questions (to be updated in stages)

I’ll update this as this week’s homework comes in. You’ll hear from the 7th, 9th, and 10th graders and the 11th graders will answer the ones they haven’t gotten to yet. I’ll also ask the teachers I work with.
I will correct these later with the students, but I thought they’re somewhat poignant as they are.
Keep in mind that our tense system is very different than Kazakh and somewhat different than Russian, and that neither language uses “to be” in the present tense. Therefore, in the 8th graders who’ve just had an infusion of perfect tenses, but don’t know about subjunctives, are a bit scrambled at the moment. In Kazakh, the present indefinite and future simple are the same, and there is no differentiation between perfect and continuous tenses. And there are kids who just don’t pay attention.

What has it been like to have had an American teacher (or two)?
- They are very kind people. They teach us to learn English. – 8th grade girl

Do you have many relatives? Are you close to your aunts, uncles, and cousins?
- I close very good! I love my aunts, uncles, and cousins – 8th grade boy

What do you want other people to know about Kazakhstan?

What kind of work will you do as an adult? Why?
- When I grown-up, I want to be a translator. I want to know English well. It’s important for me because I love English language, traditions, different games. I interested English because I think that it’s my life. English very important in our country, in our school. I like worked translator, because I think it’s key to success. – 8th grade girl

Would you rather have adventure or wealth?
- I would rather have adventure – 8th grade girl

What do you think is the most interesting period of history? Why?

Where do you go on holidays and vacations?
- In my holidays or vacations I shall be going to the nice place. Example: America or my lovely village.
- America. It’s very nice country. Dream: I go to the America if I can speak English good. I am eating American ice cream, or any food. I shall be going for a walk with Susan or my family. I shall be going in green country. I shall be go to the park, zoo-park, or go to the river, for swim. But, it’s a dream. For this I shall working and studying very much. Very much. – 8th grade girl

What do you love about your country?
- The most feature of our country is our warm people. They are always ready to help everybody, they are very tough. And we also have remarkable nature, endless steppe, which has seen the whole history of our Motherland. And we believe that in close future our country will be one of the best countries in the world. – 11th graders
- I love about your country big – house, play computer, a love mountain, sea, nature, a school Umit. – 8th grade boy [he is, in fact, talking about his family, I can’t explain, but I think he means he likes these things in general.]
- I love about my country because my country clear and quite. – 8th grade boy [“clear” is a translation from an idiom both literal symbolic, a common toast: ‘clear skies.’ And I think he meant ‘quiet.’]

What are your favorite foods?
- Our favorite foods are beshbarmack, kuizdak, pizza, and Susan’s tortillas. – 11th graders
- My favorite food is the cheese, beshbarmak, grenage [no ideas about this one] fruit, and a lot of the foods. – 8th grade girl
- My favorite food is a chiren and national foods. – 8th grade girl

What places in the world would you most like to visit?
- We would like to visit some historical sites and also Chicago and France. We would like to feel the spirit of ancient time, to see one more developed industrial city in the world and to feel romantic atmosphere of fairy land. – 11th graders
- I want to visit city Chicago. Because this city, my teachers city. I like my teachers. – 8th grade boy
- I want to visit city Washington. Because I like a nice cities. – 8th grade boy
- I want to visit Washington. But why, it’s secret. (This place lived or living. He is my love actor in China.) I going to Italy, to see a very expensive things. – 8th grade girl [This might ruin the secret, but I think she means she’s in love with an actor who lives in DC.]
- I want to visit on Shalkar because I did not was there. If you will be on Shalkar, you will swim, you played game. – 8th grade girl [Shalkar is a lake in this region]
- I want to visit is Los Angeles. Because, in this city be the Holywood, and I want to visit it. – 8th grade girl

What is your definition of success?
- I must was educationally. [I must be educated] More know language. Help poor mens to get a pension. Open kitchen-room for poor. – 8th grade boys [bless them, this is entirely original]

What do you want other people to know about Kazakhstan?