The article identifies the possibilities of using expert opinions on the language situation and prospects for language policy in the region in pedagogical practice based on the analysis of data collected during field research in the Turkestan region in 2022-2023. The experts were employees of relevant departments of local administrations, managers and employees of educational organizations and researchers from universities.
Pedagogical practice means explaining to students of various disciplines and courses the main trends of the current language situation and the prospects for the development of language policy in the region. Such explanatory activities seem relevant in the context of the implementation of the Concept for the Development of Language Policy in the Republic of Kazakhstan in 2023-2029, because the young people’s perception of language policy initiatives, in particular the transition of the Kazakh language to the Latin script, largely depends on the arguments of the information company, which are based on the interpretation of expert opinions, immersed in practical activities.
Expert opinion was studied by the method of individual and group expert interviews with employees of relevant departments of regional and district level administrations, employees and heads of educational institutions in different regions of the region, teachers and experts working at universities. In addition, when visiting local administrations and educational institutions, the participant observation method was used, which made it possible to assess the level of prevalence of visual information in different languages inside buildings, books and teaching aids in libraries.
The analysis of expert opinions is based on field materials collected during expert interviews, group discussions and participant observation in different regions of the Turkestan region in 2022-2023.