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From language of enemy to language of opportunity: Understanding teacher resistance to curriculum change in English language teaching and learning in Kyrgyzstan

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Abstract

This qualitative research study sought to understand teachers’ resistance to English language educational change in Kyrgyzstan. The participants were six English teachers working in both rural and urban public schools in Kyrgyzstan. Analysis of non-participant observation and post-observation interviews revealed that, despite changes in English objectives following changes in socio-economic and political context after the demise of the Soviet Union, the lock-in practices in English language teaching still persist in Kyrgyzstan. This is because educational reforms have occurred only at a structural level [e.g. the National Curriculum Framework (NCF), State Standards and publishing new textbooks] and have lacked planned capacity building—through targeted professional support and adequate teaching and learning resources—to bring the envisioned curriculum change to the classrooms. The findings indicate that the intended change has not yielded the much-desired outcomes because each element at every educational level is linked ceremonially and loosely, and is decoupled, which provides insights about teachers’ resistance to curriculum change.

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Notes

  1. The Three Circle Model of World Englishes, developed by Kachru in 1985, describes the spread of English in terms of three concentric circles: Inner Circle, Outer Circle and Expanding Circle. These circles represent the functional domains in which English is used across cultures and languages. In Inner Circle countries, English is used as a native language; Outer Circle countries are former colonies of the UK or the USA; and in the Expanding Circle, English is taught as a foreign language.

  2. During the Soviet period, proficiency in Russian was prerequisite for socio-economic mobility.

  3. Competency based approach (curriculum) emphasises that learners acquire a set of clearly specified learning outcomes and demonstrate the mastery of the acquired knowledge, skills and attitudes through application in everyday life situations (UNESCO, 2003).

  4. Translated by the researcher.

  5. Linguistic competence is knowledge about the language (e.g. grammar, syntax and vocabulary) communicative competence involves not only knowledge of language, but also knowing “what to say to whom,” and “how to say it appropriately” (pragmatics) in various social cultural contexts (Saville-Troike, 2003, p.19).

  6. This section includes scholarly works of a handful Western scholars who had the opportunity to visit the Soviet Union and observe EFL teaching in the former Soviet Union as well as post-independence scholarly works to shed light on how social, political and historical events impacted EFL in former Soviet Union republics, including Kyrgyzstan.

  7. Sherba, a prominent Soviet theoretical linguist, viewed FL teaching as an applied branch of general linguistics; therefore, he posited that, through conscious investigation of the linguistic aspects of an FL through the systematic comparison of native and foreign language systems, a learner could achieve the desired outcomes.

  8. Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-phase data analysis involves (1) familiarisation with the data, (2) generating initial codes, (3) searching for themes, (4) reviewing the themes, (5) defining and naming the themes, and (6) producing a report.

  9. In Kyrgyzstan, public schools are funded by the state; however, this is not enough to equip schools with the necessary resources. Therefore, most schools survive on informal parental contributions.

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  1. University of Central Asia, 138 Toktogul street, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 720038

    Roza Kazakbaeva

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Kazakbaeva, R. From language of enemy to language of opportunity: Understanding teacher resistance to curriculum change in English language teaching and learning in Kyrgyzstan. J Educ Change 24, 317–343 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-021-09445-z

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