Kymbat SMAKOVA joined SDU University in Kazakhstan in 2014 after having worked as an EFL teacher for 16 years in Bilim Innovation Lyceum (former KTL). She started teaching a variety of courses at the departments of Translation, Foreign Philology, and Language Teacher Education as a senior lecturer. Currently, she teaches the courses of critical thinking, research methods and innovative trends in foreign language education for MA and PhD students, which are among the top success skills at the core of modern society. She also serves as the Chair of the Institutional Ethics Committee and is the Editor-in-Chief of SDU University Bulletin: Pedagogy and Teaching Methods.
In 2018, she visited Dalarna University in Sweden as a research intern to investigate the implementation of the project-based approach in Swedish schools. During this time, she established collaborations with scholars at the host university, further enriching her academic perspective and network.
As a faculty member in the Department of Language Education, she combines her research interests in interdisciplinary areas such as intercultural communication competence in English language teaching and the best practices of Trending Approaches in TEFL with her teaching skills to inspire students and contribute meaningfully to the academic community.

PhD in TEFL - SDU University (2021)
MA in TEFL- SDU UNiversity (2010)
BA in TEFL (1996) Karaganda State University named after E. A. Buketov, Kazakhstan

TFL 740 - CLIL Approach and Project-Based Learning in Higher Education
TFL 651 - Quantitative Methods in Educational Research
TFL 631 - Scientific Research Methods (Qualitative Methods in Educational Research)
TFL 638 - Trending approaches in English Language Teaching: CLIL and PBL
TFL 366- (B2-C1) Introduction to Research in Applied Linguistics
TFL 333- (B2-C1) Critical Thinking Strategies

1. Intercultural communicative competence in English language teaching in Kazakhstan. (2020) Issues in Educational Research, 30(2). Paulsrud, B http://www.iier.org.au/iier30/smakova.pdf
2. Promotion of Self-Regulated Learning in Project-Based Approach .(2020) Bulletin of Kazakh State Women's Teacher Training University No1 (81) issn 2306-5079 Индекс 75138. Pp. 106-113. http://rmebrk.kz/journals/6040/79596.pdf#page=106
3. Conceptual Understanding Of Communicative Competence. (2019) Bulletin of Kazakh State Women's Teacher Training University No2 (78) 2019issn 2306-5079 Индекс 75138.
4. Competency-Based Approach in Foreign Language Education. (2019).Abai Kazakh National Pedagogical University BULLETIN of Pedagogical sciences vol.2(62), pp. 98-104. Islam A

“Teachers’ Perceptions on Teacher Roles in Project-Based Learning”. (2018) ISBN: 978-605-2132-21-0 DOI: 10.21733/Ibad.470903 ICES-2018 1. Uluslararası EğItim Ve Sosyal Bilimlerde Yeni Ufuklar Kongresi Bildirileri. IBAD Conference and journal , Istanbul, Turkey.
'Teaching Cultural Values in Intermediate EFL Classes: The Case of “Nauryz” Celebration'. International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied-Socio Linguistics. Astana, Kazakhstan-11-13 May, 2017.