Situating languages in Kazakhstan journalism education: Learning in English, writing in Russian, and thinking in Kazakh

In this article, we provide a fresh perspective about aspiring journalists who study journalism in English but practice in a context where English is neither an official language nor a cultural language, so they practice journalism in local languages. This study utilizes interviews with journalism communities in Kazakhstan. Our findings suggest that journalism education in English serves as a professional disadvantage to aspiring journalists who must practice journalism in their native languages. Linguistic capital, they seek and obtain, is being directed to other fields by aspiring journalists leading to Kazakhstani “capital diversion effect.”