. the English alphabet, or any other language they are learning that uses an alphabet based on the Latin alphabet (Cahill & Karan, 2008). The surveyed teachers believe that the Latin alphabet in their repertoire can help especially in the transfer of writing skills.

What Fazylzhanova (2017) accepted as a cross-language orthographic and phonological interference is strongly denied by the teachers, as they compared the Kazakh Latin script with the English alphabet rather than with the Cyrillic. Instead, they considered the Latin alphabet beneficial to eliminate the incorrect use of purely Kazakh sounds, the result of the influence of the Cyrillic script (Aisha's example). Therefore, the teachers did not consider the cross-language interference as a learning problem.

The participants' perceptions of learning the new Latin-based alphabet are also on par with Konyratbayeva and Satemirova's (2019) assumption about reducing some letters in the alphabet can facilitate learning. Therefore, it can be proposed as a future action in the research on the acquisition of the Latin-based Kazakh alphabet. Learning the Latin script is challenging for the teachers for two main reasons: habit of the Cyrillic alphabet and generational differences.

This finding is quite controversial in relation to Kadirova's (2018) statement that teachers did not show any anxiety regarding the learning of the script. Along with the difficulties associated with Cyrillic age and habit, several teachers drew their attention to debatable letters that caused difficulties in learning and thus triggered anxiety in both teachers and students. Especially since the majority of teachers interviewed had a post-Soviet educational background, they were concerned about their ability to transfer skills to learning to write in Latin script.

This finding further supports Cooper's (1990) idea that “many writing systems are designed as transitional spellings” that facilitate the transition of literacy skills. So while learning script can be aided by knowledge of an English alphabet, the transfer of reading skills may be impossible due to linguistic differences between two scripts. According to teachers' perceptions of learning, illiteracy may arise due to the translation of the learning materials into the Latin script and the lack of hours.

In addition, as Aina rightly pointed out, the transition to Latin needs working orthography and transliterated books that could be used in the classroom. It is reflected in a statement by Raizen (1987) who points out that in the context of alphabet replacement “access to material created before the font reform is limited unless a. To conclude the findings related to the second research question, it can be said that the teachers felt that learning was achieved without much effort on the part of the students, while they questioned their own learning.

The latter, in turn, can influence the quality of learning the new script, which directly depends on the extent to which the teachers are trained. Learning the script should be considered an essential part of the alphabet transition and implementation. Further developments in education could include a close examination of the correlation between the acquisition of a new writing script and age, ethnicity and literacy rates.

How do Kazakh language teachers perceive their readiness to teach using the new alphabet and orthography. As for the fourth research question, it sought to explore teachers' preparedness through their perceptions of learning and teacher education discussed in the previous finding and teaching in the new manuscript. A number of participants found the training less privileged as they believed it was possible to master the Latin-based alphabet and orthography through different.

In this regard, more than half of the participants reported that they had introduced the Kazakh Latin alphabet in the classrooms. The findings regarding the overall perceptions of the participating teachers correspond with the existing literature. The purpose of this study was to explore Kazakh language teachers' perceptions of the alphabet transition and its educational considerations as teaching and learning.

In addition, prior knowledge of the Latin script should facilitate the learning process. In this regard, the teachers questioned their knowledge of the Latin alphabet, referring to their lack of knowledge of the Latin alphabet. As the participants of the study found out, only selected educational institutions conducted the piloting and testing of the Kazakh Latin alphabet.

The fulfillment of the target indicator specified in the state program (2019) would thus become feasible. What do you think about the participation of teachers in the process of creating and implementing the right alphabet. How do you feel about the transition from the Kazakh alphabet to the Latin script?

Since the reform began to be implemented, what do you think are the significant and distinctive features of the new Latin? Now, among the three versions of the Latin alphabet, which one seems to be well developed.

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