Teaching English Language In Uzbekistan

Abstract

Since  the  Republic  of  Uzbekistan  was declared independent in 1991, the roles of  languages used in the country started to change, shifting in dominance and significance in all spheres of  Uzbek people’s life. The Uzbek language acquired its position as the only official state language , while Russian was given the status of foreign language and lost its power as  “ Uzbek’s second mother tongue”  ( Hasanova , 2010)  however , preserving its importance on a lingua franca for ethnic minorities, English, in its turn , has been continuously  increasing  in importance and acquiring the status or the most pereferred foreign language to be learned. The  reforms in foreign language teaching in Uzbekistan mainly touched upon teaching English language in all levels and stages of education. The start of  incorporating English language teaching  into the educational system of Uzbekistan  started  in 1932 ( Hasanova, 2007 ) . Neverttheless, teaching and learning of English as well as other foreign languages  were carried out in secondary schools at the beginning of the fifth grade when learners were at the age  of  12 ( Hasanova, 2007 p4) .states that most of the lessons in 1930’s – 1990’s  wre held mainly in student – centered approach  and classes  were mainly dedicated to the study and analysis of grammatical rules, analytical  reading , and grammar translation  exercises. In addition  according to Bereday  and Pennar  in the Soviet Union , grammar – translation method was justified by the dominating political system.[1]