Abstract
This article presents the results of a pilot experiment, the purpose of which is to study the status of activity of the first (L1) and second languages (L2) of Kazakhstani bilingual students while performing tasks in the target third language (L3). Students of the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University took part in the study. For students from the first experimental group, Kazakh is the native/first language (L1), and Russian is the L2. In contrast, for students of the second group, Russian is the first/native language (L1) and Kazakh, respectively, is the L2. A behavioural research method was used in the experiment, as well as a technique that included a “lexical decision task”. The results of this type of research show that in the context of the production of the English language (L3), Kazakh (L1/L2) and Russian (L1/L2) are activated in a competitive way, while the roles of languages and the degree of their activation in a trilingual situation vary in different groups of subjects. In the research process, the key reasons and factors influencing the levels of activation of the Kazakh and Russian languages in the conditions of educational trilingualism were identified.