The National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO) in Paris has reintroduced beginner courses in the Kazakh language this semester, QazMonitor reports citing Khabar 24.
Catherine Poujol, the Professor of History and Civilization of Central Asia at INALCO, noted that this semester students will once again have the opportunity to begin studying Kazakh. French researchers are not only interested in studying the language but also in gaining a deeper understanding of our country. Plans include the possibility of offering scholarships to local students who wish to undertake internships at universities in our country.
"I chose to learn the Kazakh language because I work on this region and conduct research in the field of history. For me, it provides a solid foundation for the study of Kazakhstan's history," shared Victor Gomariz, a master's student at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences.
The course is taught by Kuralay Kaliyeva, who intends to establish a dedicated Kazakh language room with educational and fictional literature at the Intistute. This is in high demand in France, so she hopes to receive support from her colleagues in Kazakhstan.
As a teacher of the Kazakh language and literature, a candidate of Philological Sciences, living far from my homeland in France, it is a great honor to teach our native language to students of other nationalities.
Kaliyeva acknowledges that she understands the significant responsibility she holds, as she must ensure the highest quality of Kazakh language instruction for French speakers.
"I'm very enthusiastic about this opportunity. I hope to visit Kazakhstan in the near future. I believe that the Kazakh language will continue to attract even more students, and perhaps other languages from this region as well," said Chloé Lloret, a master's student at INALCO.