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The article is aimed at analyzing a short-term experiment held on the basis of Suleyman Demirel University (Almaty, Kazakhstan) in the frame of the program "Discovery Kazakhstan". The program included language courses (Turkish, Russian, Kazakh and English) in combination with tourist and scientific components and popular science information, mainly related to cultural studies. The program also included the course "Modern Kazakhstan: its social, economic and cultural potential", which details the features of the Kazakhstani economy, Kazakh and Russian cultures, milestones of Kazakh history and peculiarities of education system in Kazakhstan. Participants of the program "Discovery Kazakhstan" were students from Turkey, USA and Malaysia. The experiment showed that a combination of language courses with tourist and scientific programs, as well as with some elements of entertainment, provides opportunities for improving and optimizing the educational process as a whole and for growing rapport between nations through the implementation of a soft power policy and intercultural contacts, in particular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]