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Abstract

The political status of the English language both during the USSR and in the independent present in Central Asia, and in Uzbekistan in particular, is well documented within the paradigm of a few disciplines related to the humanities (e.g., politology, language and linguistics, history, etc.). However, the English language social role during the mentioned periods lacks sufficient data in the academic literature. The qualitative data offered for the present conference, which was obtained from semi-structured interview questions for the project funded by University of Westminster and Westminster International University in Tashkent , and also a part of the PhD study grounded on the critical realism, which combines existing ontologies (e.g., those based on data from existing structures) and interpretive epistemologies (e.g., how the structures have been perceived). In particular, it offers data on the sociological perceptions of the English language among recipients from different age groups who studied English at secondary schools and Higher Education Institutions in the Uzbek SSR and independent Uzbekistan within the period from 1959 to 2008. It will provide data: a) on the reasons to study the English language from the recipients from different social layers; b) the perception of the English language curricula (e.g., disciplines related to practicum vs non-practicum fields, diciplines related to specialised vs non-specialised fields and etc.) and English language materials during different periods by those who had studied only in Uzbekistan and those who had the experience of studying in the USA or the UK; c) the perception of the English language class instructions in secondary schools and HEIs.