In 1992 one foreign language became compulsory at vocational schools and technical colleges. The students study a foreign language for one year as a compulsory subject and for two or three years on an optional basis. Language teaching materials used in secondary education are both of local origin and imported from abroad. There is a general shortage of textbooks for senior grades at secondary schools. In accordance with the new curriculum, a series of national textbooks for teaching foreign languages have been devised and disseminated for use throughout the country.
Work is in progress on developing new teaching materials for other grades.
Efforts are being made to implement the principles and methods of this approach in secondary schools. Different factors facilitate or impede the implementation. There is a large proportion of teachers in the country who follow the communicative approach in their everyday activities, especially in schools with extended language learning, gymnasiums and lyceums. At the same time, a great many teachers follow a traditional contrastive approach or adopt an eclectic method. Various techniques and strategies are used by teachers in order to meet the increasing and changing communication needs of language learners.