We believe that the systematic implementation of the state digitalization policy aimed at the development of science and support of scholars, as well as President K. Tokayev’s initiative stating that “special attention should be paid to the use of digital technologies, as the future of the Kazakh language and the country’s global competitiveness largely depend on this,” contributes to raising Kazakhstan’s scientific indicators to the global level. The conference dedicated to the 95th anniversary of S.Zh. Asfendiyarov KazNMU aimed to enhance the global competitiveness of the state language in the digital era among higher education institutions.
According to scholars, the digitalization of teaching the state language confirms the relevance of the conference theme and the issues discussed, as it requires strict monitoring by the state of digital policy implementation, increased national-wide attention and funding, scientific and practical research of digitalization processes, and support from society.
The conference addressed three main areas of digitalization in education: digitalization of the educational process, digital educational content, and digitalization of education management. The future of the Kazakh language and its ability to withstand global competition is directly linked to the proper use of digital technologies.
The plenary session featured scholars from England, Türkiye (5 scholars), Hungary, China, Tashkent, Bukhara (2 scholars), Kyrgyzstan, as well as from West Kazakhstan Marat Ospanov Medical University and Kazakh National Women’s Pedagogical University (Almaty, Kazakhstan).
More than 40 participants attended the conference both online and offline. Reports were presented during the plenary session and sectional meetings.
The conference work was organized into three sections:
Use of Digital Technologies in the Educational Space – discussed the application of digital technologies in teaching the state language; ten reports were presented.
Ways to Improve the Wide Use of the State Language – explored various approaches to expanding the functional use of the state language.
Linguodidactics and Issues of Functional Grammar – scholars discussed functional literacy and the linguistic foundations of language teaching in modern education.
Based on the discussions in the three sections, the following recommendations are proposed:
It is necessary to widely implement a digital language learning system, primarily for the state language. This is essential for developing advanced high-tech directions in language disciplines, humanities, and information technology. It will facilitate the transition to creating joint digital platforms as key tools of digital transformation in language teaching and will contribute to strengthening the country’s innovation potential.
Improve the comprehensive use of the state language and explore new ways to apply digital technologies within the educational space.
In higher education institutions, including in the training of medical professionals, closely monitor the competitiveness of the Kazakh language in the digitalization context and enhance students’ functional literacy through a linguocultural approach.
To bridge the gap between fundamental research and the practical application of results in digital language education, consider international experience in establishing large-scale test stands and facilities within “Digitalization in Education” projects.
To centralize methodological activities for conducting and implementing joint research projects in language education, it is recommended to introduce planned and regular pedagogical exchanges among medical, pedagogical, engineering, and other higher education institutions.
The formation of a unified scientific and innovative space with active participation from national scientific organizations will enhance the competitiveness of university graduates, unlock the scientific potential of pedagogy, deepen inter-institutional cooperation, and promote coordinated actions for further development of scientific and technical collaboration within digital education.
