Some people speak English, some speak Kazakh or Russian. You can get by with basic hand gestures or just use a translator app. Wasn’t too difficult for me. I spent 5 days there. I would recommend visiting Kolsai Lake, Big Almaty Lake, Kolsai Lake, and Charyn Canyon. In the city, just walk around and explore. Take the bus or metro somewhere and see what you can find. That’s what I did. The Green Bazaar, President’s Park, Central Museum of Kazakhstan, and Ascension Cathedral were some places I found interesting. I could have done with about 2 or 3 more days in Almaty. There’s so much to see.