Evan Allen, a U.S. citizen, chose to listen to songs as a method of learning Kazakh. He has been teaching English at a university in Taraz under the Fulbright Program since September last year. The young man says that he not only teaches but also learns a lot in Kazakhstan. Now he continues to practice and improve his Kazakh language skills.
“I started learning Kazakh about three or four years ago. At first I studied it on my own. Kazakhs are very friendly people. I speak French, and it has similar sounds like ‘ғ’, ‘ү’, and ‘i’, so it’s much easier for me to study Kazakh. It’s not as difficult as Russian,” he said.
The 24-year-old Evan is jokingly called Aikyn by his colleagues and students at the university. He is considered a qualified teacher who never stops learning something new while generously sharing his knowledge.
“We love attending his classes. It is absolutely easy to get along with him. His course is mainly aimed at practicing the language rather than theory, which is exciting for students. All his classes are easy to understand, hence the results are great,” shared student Anel Issabekova.
According to Evan, even when it is time to go back to the U.S., he will never forget the Kazakh culture and people. And he will definitely come again as soon as he gets the chance.
