Naji Naaman Foundation for Gratis Culture (FGC) announced that competition for Naji Naaman literary prizes for 2026 (24th picking season) is already open. Prizes will be awarded to authors of the most emancipated literary works (in content and style) aiming to revive and develop human values.
Literary manuscripts (thoughts, poems, stories, etc.) of 40 pages at most, in all languages and dialects, typeset, with the curriculum vitae and an artistic photography of the author, should be sent to Maison Naaman pour la Culture (by e-mail: info@najinaaman.org) before the end of January 2026. Manuscripts written in languages other than English, French, Spanish or Arabic must be accompanied by a translation or résumé in one of the aforesaid languages. Prizes will be announced before the end of June 2026. Works (in full or in part) published in the free of charge prizes’ yearbook will become (only for the aforesaid publishing purpose) the property of the publishing house.
Laureates will bear the lifetime free of charge honorary title of member of Maison Naaman pour la Culture (MNAC).
PRIX LITTÉRAIRES NAJI NAAMAN
2026
(24ème cueillette)
La Fondation Naji Naaman pour la Culture Gratuite (FCG) vient d’annoncer que le concours des prix littéraires Naji Naaman pour l’année 2026 (24ème cueillette) est déjà lancé. Ces prix seront décernés aux auteurs des œuvres littéraires les plus émancipées des points de vue du contenu et du style, et qui visent à revivifier et développer les valeurs humaines.
Les manuscrits littéraires (pensées, poésies, contes, etc…) d’un maximum de 40 pages, de toutes langues et dialectes, composés, accompagnés du curriculum vitae et d’une photographie artistique de l’auteur, sont reçus par la Maison Naaman pour la Culture (par courriel: info@najinaaman.org) jusqu’à fin janvier 2026. Les manuscrits qui ne sont pas écrits en français, anglais, espagnol ou arabe, doivent être accompagnés d’une traduction ou d’un résumé dans l’une de ces langues. Les prix seront déclarés avant fin juin 2026 au plus tard. Les œuvres publiées (en partie ou intégralement) dans le recueil annuel gratuit des prix deviendront (à ce seul effet de publication) la propriété de la maison.
Les lauréats porteront le titre honoraire, à vie et gratis, de membre de la Maison Naaman pour la Culture.
PREMIOS LITERARIOS NAJI NAAMAN
2026
(24ª edición)
Creados en el 2002, los premios literarios Naji Naaman tienen la finalidad de premiar aquellas obras literarias más creativas desde el punto de vista del contenido y del estilo, y que desarrollen e impulsen los valores humanos.
Las obras podrán estar escritas en cualquier lengua o dialecto, si esta no fuera francés, inglés, español o árabe deberán ir acompañadas de una traducción o resumen en cualquiera de estas lenguas. La extensión de las obras (ensayo, poesia, relato, novela, etc.) serán de un máximo de 40 páginas. Los originales y en su caso la traducción, serán entregados o enviados junto al c.v. y una fotografia del autor a la dirección por e-mail (info@najinaaman.org). El plazo de entrega finalizará el último día de enero de cada año. El fallo del jurado se hará publico a más tardar el último día de junio de cada año (así como el de las obras cuya publicación será gratuita dentro de la serie literaria creada por el Señor Naaman en 1991). No se devolverán las obras presentadas y las premiadas pasarán a ser propiedad de la casa.
Los ganadores recibirán así mismo el título honorífico de miembros de la Maison Naaman pour la Culture.
جوائز ناجي نعمان الأدبيَّة 2026:
فتحُ باب التَّرَشُّح
أُعلنَ فتحُ باب التَّرشُّح لنَيل جوائز ناجي نعمان الأدبيَّة لعام 2026 (الموسمُ الرَّابع والعِشرون). وهذي الجوائزُ مُشَرَّعَة أمام الجميع، في مجالات الأدب كلِّها، وفي أربعة أصقاع العالَم، وبلغات هذا العالَم ولهجاته من دون استثناء. والمعروف أنَّها تهدفُ إلى تشجيع نشر الأعمال الأدبيَّة على نطاقٍ عالميّ، على أساس عَتق هذه الأعمال من قيود الشَّكل والمضمون، والارتقاء بها فكرًا وأسلوبًا، وتوجيهها لما فيه خير البشريَّة ورفع مستوى أنسنتها.
والجوائز غير محدَّدة لجهة العدد، وتتضمَّنُ نشرَ الأعمال الَّتي تلقى الاستِحسان والاستِحقاق في كتاب أنطولوجيا الجوائز السَّنويّ المجَّانيّ الصَّادر من ضمنَ سلسلة “الثقافة بالمجَّان”، علمًا بأنَّ الحقوقَ في تلك الأعمال تسقط، في الخصوص الأخير حَصرًا، لصالح المؤسَّسة النَّاشرة، مؤسَّسة ناجي نعمان للثَّقافة بالمجَّان.
تُقدَّمُ المخطوطات في نسخةٍ واحدة، منضَّدة، في مهلةٍ تمتدُّ حتَّى آخر شهر كانون الثاني (يناير) 2026، وتُرفَقُ بها سيرةُ المؤلِّف وصورةٌ عن بطاقة هُويَّته بالإضافة إلى صورةٍ فنِّيَّةٍ له. وفي حال كان المخطوطُ بلغةٍ غير العربيَّة أو الفرنسيَّة أو الإنكليزيَّة أو الإسبانيَّة، تُرفَقُ به ترجمتُه (أو ملخَّص عنه في صفحتَين على الأكثر) بإحدى تلك اللُغات.
تُستقبَلُ المخطوطاتُ بالبريد الإلكتروني على العنوان المذكور أدناه.
The Role of Speech Competence in Developing Speech Culture among Primary School Students
Urganch davlat pedagogika institute “Boshlang’ich ta’lim”fakulteti Boshlang’ich ta’lim yo’nalishi 236-guruhi 3-kurs talabasi
Masharipova Unsunoy Madamin qizi
Annotatsiya: Ushbu maqolada boshlang‘ich sinf o‘quvchilarida nutq madaniyatini shakllantirish jarayonida nutqiy kompetensiyaning o‘rni va ahamiyati tahlil qilingan. Boshlang‘ich sinf o‘quvchilari nutqida uchraydigan ayrim kamchilik va nuqsonlarni bartaraf etishning samarali usul va vositalari haqida keng ma’lumot berilgan. Ayniqsa, nutqida kamchiligi mavjud bo‘lgan o‘quvchilar bilan individual yondashuv asosida dars jarayonlarini tashkil etishning natijalari va afzalliklari yoritib berilgan.Kalit so‘zlar: individual, guruhli, metod, kamchilik, nuqson, boshlang‘ich sinf o‘quvchisi.
Annotation: This article analyzes the role and importance of speech competence in the process of developing speech culture among primary school students. It provides comprehensive information about effective methods and tools for overcoming certain speech deficiencies and shortcomings observed in pupils’ speech. Special attention is given to the results and advantages of conducting lessons based on an individual approach for students with speech impairments.
Keywords: individual, group, method, deficiency, defect, primary school student.
Аннотация:В данной статье проанализирована роль и значение речевой компетенции в процессе формирования культуры речи у учащихся начальных классов. Представлена подробная информация об эффективных методах и средствах устранения отдельных недостатков и дефектов речи у учащихся. Особое внимание уделено результатам и преимуществам организации учебного процесса на основе индивидуального подхода к детям с речевыми нарушениями.Ключевые слова: индивидуальный, групповой, метод, недостаток, дефект, ученик начальных классов.
INTRODUCTION
Today, addressing certain shortcomings observed in the speech of primary school students has become an urgent issue. This is because primary school students are in the process of growth and development; they represent a generation that is just beginning to form intellectually and socially. One of the most effective ways to overcome these speech-related challenges is through the development of speech competence.
Eliminating such shortcomings at an early age is crucial, as this period represents the foundation for students’ overall development and cognitive growth. As the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, has emphasized, “Intellectual and cultural potential are invaluable assets of any society.” Educating and nurturing gifted individuals plays a decisive role in shaping the nation’s future.
Therefore, every word, thought, and action of the younger generation must be given special attention. It is essential to show care and support for primary school students and to organize the learning process according to their age-specific characteristics. Teachers play a vital role in encouraging young learners — who are taking their first steps into the world of education — to participate actively in class while maintaining their sense of curiosity, confidence, and creativity. In enhancing students’ speech culture, broadening their thinking capacity, and shaping their worldview, the role of various competences, especially speech competence, is immense.
Competence is the ability to apply one’s theoretical knowledge, practical skills, and experiences effectively in daily life and in solving theoretical and practical problems. The introduction of the competence-based approach in education has led to new methods and perspectives that have significantly contributed to the preparation of qualified specialists.
In modern education, integrating pedagogical and information technologies into the teaching process is considered essential for developing students’ key and subject-based competences. Generally, competences developed in students are divided into two main categories: key competences and subject-specific competences. Some academic sources further classify them into three types: Key competences, General (interdisciplinary) competences, Specific (subject-related) competences
Competences that serve the overall personal development of students are referred to as key competences, while those formed through a specific subject are known as subject competences. Speech competence belongs to the category of subject-specific competences and plays a crucial role in developing students’ speech culture — teaching them to communicate correctly, clearly, and expressively.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Many scholars and methodologists have conducted research on developing speech culture and speech competence among primary school students and teaching them to speak clearly and coherently. For instance, in the book “Methods of Teaching the Native Language in Primary School” by S. Matchanova, H. Bakiyeva, X. Gulyamova, Sh. Yo‘ldosheva, and G. Xolboyeva, the objectives, content, and practical significance of speech development methods are comprehensively covered.
The authors state that the main task of speech development methodology is to create a need and interest in communication among students — encouraging them to speak and interact with others. When this need emerges, students gradually improve their speech, develop a sense of responsibility for their words, and expand their expressive abilities. The authors also view speech not only as a means of communication but as a fundamental component of human thinking, perception, and cognition.
Through speech, students not only express their ideas but also acquire new knowledge, analyze it, and shape their personal worldview. Similarly, in “Methods of Teaching the Native Language” by K. Qosimova, S. Matchanova, X. G‘ulomova, Sh. Yo‘ldosheva, and Sh. Sariyev, the theoretical and practical aspects of developing students’ speech during literacy instruction are analyzed in depth. The main objectives of speech development in this work are defined as follows: Identifying and correcting deficiencies in students’ speech; Expanding their conceptual and imaginative capacity, as well as their vocabulary; Developing skills in understanding word meanings and using them appropriately; Improving coherent speech by teaching students to construct sentences, short stories, and texts logically and coherently, both orally and in writing.
From these sources, it becomes clear that developing speech culture helps to improve not only students’ vocabulary but also their thinking, memory, attention, and communication skills. In modern education, developing speech competence is considered one of the key directions of teaching, as it enables students to express their thoughts independently, logically, and coherently. In this process, the teacher must use individual, group, and interactive methods effectively, considering students’ age and psychological characteristics.
The literature also proposes a set of methodological exercises aimed at speech development, which include: Listening and retelling exercises; Topic-based conversations and role-playing games for developing oral speech; Text-based analysis and rewriting exercises for improving written speech; Working with synonyms, antonyms, and polysemous words to expand vocabulary; Creating stories based on pictures and using proverbs, riddles, and tongue-twisters.
Developing speech culture through speech competence not only improves students’ communication skills, clarity, and expression but also enhances their interest in learning and broadens their worldview. Moreover, it helps them analyze and summarize information independently and express their thoughts accurately and fluently.
Analyses of the process of forming speech culture in primary school students show that developing speech competence is a multi-stage, systematic, and continuous pedagogical process. It is not limited to teaching language skills but is closely linked to students’ personal, social, intellectual, and spiritual development. Most importantly, the teacher’s speech model plays a decisive role in this process.
When the teacher speaks clearly, grammatically correctly, expressively, and understandably, students naturally begin to absorb and imitate that speech culture. Thus, the teacher’s speech serves not only as a means of conveying information but also as an educational influence. Interactive methods play a significant role in speech development. Methods such as “Role Play,” “Brainstorming,” “Learning through Discussion,” “Debate,” and “Cluster Mapping” foster independent thinking, logical reasoning, persuasive communication, and creative expression among students.
These methods also cultivate communication culture and increase social activity. In developing written speech, exercises such as dictations, essays, retellings, story writing based on pictures, text continuation, and word chains enhance not only writing skills but also logical thinking, coherence, and clarity of expression. They also strengthen students’ analytical and creative abilities.
Speech competence is closely connected to reading and listening comprehension skills. If a child lacks the ability to comprehend what they hear, it becomes difficult to express their thoughts clearly. Therefore, reading, listening, speaking, and writing activities must be integrated. Such integration supports the comprehensive development of students’ speech abilities.
The study also found that family environment and psychological climate play an essential role in shaping children’s speech. When parents listen to their children’s thoughts, answer their questions logically, and encourage independent thinking, children become more verbally active. In the classroom, mutual respect, open communication, and trust between teacher and student foster active participation in speech-related activities.
Speech culture is the culture of thought, as speech reflects a person’s intellect, knowledge, and worldview. Each individual expresses emotions, feelings, and ideas through speech. The richness, clarity, and expressiveness of one’s speech indicate their level of thinking. Therefore, developing speech culture in primary school students is one of the key ways to enhance their thinking, cognition, and creativity.
Speech competence includes the following main components: Oral speech skills – the ability to express thoughts clearly, fluently, and expressively while observing communication etiquette; Written speech skills – the ability to express ideas in written form, observing spelling, punctuation, and stylistic norms; Reading and comprehension skills – identifying main ideas from texts, analyzing and summarizing content; Listening comprehension skills – understanding spoken material, identifying main ideas, and answering related questions.
Developing these components systematically helps integrate knowledge, skills, and abilities harmoniously in students. For example, to improve oral speech, students can be asked questions, involved in conversations, and assigned expressive reading of literary texts and poems. Through written speech, students learn to express their ideas correctly in grammatical, lexical, and stylistic terms. Listening and comprehension can be enhanced through technological tools — audio tales, video materials, and interactive games. In conclusion, developing speech culture and speech competence in primary education forms the foundation for raising not only articulate speakers and writers but also logical thinkers, socially active, and culturally mature individuals.
Therefore, teachers’ professional preparation must include deep knowledge of methodological approaches to developing speech activity and their effective application in practice.
CONCLUSION
To sum up, developing each student’s speech means not only improving their speaking and writing skills but also broadening their thinking, worldview, and intellectual capacity. The primary school stage is the most critical period in a child’s formation — this is when their oral and written speech, communication culture, and thinking abilities are developed.
In this process, speech competence plays an essential role. It teaches students not only to know the language but also to use it appropriately, logically, and politely in real-life situations. It develops their ability to think independently, express their ideas clearly and grammatically correctly, listen attentively, and communicate respectfully. Moreover, the formation of speech competence turns students into active participants in the learning process. This, in turn, helps them master not only their native language but also other subjects more deeply, engage in discussions, solve problems, and think creatively.
Thus, developing speech culture in primary education is a complex yet highly effective pedagogical process that integrates knowledge, thinking, morality, and social engagement. In this process, the teacher’s speech example, interactive teaching methods, and supportive family and social environments play decisive roles. We believe that only through such a systematic approach can we raise a future generation of cultured, thoughtful individuals who value the power of words and possess a rich and developed speech competence.
REFERENCES
Ibragimova F., Farsaxonova D., Shukurova X., Mamayusupova S., Xolsaidov F.Methods of Teaching the Native Language in Primary School.– Tashkent: Innovatsiya-Ziyo, 2021.Qorayev S. B., Tirkashev N. I.Main Aspects of Competence-Based Education.– ISSUE, 2022.Matchanova S., Bakiyeva H., Gulyamova X., Yo‘ldosheva Sh., Xolboyeva G.Methods of Teaching the Native Language in Primary School.– Tashkent: Ishonchli Hamkor, 2021.Qosimova K., Matchanov S., G‘ulomova X., Yo‘ldosheva Sh., Sariyev Sh.Methods of Teaching the Native Language.– Tashkent: Nosir Publishing House, 2009.
(Young light skinned Latina woman with long brown hair, a gray and white striped top, and reading glasses)
ARTISAN
In a corner of the earth, an artisan cherishes her loom, which she prepared with colorful thread.
She is a woman who embroiders with love and dedication, blankets that tell stories of the land and its people.
She embroiders fish that swim in a river of colors and textures, and birds that fly, with wings that stretch toward the sky.
She also embroiders masks of her ancestors, with eyes that seem to see, with ancient wisdom passed down by her grandmothers from generation to generation.
Each thread, each stitch, each color is a message sent,
through time and space, to those who know how to listen.
The artisan is surrounded by her creations, with a heart full of pride, and a spirit that is free.
She is a bearer of culture, and her art is a reflection of the beauty and wisdom of her people.
Nidia Amelia García, from Buenos Aires, Argentina, is a writer and an active member of Juntos por las Letras (Together for Letters). She has participated in numerous virtual events in Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Spain, Colombia, Portugal, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and elsewhere. She has also contributed to literary anthologies such as “Books of the Immortals” and “Anthology of the 50 Poets of the World 2022.”
Out of faded afterthought in its spreading yard of white flame
a line of dark that splits the light moves in several directions at once
and before long has left a skyline of hands raised for shade
to better receive the sight of land despite the only definition
being a debt none of us can afford, though our purpose is the image,
to live in it, to know its glow, know the floor of eternity as the back of the mind
which is the image’s way of ending, of achieving stillness, and further
into the image, sleeves are rendered over the bulk of bare wrists, and we,
we become aware it is us seeing it all, that our silence is always our purpose,
is always to see and refuse what is ours, unable to afford what we’re looking at.
If they are present, the warmth is theirs, so I am still agitated,
wounded even by sleep. Carts of fruit have broken in the street.
Everything cannot form neat little lines; some things must splatter to happen.
The recurring aprons have failed their pledge. The self-checkout is gathering cobwebs.
The menus are blowing away in the wind. A couch in the street is the crested horizon.
But I am still here, shoes and everything, and I am absolutely wasting all of my joke.
I find my truth in what I don’t agree with, and from my seat on the airplane
I hear the flight attendant announce the only missing passenger, and it’s me.
—The Banker
To Come
We thought we might shut the anthem up good,
so we drank, watched unspeakable joy capsize,
touched burgundy night, were outraged with ourselves
in the morning, and realized our inexpressiveness
was our only morality, the anthem. It came from
the heart of inconsequence, only to be glimpsed while forgetting.
It came from a place of purity, purity that rang like escape routes
from an implacable faith, where scouting was a shout at water
lathered in streaks of ash. The anthem came from a place
people weren’t sure really existed, yet had memories of,
memories that announced themselves like collective hallucinations
in rehearsal of childhoods to come, but in the end, the anthem
turned out to be nothing more than the stale air
shut away in a room that was locked from the outside.
All the many thin, angled bars of light
slowly floated dust down the old beer signs.
The jukebox again repeated the good song
which spoke clearly in the only voice.
The bad song does not speak in the only voice.
—The Drinker
Cop
Soon it will be dark, and in her lack of sight
her ear will supply all the courtyard birdsong
of trickling water in a cold office bathroom.
There will be an elevator shaft, and in the silent elevator,
her ear will supply the sound of a dog walking in circles.
Outside on a park bench will sit a little harmonica
and passersby will invent a child blowing into it.
When we think of the past, our efforts seem silly.
It’s often difficult to decide on a monument
when every single sleep that comes answering is bare.
A god is vice begins and ends vice
—The Thief
The One in Charge
One day the ice in his glass
did not melt properly
and he discovered he was empty.
But when no one can afford
to relax at the top, how to tell
what relaxing looks like?
We kidded ourselves; we spoke of tar and rain,
balconies and raw meat, sun on umbrellas.
But what we desired most could only suffice
if too much to receive, a place only visible
from the outside, so we looked all over
not for what we had lost, but for the moments we lost it;
we looked for the beautiful ways, the ambitious ways which
in the past, with far more people to know, we lost it all.
—The Second Gunman
Coin into Fountain
Like any precise enough metallic
put to milliseconds across a dome of daylight,
it wasn’t itself as it was happening,
as it was happening, it was something else,
it was a flickering jewel between towers
in shaky blue sky above city traffic,
then the slap of the surface, water closing fast
the circle by mimicry of shape and rushing
across the engraved profile toward itself
until a clash spiraling finger oil upward
to dissolve under the surface and its dialogue
which was then the intact hum of the buried above
while the bottom was struck and all the other coins
already installed long enough to bear small life
fell storied into their own respective borders,
and the dialogue above the surface continues;
who is there left to abandon?
They learn when they buy.
—The Billionaire
Derek Thomas Dew (he/she/they) is a neurodivergent, non-binary poet currently living and teaching in New York City. Derek’s debut poetry collection “Riddle Field” received the 2019 Test Site Poetry Prize from the Black Mountain Institute/University of Nevada. Derek’s poems have appeared in a number of anthologies, and have been published widely, including Interim, ONE ART, Allium, The Maynard, Azarão Lit Journal, Two Hawks Quarterly, Ocean State Review, and Overgrowth Press.
