Navigating the potentials and barriers to EMI in the post-Soviet region: insights from Kazakhstani university students and instructors

Kazakhstan has made remarkable strides forward in internationalisation of its higher education by adopting a trilingual education policy, joining the Bologna Process, cooperation with foreign universities, and academic mobility. As a result, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of English medium instruction (EMI) programmes offered by Kazakhstani universities. However, despite the growing popularity of EMI, there is very little empirical evidence on how EMI is received in Kazakhstan. Using a qualitative research design, this study investigated graduate students’ and instructors’ perceptions and experiences of EMI in three purposefully selected universities in Kazakhstan. The data collected through semi-structured interviews revealed that EMI, in general, is seen as a prestige and high social status, a passport that facilitates entry to universities and job markets around the globe, and a pedagogical tool. However, the data also explored that EMI is a factor that creates inequalities and hardships, causing stress and anxiety in students. There are also concerns over the way the EMI policy is implemented on the ground, indicating a gap between policy aspirations and implementation that can be witnessed in many other countries around the world.