Speakers' Presentations

George Randolph Rueckert is an Assistant Professor for English and Translation at KIMEP College of Humanities and Education. Dr. George Rueckert grew up in the US Foreign Service, in Washington DC and on both sides of the Cold War Iron Curtain. He earned his BA and MA degrees in English and his PhD in Comparative Literature, specializing in Russian and German. He worked for the European Union Center at the University of Washington in Seattle USA and later taught English at the Justus-Liebig University in Giessen, Germany. In 2011, he came to KIMEP University in Almaty, where he founded the Bachelor in Translation Studies (BATS) program in what is now the College of Humanities and Education. 

With nearly 20 years of TESOL experience, Dr. Rueckert teaches all levels of English, German, and translation, as well as literature and cultural studies. His scholarly interests include translation history and theory, verse translation and poetics, and 19th and 20th century literature and culture, particularly the Russian Romantic and Symbolist Periods and the Cold War Period. He is a working practical translator, married, with two young children.

Theme of the presentation: Adapting Literary Studies to the Digital Environment

Tatyana Letyaikina works as M&E Language Education Specialist at Miras University in Shymkent. Her current assignments include STEM teachers training and support as well as monitoring online/blended teaching/learning. She has got more than 15 years of teacher-training experience in line with the Teachers of English Association in Shymkent (TESh) on the issues related to interactive and computer-assisted teaching. Since 2015 she’s been served as the President of the National Teachers of English Association (KazTEA), where she launched several successful strategic initiatives, including KazTEA Conferences 2015-2023 in different cities of Kazakhstan as well as “Village Project” in 7 regions of the RK, sponsored by the Hornby Educational Trust (British Council), “AE MOOC Facilitated Sessions” and “Advancing English for Media Literacy” projects in 12 cities, sponsored by RELO, U.S. Embassy in Astana.

Her career in Education began as a school EFL teacher in the Eastern Kazakhstan and continued in Shymkent in various universities. She earned her Master’s degree in TESOL in the UK as Hornby Educational Trust awardee. In 2010 Tatyana served as an Educational Program manager at the U.S. Peace Corps in Almaty and assisted PC volunteers in TEFL issues. As a teacher-trainer she compiled manuals on interactive teaching and computer-assisted language teaching. At present she is involved into research on the role of facilitators within connectivism learning approach and life-long learning in cooperation with Buketov Karaganda University team.

Theme of the presentation: Facilitating Blended Learning to Educate Self-motivated and Proactive Learner

Bostan Hayat is an experienced teacher trainer (CELTA tutor), a co-author of a best-selling book in South Korea and Programme director at KazAELT and the head of linguistics department at Quantum STEM School. She was engaged in different educational projects with the British Council, U.S. Embassy and the Ministry of Education. 

Theme of the presentation: Being an English teacher in Kazakhstan. Is there potential?