Bakytgul is from Kazakhstan where she grew up and has modeled herself to be a lifelong learner reflecting a key IB value. She earned a Diploma in the Faculty of Philology at Almaty State University as a Teacher of Russian Language and Literature, and she then continued post graduated doctoral studies in Pedagogical Sciences at the same institution. Later, she studied at Kazakh University of International Relations and World Languages in the Faculty of Second and Additional Education, earning a Diploma as an English teacher. After that she earned a Diploma as a Teacher of Kazakh Language and Literature from Abai Kazakh State Pedagogical University. In addition to these university degrees, she has earned certificates in ‘Methods of teaching the Kazakh language as a second language and improving the KazTEST’; English Composition I: Achieving Expertise (through Duke University, USA); ‘Learning How to Learn: Powerful mental tools to help you master tough subjects’ (through University of California, San Diego); ‘Organization of Kazakh language lessons according to CELTA methodology’; and a CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults), Cambridge English Level 5 Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of other languages.
She has also attended professional development workshops and conferences including University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations Certificate: Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT), Certificate “Basics of Pedagogical Measuring: Theory and Methods” and TIMSS 2007 Quality Control Monitors Training Meeting. Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
As a teacher of Kazakh Language (IGCSE), she has worked at Haileybury Almaty school in Kazakhstan and at Bilimpaz Academy providing English and Kazakh language courses.
Besides teaching, Bakytgul has translated books (non-fiction, and fiction) and articles from English to Kazakh, Russian to Kazakh, and she is on the team of Kazakh translators for TED talks. She has also reviewed manuscripts for publication. She has collaborated on the creation of Kazakh language textbooks for primary school students spanning grades 1 to 4, alongside textbooks specifically developed for adult learners.
Her life journey and studies have taken her to Glasgow in Scotland, Coventry in England, and Istanbul in Turkey. We are pleased that Bakytgul is happy to work with our SSST Kazakh students to support their own SSST mother tongue Kazakh studies.