ENHANCING INTERCULTURAL AND PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE OF PRESCHOOL ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS THROUGH COLLABORATIVE LEARNING

This research investigates a new collaborative learning strategy and its potential to significantly enhance preschool English teachers' professional intercultural and communicative competence in Kazakh higher education. This research aims to provide valuable insights into how CL can enhance preschool English language teachers' intercultural and professional communicative competence. Traditional teacher education programs often prioritize linguistic and pedagogical skills while neglecting the intercultural dimensions of teaching. This gap in teacher education presents significant challenges in adequately preparing educators to meet the needs of a multicultural student population. To address these challenges, this study explores the following research questions: the extent to which the Collaborative Learning for Intercultural and Professional Communication Framework enhances preschool English language teachers' intercultural and communicative competence and the perceived challenges and successes of implementing the Framework in multicultural classrooms. The findings are expected to benefit educators, curriculum designers, and policymakers working to improve teacher training programs in Kazakhstan and other similar educational contexts. The results indicate that this innovative strategy is highly effective in improving teachers' intercultural and communicative skills, offering promising prospects for their professional growth in a multicultural educational setting. These findings have significant implications for you as an educator, curriculum designer, or policymaker, inspiring you with the potential of this strategy to enhance teacher training programs in Kazakhstan and similar educational settings.