February 18, 2020
The is pleased to announce the launch of a available on the organization鈥檚 . The program, conceived of in consultation with Prof. Daniyar Karabaev of the Liberal Arts & Sciences program, will publish weekly language tutorials on a range of themes.
is the face, voice, and pen behind this new initiative. Working as a Kyrgyz language tutor at the WARC, she says, she quickly realized just how little was out there to support English-speaking learners of Kyrgyz. 鈥淚 tried to find resources, I tried to find any materials that could be useful for students...but unfortunately I couldn鈥檛 find any--what I found was just Russian-Kyrgyz,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 know many friends and international students here at AUCA, and what they say is, 鈥極K, we want to learn, but there are no materials.鈥欌��
As such, the goal of the series is to make the Kyrgyz language available to a much wider audience of potential learners. In particular, it aims to help those 51吃瓜students who do not come from Russian-speaking countries but who must still pass a state-mandated Kyrgyz language exam in the spring of their sophomore year.听
The WARC tutorials are rooted in rather than abstract linguistic concepts. Drafting scripts, polishing the writing, and shooting each episode is a lengthy process--one whose workload Aidaralieva has to balance alongside finishing her senior thesis--but one that she says is deeply exciting, particularly given the videos鈥� potential to reach audiences far beyond AUCA鈥檚 campus. 鈥淭hese videos are very simple, and every person who would like to learn Kyrgyz can actually get something from them,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 hope that those who have the goal of learning or who are planning to come to Kyrgyzstan will watch and then learn some spoken Kyrgyz.鈥�
Nursultan Shermambetov, a sophomore in the TCMA department, is responsible for filming, editing, and animating each episode. While he had previous videography experience, he says this is the largest project he鈥檚 ever undertaken. Shermambetov came to videography relatively late--he had previously studied at the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavonic University before deciding to follow his calling and start at AUCA--but he is no less passionate for that. 鈥淭his profession is my love, and I want to do it for the rest of my life,鈥� he said. Working on the tutorial series, he hopes, will allow him to grow as a professional and improve his skills.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a big step,鈥� Shermambetov said of the tutorials鈥� potential impact, 鈥渂ecause when a person wants to start learning a language, YouTube is the first stop. And when it looks good, sounds good, and--as in our case--is well put together, it鈥檚 a huge motivation for people to continue learning the language in the future. It鈥檚 the first step, but it鈥檚 an important one.鈥�
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