Language Department

Department Chief, Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

сolonel

Iseev Ruslan Rafaelevich

Established on August 1, 2014.

The department participates in delivering postgraduate and continuing education programs.

At the postgraduate level, it implements language discipline programs (English, German, Kazakh, Russian) for master’s and doctoral students across all fields and specializations, as part of the university component of the basic disciplines cycle.

At the continuing education level, to meet the educational needs of military personnel in developing language skills, the department annually organises intensive language courses. Two iterations of five-month intensive English courses are conducted to prepare students for further training overseas and to fulfil tasks under Kazakhstan’s international commitments, including UN peacekeeping missions. Intensive Kazakh and Russian language courses for foreign military personnel are offered either separately or to prepare students for master’s studies at the National Defence University.

At the initiative and with organizational support from the department, the following milestones were achieved for the first time in the history of the Armed Forces of independent Kazakhstan through bilateral cooperation:

  • since 2019, intensive Russian language courses for foreign military personnel have been conducted at the request of a partner country’s defence ministry;
  • since 2020, 67 training slots have been allocated on professional development courses (including Cambridge TKT Modules 1, 2, 3, TKT CLIL, Pre-CELTA, Textbook Design and Development) for English language instructors;
  • since 2021, under academic mobility programs, instructors from the Republic of India have been teaching English at the university;
  • since 2023, in collaboration with the Turkish Embassy, the Intensive Turkish language course has been offered for Kazakhstan Armed Forces personnel;
  • in August 2024, the Indian ITEC program completed the project equipping postgraduate language classrooms with interactive touch panels – a modern alternative to interactive whiteboards;
  • in 2025, the international inter-university author team, in collaboration with the Peacekeeping English Project and International House, completed work on the professionally oriented English language textbook with reinforced interdisciplinary content, aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR);
  • since 2025, intensive Kazakh language courses for foreign military personnel (CEFR A1, A2, B1, B2) have been conducted at the request of partner countries’ defence ministries.

The department has been led by:

2014-2016 – Civilian Maira Sh. Abilmazhinova;

2016-2017 – Colonel Manel M. Shapiev;

2018-2019 – Colonel Ruslan B. Zhakupov.