Advanced Kazakh

Watch video and learn about greetings, shopping, food, dining out, weather, education, literature, holiday traditions, and more. With our specially designed video player for language learning you can pause the video at any point and scroll the transcription. Read annotations about culture and grammar. Click on almost any word or sentence to hear it spoken, along with translations.

This course can be used either by independent learners or by students in a traditional or self-instructional classroom setting, and is the equivalent of the material covered in a one-year college course.

Sample Video: Unit 1, Dialog 1

Introduction by Akmaral Mukanova

Advanced Kazakh consists of two parts. Units 1-3 discuss topics such as kinship, livestock and cultural metaphors. Units 4 and 5 offer a challenging opportunity to learn from naturally occurring unscripted interviews. Here is a sample lesson. This course has been constructed with thorough consideration of recent research to ensure effective foreign language learning. The material is also based on the results of a needs assessment survey conducted by the author among advanced learners of the Kazakh language in Kazakhstan and the USA. Kazakh language learners who have participated in the survey come from various language and cultural backgrounds, including North American, Chinese, Australian, and Japanese. First, they wanted to acquire a knowledge of the cultural systems inherent in Kazakh. To this end, cultural and linguistic anthropological material that highlights such cultural metaphors as livestock, kinship, songs, values and beliefs has been integrated into the dialogs. Second, there was a need for learning conversational structures and speech patterns that significantly differ from the standard literary grammar, which most textbooks tend to overlook. To meet this need, dialogs have been designed to contain grammatical structures that are typical of conversational Kazakh. Third, there was a desire to explore authentic short stories, folk tales, and idiomatic phrases. The Idiomatic Phrases section is designed to aid in gaining a better understanding of literary works, daily conversations, and the media. Finally, the need for unscripted dialogs that give learners exposure to natural conversations was expressed. Authentic video interviews in units 4 and 5 capture conversational speech patterns and dialectical varieties to help you expand your active knowledge of Kazakh language and culture.

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About the Author

Akmaral Mukanova received her master’s degree in English Language and Linguistics from the University of Arizona, where she was a Visiting Scholar with the U.S. State Department’s Junior Faculty Development Program. Her professional experience includes English and Kazakh language instruction, adult education, curriculum development, and online training. She managed U.S. government-led international programs and curriculum development initiatives. Her interests include adult learning and workforce development, instructional design, and e-Learning. She is also the author of our Intermediate Kazakh course.

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Course materials © 1995–2026 Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona. Used under license.

Frequently asked questions

Is Advanced Kazakh available yet?

Not yet — Advanced Kazakh is coming soon and isn't open for enrollment. Our Beginning Kazakh and Intermediate Kazakh courses are available now, and this page will update as soon as Advanced Kazakh launches.

How much material does Advanced Kazakh cover?

Advanced Kazakh covers the equivalent of a full year of college-level Kazakh instruction — roughly 120 hours of material — delivered as structured video lessons with full transcriptions and translations.

Do I need any prior experience to take Advanced Kazakh?

Yes. Advanced Kazakh builds on solid intermediate Kazakh; it is best taken after our Beginning Kazakh and Intermediate Kazakh courses or equivalent experience.

How are the lessons delivered?

The course is fully online and self-paced. You learn from native-speaker videos with on-screen transcriptions and translations, then practice with interactive exercises — on any device, on your own schedule.

Who created Advanced Kazakh?

Advanced Kazakh was originally created by the University of Arizona Critical Languages Program as part of the Critical Languages Series. It was designed by Akmaral Mukanova, published by Language Canvas, and used under license.