Context
The English for Success project (2017) was developed as a bridging initiative to support ongoing education reform in Kazakhstan, particularly in the Atyrau region. Driven by the national Kazakhstan 2050 vision, the education system was undergoing significant transformation, including the introduction of English-medium instruction for STEM subjects and earlier English language learning in schools.
In this context, the project—delivered by the British Council in partnership with Tengizchevroil (TCO)—aimed to build on earlier teacher development programmes by strengthening English language teaching capacity, scoping future system needs, and laying the groundwork for longer-term, sustainable impact at both school and university levels.
Implementation
TELT conducted an external evaluation of the project, based on a six-day field visit involving classroom and training observations, stakeholder interviews, and focus groups with teachers, trainees, and institutional partners.
The project itself combined multiple strands of activity, including teacher training based on the English for Teaching framework, pilot pre-service training through TKT courses at Atyrau State University (ASU), and the establishment of an English resource centre and “English Only Space” to support ongoing learning. Additional activities included digital skills workshops, a summer school for disadvantaged learners, and consultancy work to map existing provision and inform future programme design.
While ambitious in scope, the project evolved significantly during implementation, with activities often driven by emerging contextual needs and partnership opportunities—particularly with ASU—rather than a fixed programme design. The evaluation highlighted the absence of a clear monitoring and evaluation framework and limited alignment between activities and original objectives, which affected the coherence and scalability of outcomes.
Impact
The project achieved a number of important outcomes, particularly in terms of relationship-building and laying foundations for future work. Strong partnerships were established with key institutions, especially ASU, and infrastructure such as the English resource centre created a potential hub for ongoing teacher development in the region.
At the participant level, teachers who engaged consistently in training reported increased confidence, greater use of English in the classroom, and adoption of more interactive teaching practices. The pilot TKT programme showed particular promise, contributing to both pre-service teacher motivation and changes in teaching approaches within the university.
However, overall impact was limited in scale, with low and inconsistent participation, high dropout rates, and challenges in reaching target audiences. The evaluation concluded that while the project had relatively low immediate impact, it generated valuable insights, infrastructure, and partnerships that could support more effective, large-scale interventions in future, provided stronger project planning, stakeholder engagement, and monitoring systems are put in place.