Volume 04 Issue 06-2024
59
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
(ISSN
–
2771-2273)
VOLUME
04
ISSUE
06
P
AGES
:
59-62
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
ABSTRACT
This article addresses the importance of English, Russian and local languages in Uzbekistan based on the relevant
literature. People`s attitudes towards English as a global language and foreign language policy as well as the role of
British and American agencies in enhancing teaching and learning English will be discussed. Furthermore, the use of
English outside of educational settings will be focused on.
KEYWORDS
Multilingualism, language policy, education, language attitudes, international relations, linguistic landscape.
INTRODUCTION
Uzbekistan is a multinational country with more than
130 nationalities and most of the population are
bilingual. Uzbek is the first and state language in the
country, together with Karakalpak being an official
language in autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan.
Russian is not formally declared as official language,
but it is widely used in all branches of society although
it lost its glory as a dominant language because of the
demise of the USSR (Liddicoat, 2019). Among other
foreign languages taught in the country, English is the
most prestigious one opening doors to the world
community (Hasanova, 2007a). In this essay I focus on
the status of English, Russian and some local languages
in Uzbekistan.
People`s attitude towards English
Research Article
THE ROLES OF ENGLISH AND OTHER LANGUAGES IN UZBEKISTAN
Submission Date:
June 09, 2024,
Accepted Date:
June 14, 2024,
Published Date:
June 19, 2024
Crossref doi
https://doi.org/10.37547/ajps/Volume04Issue06-13
Hakimova Umida
Namangan State Institute of Foreign Languages, Uzbekistan
Journal
Website:
https://theusajournals.
com/index.php/ajps
Copyright:
Original
content from this work
may be used under the
terms of the creative
commons
attributes
4.0 licence.
Volume 04 Issue 06-2024
60
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
(ISSN
–
2771-2273)
VOLUME
04
ISSUE
06
P
AGES
:
59-62
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
The last two decades have seen a growing trend
towards learning English as the most preferred foreign
language in Uzbekistan and many people tend to
associate their future with this language. English is
used extensively in education, trade, and business, as a
result of the growth in international relations
(Hasanova, 2007a). The research done by Hasanova
(2007b) shows that more than half of the Uzbek
students in the project regard English as a key
opportunity to better careers. As an observer she
mentioned that students were highly motivated and
eager to learn English both in the classroom and
outside. According to the study carried out by Djuraeva
(2021), English is seen to play a more important role in
Uzbek students` future than their local languages.
Taken together, these results support the idea that
Uzbek youth are very positive about English and its role
in their life.
Foreign language policy
The government also pays a special attention to
teaching English in all levels of education system, from
pre-school to tertiary institutions. The language policy,
highly supported with presidential decrees, is aimed at
creating better opportunities and taking language
teaching to a quality level. According to the decree of
the president (PQ-5117, 2021), foreign language
teachers who have obtained C1 level certificate on
national or international tests qualify for 50% monthly
bonus on their salaries. Moreover, the Presidential
Award is established and given to the schools which
have the best results in teaching English. Moreover,
from 2022 the ability to speak a foreign language will
be one of the compulsory requirements in applying for
a job or a higher position in government agencies.
The role of British and American Agencies
It should be noted that, British Council and the US
Embassy
in
Tashkent
have
provided
great
opportunities to enhance teaching and learning English
through several training courses and projects. For
instance, British Council launched Higher Education for
Employability programme, English as a medium of
instruction being an essential part, in order to
implement best practices of the UK educational system
in the universities of Uzbekistan. This program works
jointly with Norwich Institute for Language Education
and representatives from local 16 HEIs (British Council,
2021).
The US Embassy has started English Speaking Nation:
Secondary Teacher Training program which aims at
improving English teachers` language and teaching
skills through trainings in cascade form. More than
15000 secondary school teachers and 1000 trainers are
involved in this three-year program (American Councils
for International Education, 2021).
Moreover, several branches of foreign universities
were opened, in most of which English is a medium of
instruction. According to Bezborodova (2021), some
Volume 04 Issue 06-2024
61
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
(ISSN
–
2771-2273)
VOLUME
04
ISSUE
06
P
AGES
:
59-62
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
local universities are also starting to provide
instructions in English. Linn (2021) holds the view that
the increase in the number of tertiary level institutions
with EMI and attention to teacher training brought in
important shifts to foreign language teaching and
learning in the area.
Immersion in English
In my opinion, the use of English outside schools is
improving gradually. The internet, television, movies,
music, journals, magazines and clubs in English enable
people to learn the language in a naturalistic way. Not
only students and educators are speaking English but
also people who work in other fields are widely
communicating in this global language. As Hasanova
(2007a) points out, this is the result of further
developments in IT, tourism industry, international
business and relations, research and science. It has
become common to see English words in the streets of
cities and towns. People tend to regard this as a sign of
modernity and superiority. According to the findings
of the study carried out by Hasanova (2010), the
majority language for store and service names in
Uzbekistan is English, despite government initiatives to
encourage the use of Uzbek on public signs.
The importance of local languages
The linguistic landscape in Uzbekistan, in the light of
independence, has been continuously changing. The
importance of Uzbek language is highlighted and
several government reforms can prove this. However,
it does not mean that other local languages are
underestimated, on the contrary, a number of projects
are being carried out to preserve those languages.
There are Tajik, Tatar, Kazakh, Turkmen, Karakalpak
and Persian cultural centres whose primary functions
include language maintenance. Although Uzbek is the
most common language of education, there are many
Kazakh, Tajik, Kyrgyz, Karakalpak, and Turkmen
schools throughout the country.
The role of Russian
As mentioned above, Russian is not dominant
language anymore in the country, however, it is used in
official documents, in the media and serves as an
interethnic language among different nationalities.
Russian also serves as a medium of instruction in many
schools and universities. Liddicoat (2019) states the
idea that there is more preference to Russian medium
schools in the country and links this with employment
opportunities abroad where the Russian Federation is
a major power. In Bezborodova`s opinion (2021), in
addition to labour migration, the continuous interest in
learning Russian can be viewed from other
perspectives including large numbers of literature in
Russian, television and radio programmes, strategic
location and international political relations. To my
mind, interest in Russian is generally seen as a factor
related to career promotion inside the republic,
working and studying in Russia.
Volume 04 Issue 06-2024
62
American Journal Of Philological Sciences
(ISSN
–
2771-2273)
VOLUME
04
ISSUE
06
P
AGES
:
59-62
OCLC
–
1121105677
Publisher:
Oscar Publishing Services
Servi
CONCLUSION
To sum up, the popularity of English is increasing in
Uzbekistan due to its key importance in quality
education and better employment opportunities to a
greater extent. Although Russian lost the prestige it
had in the past, it has deep roots in the life of Uzbek
people. And there is a competition going on between
English and Russian, in which the former seems to be
overtaking the latter in most cases due to its global
importance. However, it is impossible to predict the
final stage and as Liddicoat claims (2019), it largely
depends on the subsequent linguistic policy in this
area.
REFERENCES
1.
American
Councils
for
International
Education.(2021).
English
Speaking
Nation:
Secondary Teacher Training (ESN:STT). Retrieved
from
https://uzbekistan.americancouncils.org/esn/stt/e
n
2.
Bezborodova ,A.,Radjabzade,S.(2021). English in
higher education in the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan,
and Uzbekistan. World Englishes 1(20).
3.
British Council-Uzbekistan.(2021).English as a
medium
of
instruction.
Retrieved
from
https://www.britishcouncil.uz/en/teach/english-
medium-instruction
4.
Djuraeva,M.(2021).
Multilingualism,
nation
branding, and the ownership of English in
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. World Englishes 1(12).
5.
Hasanova, D. (2007a). Broadening the boundaries
of the expanding circle: English in Uzbekistan.
World Englishes, 26(3), 276-290.
6.
Hasanova, D. (2007b). Teaching and learning
English in Uzbekistan. English Today, 23(01), 3-9.
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Hasanova , D. (2010). English as a trademark of
modernity and elitism. English Today, 26(01), 3-8.
8.
Liddicoat, A. (2019). Language-in-education policy
in the Central Asian republics of Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. In A.
Kirkpatrick & A. Liddicoat (Eds.), The Routledge
international handbook of language education
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–
470). Routledge
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Linn,
A.Ahn.E.S.(2021).Introduction.
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Presidential decree PQ-5117. (2021). On measures to
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