Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, December 15, 2020: The Kazakhstan National Olympic Committee in cooperation with the US Embassy in Kazakhstan has launched a unique project aimed at teaching English to 24 members of the national Olympic team.
A statement on the Kazakhstan NOC Facebook page explaining the need for English read: In a rapidly developing world, English currently plays one of the most important roles in sport. It is one of the official languages of the Olympic Movement and most countries host competitions using English as the official language of the tournament. That is why it is important that the athletes of the Kazakhstan team know the basic knowledge of English.
Andrey Kryukov, Secretary General of the Kazakhstan NOC, said: “When working with athletes it is important to understand they represent Kazakhstan in the international sports arena, and that they can talk about themselves in an interview, understand what is required of them for doping control and also be able to share their experience with other athletes in basic English.
“Every competition, especially the Olympic Games, is an exchange of cultures and for this it is important to be able to speak one of the main languages of the Olympic Movement. We are glad to cooperate with the US Embassy and are grateful for their assistance in training our athletes,” Kryukov added.
Specially invited lecturer Jess Burden, an experienced teacher with more than 15 years of professional experience in teaching students, will teach the athletes English in a programme catering to sports and sports culture.
“It’s great we have the opportunity to study English. It’s great that the NOC organises not only our camps and competitions, and ensures safety in general, but also creates conditions so that we can develop in the future by learning a language. I had wanted to study English for a long time but didn’t find the time,” said Tokyo Olympic-qualified boxer Ablaykhan Zhusupov.
“Learning languages opens up additional opportunities. It will be great to be able to communicate with athletes from different countries and exchange experiences. I hope at the end of this course I will be able to understand English at a good level,” Zhusupov added.
The programme involves 24 athletes, shortlisted from 280 representatives of national teams of Kazakhstan.
Source: Kazakhstan NOC
