The Beginning
On April 10, 2022, Aleksey Skalozubov, through his Twitter account, announced the opening of a free-of-charge Kazakh language speaking club in Almaty. More than 300 participants registered in the first two days. A place to hold the meeting was quickly found and the inaugural meeting of Batyl Bol was held on April 15 – only five days later!
Our Methodology
From the very first visit, our participants learn to use the Kazakh language in everyday situations – buying groceries at the store, ordering a taxi, getting acquainted with new people. After this, we teach the rules of the language, like grammar, and explain complex ideas in a simple manner. Participants with an average or advanced level of knowledge participate in conversational groups, where discussion on a wide array of freely-chosen topics is conducted solely in Kazakh. Our educational process is complemented by games, singing songs, and watching films in the Kazakh language.
Club Network
With the growing popularity of the club in Almaty, people in other cities wanted to support the initiative and open branches of Batyl Bol in other cities in Kazakhstan. So, branches of the club appeared in Astana, Shymkent, Karaganda, Taraz, Kostanay, Pavlodar, Aktobe, Atyrau, and other cities. The program and process of conducting classes may vary, but the most important features of the club remain the same: free-of-charge, open to everybody, maximum accessibility, and emphasis on the development of conversational skills.
We are in the media
Batyl Bol! became a phenomenon of the Kazakh public. Massive grassroots interest in the project attracted attention from national and international publications and channels. The activities of the club were covered in an article by Tengri News, a documentary film by Kana Beisekeev and a report on the TV channel Kazakhstan. Journalists and reporters from Germany, the USA, Denmark, Sweden, France, and other countries are actively writing about Batyl Bol and discussing the growth of national consciousness in Kazakhstan.
Public fund
Six months after the opening of the club and the expansion of Batyl Bol branches, on October 26, 2022, Alexei Skalozubov, the founder of the project, together with organizer Zhamal Khamitovoy, founded the public foundation “BATYL BOL CLUB”. The goal of the fund is to attract transparent funding to the project and to assist in the development and growth of the club throughout Kazakhstan.
How to help the project?
You can support the project by making a money transfer using the official details of the PF “BATYL BOL CLUB”.
We are also ready to consider cooperation with sponsors.