Astana is the capital of Kazakhstan

Нуртазина Зейнеп

The theme: Astana is the capital of Kazakhstan

The aims:     to teach students to express their own points of view and work in groups;to develop skills of reading, listening, speaking and unprepared speech;to enlarge country studying knowledge and educate the feeling of love towards  our motherland.

Methods of the lesson: interactive, communicative approach

Type of the lesson: introduction

Equipment of the lesson: pictures, an interactive board

Procedure of the lesson:

Objectives: Presentation about Astana.

1. Organization moment

 “Looking down on Astana, we see at our feet the richest and most beautiful city in the world, a city as greatest London and as magical as Rome”T: Good morning children!

P:  Good morning!

T: Sit down, please. Today we shall speak about capital of Kazakhstan  Astana. We shall listen to  the text about the history of our capital, and speak on this topic. And now look at the blackboard

III. Reading.  These words will be a redline of today’s conversation. I suppose you agree with me. So, let’s prove it. All of you, and all of us dream of visiting London and let’s hope that sometime our dream will come true and we shall see one of the greatest  cities in the world, but we must ready to answer questions about our capital, about Astana. Let’s  remember what we know about Astana. On the blackboard you can see some small topics and key words. Use them. And say a few words on each of these themes.

P1: Astana, formerly known as Akmola until 1998, Tselinograd until 1992 and Akmolinsk until 1961, has been the capital of Kazakhstan  since 1997, and is the country’s second largest city after Almaty, the former capital) with an officially estimated population of 775,800 as of 21 June 2012. It is located in the north portion of Kazakhstan, within Akmola Provinince, though administrated separately from the province as a federal city area.

Independent Kazakhstan

P2: After Kazakhstan became independent in 1990, the city and the region were renamed “Akmola”, literally meaning “White Temple”.In 1995, the city was designated as the future capital of the newly-independent country, and the capital was officially moved from Almaty on December 10, 1997.The new name, Astana, was bestowed in 1998.Government officials cited several problems with keeping the capital in Almaty, such as the city’s risk of seismic activity, insufficient room for expansion, and proximity to international borders. Additionally, parts of northern Kazakhstan are populated primarily by ethnic Russians, which raised fears of possible irredentist activity. Moving the capital to this area may have been an attempt to anchor it more closely with the rest of the country.To some Kazakhs, the move remains controversial. Critics cite the city’s isolated location in the center of the Kazakh steppe and the forbidding climate in winter. Financially, some resent the massive expenditure of public funds to build the new government complexes, as well as the continuing cost of airfare and hotel expenses for the many government workers who still live in Almaty.

INDUSTRIALCENTER P3: We can say that different branches of industry are developing in the new capital. Many plants and factories are building in Astana that will produce transformers, motors, agricultural machines .

CULTURAL CENTER  P4: There are several museums in Astana. The largest ones are: Museum of History and Local Lore and SeiphullinMuseum. Astana is famous for its theatres. The best known is the Opera and Ballet Theatre by named KulyashBaiseitova. There are a lot of green parks and libraries in Astana.

EDUCATIONAL CENTER  P5: We can say that Astana is an educational center. There are many technical colleges, institutes and universities. The best known are: EurasianUniversity, AgrarianUniversity, NazarbayevUniversity. Many young people from different regions of our country and from different countries come to Astana to get a brilliant education.

SPORT and TRANSPORT CENTER P6: There are a lot of sport facilities in Astana such as stadiums, swimming pools. And as you know Asiada Games 2011 will be held in Astana. Transport in Astana is extensive. Here you can see all kinds of transport except metro. There are railway station and airport in Astana.T: And the next points is the sights of Astana. When we go to London we shall take some pictures of Astana, some photos or slides. Let’s suggest that our friends should walkalong the streets of our Astana. P7: This is the monument to Tole-be, Kazybek-be, Aiteke-be which is situated by the building of Supreme Court of Justice. Many people come to this monument to show their love for the best Kazakh sons. P8: Here you can see one of the famous places in Astana – Central Square. It is the main place for folk holidays, the favourite place for the rest of the town people. P9: This Palace is called Congress Hall now. Many meetings and concerts take place there. In this building was crowned President of Kazakhstan N.A.Nazarbayev. It is a very nice building now. T: Thank you very much. I think that our guests have got a lot of information, but we haven’t told them about our history. Let’s listen to the text and follow the course in history. After listening to the text you will try to point our the main periods of the history of Astana and ask questions on this topic.

HISTORY OF ASTANA The history of Astana began in the year 1830. Astana was founded in 1830 on the bank of the IshimRiver by Colonel PhyodorKuzmichShubin as a fortress.In 1939 was formed Akmola region and Akmola became the center of this region.In1954 inAkmola region the development of virgin and unused lands began. In honour of this event the town of Akmola was renamed in Tselinograd in 1961.In 1994 Tselinograd was renamed in Akmolaagain.In 1997 by Decree of President of Kazakhstan Akmola became the capital of our country.In 1998 Akmola was renamed un Astana. (Before listening the teacher may practice some difficult words). T: Now answer for my questions.

1. When was Astana founded?
2. When was Akmola region formed?
3. When did the development of virgin and unused lands begin?
4. When was Akmola renamed in Tselinograd? T: Very good. You have understood this text perfectly well, and you know the history of our capital. Now we shall play a little. You will write on the blackboard the words associated with the word “capital”. (На доске слово “Astana”, ученики по очереди пишут  свои слова, которые возникают у детей по ассоциации: political, capital и т.д.) T: Thank you very much. You have worked well today. Your homework will be: write essay about your favourite place in Astana. T: Thank you very much. The lesson is over. Good bye!