spilling from the eyes of a retiree cat on the stairs.
My form now a kettle
boiling with longing.
My voice, cracked and dry,
from pleading too long in mud.
Put flowers not on a grave
but on the dinner plate
for I will join you there,
in the bread,
in the steam of coffee,
in laughter bursting too soon
like a mirror too fragile for love.
If you wish to speak,
speak to the wind all tangled in curtains.
If you wish to cry,
I will harvest your tears
and plant them behind the house.
One day, a tree will bloom
its leaves whispering with my voice,
its shadow resembling
somebody you still cherish.
H.MAR
Brunei
The Empty Chair that Hugs Your Breath
The chair is still warm,
although you vanished yesterday.
Even the sky is guilty:
why will the pillow not own up to its loss?
I rest in your memory
an empty space that’s forgotten how to remember.
The floorboards creak,
not beneath footsteps,
but beneath prayers that never learned to find their way out of the throat.
A cup of tea goes cold,
even though I fill remembrance into it each morning.
And that chair
still retains your breath,
like air refusing to be released.
H.MAR
Brunei
Author Biography
Dr. Haji Mohd Ali bin Haji Radin, known by his pen name H.MAR, was born on 5 August 1968 in Brunei Darussalam. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Malay Literature from Universiti Brunei Darussalam and currently serves as a Senior Language Officer at Language and Literature Bureau, under the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Brunei Darussalam. He began writing in 1984, producing works across various genres including poetry, short stories, novels, drama, and essays. His literary works have been published both domestically and internationally, and translated into multiple languages worldwide.
His local publications include Hidup Yang Mati (Anthology of Poems and Short Stories, 1996), Kota Kaca (Novel, 2003 & 2020), Taman ‘O’ (Anthology of Drama and Short Stories, 2003), Gelora (Poetry Collection, 2011 & 2023), Exotis (Short Story Collection, 2018), Taman Mimpi (Drama Collection, 2021) and Pemanah Bulan (Poetry Collection, 2025), all published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Brunei. Internationally, his works include حديقة الفلسفة / Philosophy Garden (Poetry Collection, Morocco, 2022, The Association La Vague Culturelle), Jardins Du Rire (Drama Collection, Egypt, 2023, Diwan Al Arab), Garden X (Short Pieces Collection, Egypt, 2023, Diwan Al Arab), KAMEO Y Las Cartas Perdidas (Short Story Collection, Egypt, 2023, Diwan Al Arab), Moon Archer (Poetry Collection, Egypt, 2023, Diwan Al Arab), Taman O (Drama Collection, Malaysia, 2024, Nusa Centre), Arciere della Luna (Poetry Collection, Egypt, 2025, Diwan Al Arab), and قمرٌ دمويّ / Bloody Moon (Poetry Collection, Egypt, 2025, Diwan Al Arab).
H.MAR’s literary works have been translated into English, French, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Arabic, Chinese, Mexican Spanish, Colombian Spanish, Serbian, Albanian, Macedonian, Uzbek, Turkish, Greek, Nepali, Urdu, and Korean. H.MAR is the recipient of the “Borneo Book Award” Special Book Award from the National Book Development Foundation, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2025.
Mum, i’m an autistic, not a municipal transport company autistic
i know in your mother’s heart you always dreamed of settling down as a state employee,
without the worry of a time card to punch and unemployment
doing eighteen hours a week, three months off, with the anxiety of defiscalising repetition.
Ma, i am an autistic, bad luck has decided to crown, me, as a writer
no, ma, i don’t write therapeutic remedies, no invoice, like the doctor,
i have explained to you a hundred times that i deal in endiads and alliterations
i dialogue, every night, with ghosts and communicate with martians,
and, by now, like the Villa, no ma, not the baker of via Mentana
i mix latin, dialect and the average italian as a seasoned courtesan.
Ma, i’m autistic, i speak in distich, or in anapestic,
but go on, you understand, it’s not like i’ve become spastic,
at most flexible and elastic, says so even the troika,
thrown into life with a rocket like i was Laika,
victim of the artistic environment’s lack of communication
nailed, backwards, on my cenotaph the epitaph: “!Here lies an autistic man”,
since no one can catch me in any verse
or ma, don’t bother me, i’m a deviant.
BEYOND THE BRILLO BOX
My research on the form of writing rises above the Brillo Box,
i throw my verses in the strongbox as if they were in Fort Knox,
start-up, repetition, reproduction give a life sentence to the originality
of the centenarian editors of magazines now forgetful of all abrasiveness,
after all, you know, dentures should not be solicited by intelligent concepts,
by dint of accepting canine verses carmina dant panem only to their teeth,
if we, forty year-old teenagers, have to do Professor Birkermaier’s diet
for them, octogenarian children, it would be time to diagnose a shred of Alzheimer’s.
The current fashion of the granted critic is to bark against the successes of minimalism
milanese or Roman, inn istèss, and we, 1970s ghosts, in search of the coveted minimum space,
because to change the world we could useful the energetic vigour of maximalism,
reading verses in rollian endecasyllables, in 2016, one feels like the victim of an odyssey in agony,
and the punishment of our no-future generations is to make the avant-garde in their forties
intent on claiming a Lebensraum that does not end in Anschluss,
we Heermann condemned by flexibility to never blossom into arimanni,
find ourselves re-knotting catheters to old specialists in trobar clus .
What do we have to do in order to achieve our fifteen seconds of fame
show our asses on Barbara D’Urso, edit the cultural columns of L’Unità
or patent rhymes that you mere mortals wouldn’t even dare to imagine
barking dog does not sleep and asleep – as you would like us – does not help us bite,
is woken by the caresses of an emir the late-modern Sleeping Beauty by cocaine
available to suck US gal of black gold like a petrol pump,
ladies, transgenders and gentlemen annuntio vobis gaudium magnum the fairytale is over
the generations beyond the Brillo Box will have to nibble leftovers food under the laden table
THE BALLAD OF LUIGINO: SAVINGS BANK
Luigino, sixty-eight years old, was killed
strangled by a ‘save-bank’ decree invented by a state
victim, always interested, of the fear of sanctions established by the EU with an ordinance
and uncaring, on the other, when sanctions came for years on the absence of citizenship income,
a camorrist state that throws itself at bailing out banks
and citizens are left to hope for the intervention of the Malebranche group,
in the Malebolge of the italian credit system, as in the case of Banca Etruria,
130,000 idiots to save the bank, and nine or ten to share slices of watermelon.
An Enel employee, Luigino, not a senior manager of a subsidiary holding company,
go figure out the difference between an ordinary bond and a subordinated one,
that if one, without his knowledge, is liable for the debts of a large capital company,
at least he should have the right, once a year, to have brunch in a Ferrari,
the Ferrari, or the Jaguar, of the CEO expert in deceit
that, if he were Nippon, would turn a hanging into harakiri,
because the manager is European or American he has exchanged shame for courage
the courage to continue, under a new name, to collect medals of fraud and agiotage.
Luigino died with a rope around his neck
like the millions of wretches destined for slaughterhouse,
with a click from a bunker in Berlin or London the super-capital
erases an entire life by turning the consumer into a pig,
nothing is thrown away, of the consumer, the consumed-consumer is thrown away
in the Caliphate, at least,it takes three minutes for a westerner to be slaughtered,
not sixty-eight years, torn apart by the alternation of bail-out or bail-in, like slot-machines,
tel disi mi, bilòtt, inn tücc bàll would have sentenced, with a serious air, my grandmother Ines.
THEY ARE ALL BULLSHIT
The new EU directives, Deutschland über alles,
direct the leaders of each member state to cure their herpes
of failing banks with the money of the good people,
who have nothing to do with bank boards.
The infamous bank bail-in has been in force since the beginning of the year
to be interpreted by holding the criminal code in the right hand and a dictionary in the left,
every saver – vile vintage breed – will have to empty flasks of En,
in the fear that the plutocrats will screw our ‘five pippi’ like Belen’s hardcore movie,
shareholder, subordinated bondholder, ordinary bondholder, current account holder
willing to go pantyless with the nonchalance of the abused naturist,
will see their hubris lubricated in not contributing to the rise of credit consumption
while waiting for the breakthrough of their interbank deposit protection funds.
This of the European Union is a truly hyper-liberal trick
covering the banker’s hole with the asshole of every current account holder,
everyone is capable of acting like a faggot with other people’s ass
bailing out millionaires with the money of the unfortunate is not a job for scoundrels,
after having divided the cake they blame the stock market crash in Kuala Lumpur
and the savers to go the way of the Thousand in Count Cavour’s cunning strategy.
Let us get the concept straight: if the Garbatella’charcutier goes bankrupt
will those who bought caciotta and mortadella also be involved in his debts?
THE BALLAD OF POLITICALLY INCORRECT
If you end up electrocuted on the road to Damascus
in today’s conditions it will have been the logos of a russian missile,
i, fruit of a Madonna conceived by a Bergamo’s butcher
i write, maalox, emitting verses in reflux acid,
i’m not thirsty for fame or hungry for silk
with rough syntagms it does’t print a degree as a «poet»,
in Italy Fornero has increased the brain-drain
either those who remain are headless, or cling to the Bacchelli.
Damascus, the metaphor of transition, the city of the Nabateans,
today victim of the conversion of hand grenades into money,
the multinationals of weapons study the marketing of the wounded
the multinational pharmaceutical companies study the marketing of the malnourished sick
the multinationals of the Northern European Union study to reduce the debt
to the southern nations of Europe that transform themselves into refugee camps,
the multinationals of this shit study how to cover this horrible hard film
outsourcing immense multitudes of homeless people in the streets of Milan.
The universal Catholic Church is struggling with the adoptions of consenting faggots,
so much so that the IOR bankers act like fags with the holes of our current accounts,
indulgence to hulls, smugglers and skilleds, and the italian catches it in the behind,
it would be enough to unload 300,000 fake syrians on the churchyard of St. Peter’s Square
let the good Pope Francis support them all, with the sacred gold of faith,
because if Padre Pio had been on the throne he would have given us a manner rough,
kicking the asses of libyan prisoners, hotel expenses, who ask for wi-fi
and a citizen’s income for the italian who sleeps in his car ruined by the usual puppeteers.
If you end up electrocuted on the road to Damascus
or a] you are Paul of Tarsus or b] you are the CEO of Esso,
in the Italy Toyland they blind you with the shares of Monte del Pasco
Pinocchio, oh, by dint of jerking off he has become a fool,
in the Paschi, horny maremma, they buttfuck you with the abigeat
and the creative balance of multinationals is never a crime,
if Monti sharks you or they steal ten rams from you, you don’t get pissed off
from the raffle of those who grab you will be rewarded with a tax bill.
Ivan Pozzoni was born in Monza in 1976. He introduced Law and Literature in Italy and the publication of essays on Italian philosophers and on the ethics and juridical theory of the ancient world; He collaborated with several Italian and international magazines. Between 2007 and 2024, different versions of the books were published: Underground and Riserva Indiana, with A&B Editrice, Versi Introversi, Mostri, Galata morente, Carmina non dant damen, Scarti di magazzino, Qui gli austriaci sono più severi dei Borboni, Cherchez la troika e La malattia invettiva con Limina Mentis, Lame da rasoi, with Joker, Il Guastatore, with Cleup, Patroclo non deve morire, with deComporre Edizioni and Kolektivne NSEAE with Divinafollia. He was the founder and director of the literary magazine Il Guastatore – «neon»-avant-garde notebooks; he was the founder and director of the literary magazine L’Arrivista; he is the editor and chef of the international philosophical magazine Información Filosófica. It contains a fortnight of autogérées socialistes edition houses.
He wrote 150 volumes, wrote 1000 essays, founded an avant-garde movement (NéoN-avant-gardisme, approved by Zygmunt Bauman), and wrote an Anti-manifesto NéoN-Avant-gardiste. This is mentioned in the main university manuals of literature history, philosophical history and in the main volumes of literary criticism. His book La malattia invettiva wins Raduga, mention of the critique of Montano et Strega. He is included in the Atlas of contemporary Italian poets of the University of Bologne and is included several times in the major international literature magazine, Gradiva. His verses are translated into 25 languages. In 2024, after six years of total retrait of academic studies, he return to the Italian artistic world and melts the NSEAE Kolektivne (New socio/ethno/aesthetic anthropology) [https://kolektivnenseae.wordpress.com/].
a bent nail, a handful of mulch two mismatched buttons
and no explanation at all
Rain at Tipperary Station
I left the city before dawn,
bags light but exhausted
a sheep grazes by the fence
no timetable posted
the train comes once a week
or maybe not at all
I approach the small brick building
stone platform damp with moss
Tipperary sign flaking green paint
rails dark with rain
cupping my hands
to breathe warmth
into the cold iron smell
a single gull drifts over the hill
and disappears into fog
in my coat pocket
a ring of keys I forgot to return
the station clock still ticks
but no one waits
only a paper cup rolling
end to end along the platform
rain my only company
Obedience
I found myself sitting still
the litter box in the corner
hours gone before I noticed
the sour aroma rising
I had not moved to clean it
the cat began to watch me
a calm stare unblinking
as if he understood the change
his eyes fixed steady on mine
quietly saying obey me
soon I was skipping work
to refill his dish with chicken
ordering catnip in bulk
canceling dates and dinners
for extra hours of petting
my mother wrinkled her nose
father scowled at the box
he said this is no joke
toxoplasma gondii lives in there
it gets inside and bends the will
he spoke of rodents drawn to cats
of lives cut short in teeth and claws
I only stroked the warm fur
calm as a priest at prayer
my father said one day you will not know
where the parasite ends and you begin
I shouted for them to leave
kicked the door shut
their footsteps fading on the stairs
perhaps it is my own desire
to serve this harmless pet
or perhaps it is a parasite
humming in my head
telling me I am happiest this way
Baskin Cooper is a poet and visual artist based in Chatham County, North Carolina. A PhD in psychology who lived in Cork, Ireland, he explores folklore, lyricism, and personal history through multiple art forms. His work has appeared in Ink & Oak, Verse-Virtual, O2 Haiku, and ONE ART, with new work forthcoming in The Khaotic Good and The Woodside Review.
Interactive Methods for Increasing Preschool Children’s Interest in Learning the German Language
Abstract
The article analyzes the role and significance of interactive methods in developing preschool children’s interest in learning the German language. The effectiveness of methods such as games, songs, drawings, multimedia tools, and interactive activities in early language learning is scientifically substantiated. In addition, the paper outlines ways to develop children’s communicative skills through the use of modern educational technologies.
Keywords: German language, preschool education, interactive method, motivation, game technology, early language learning.
INTRODUCTION
In today’s era of globalization, teaching foreign languages from an early age has become one of the strategic priorities of every national education system. Learning foreign languages, particularly German, at an early stage develops children’s intellectual potential, broadens their worldview, and nurtures respect for the culture of other nations. The Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan “On Preschool and School Education” and the “New Uzbekistan – Development Strategy 2030” set forth the task of gradually introducing foreign language teaching into the preschool education system.
Language learning at an early age is considered a natural process. Between the ages of 3 and 6, a child’s speech apparatus, auditory perception, phonemic hearing, and communicative ability are actively developing. During this period, a child can easily acquire not only their native language but also foreign languages. Therefore, to enhance the effectiveness of teaching German in preschool institutions, educators are required to make wide use of interactive methods.
Interactive methods ensure that children actively participate in the learning process, think independently, and enjoy the process of learning. Such an approach strengthens intrinsic motivation, sparks interest in language learning, and develops communication skills.
Therefore, this article explores interactive methods for increasing preschool children’s interest in learning German, their theoretical foundations, and practical application possibilities.
MAIN PART
1. Theoretical foundations of early foreign language learning
Language is one of the most important indicators of human thinking, and learning it at an early age lays the foundation not only for linguistic but also for cognitive development. Psychologists such as L. S. Vygotsky, J. Piaget, and E. Lenneberg have scientifically proven that children’s ability to acquire languages is most active between the ages of 2 and 6. During this stage, children tend to learn through play, songs, movement, and visualization.
Hence, teachers should organize the educational process considering children’s psycholinguistic characteristics. The most effective approach combines visual, auditory, and kinesthetic methods.
The German language, with its pronunciation system and phonetic richness, helps develop children’s articulation and sound culture. For example, pronouncing sounds like “ch”, “sch”, “ei”, “eu” in words helps improve speech development, positively influencing their pronunciation in their native language as well.
2. The content and types of interactive methods
Interactive methods are approaches in which learners actively participate, express their thoughts, and gain experience. In preschool education, the following interactive methods are considered the most effective:
1. Game-based technologies.
Play is the most natural and effective tool for language learning. Through games like “Find the Color,” “Choose the Animal,” or “What is this?”, children reinforce new words and learn to use them in context. For example, short expressions such as Was ist das? – Das ist ein Ball are easy to remember.
2. Teaching through songs and poems. German children’s songs (such as Alle meine Entchen, Guten Morgen!, Zehn kleine Fische) make lessons lively, improve pronunciation, and help develop a sense of rhythm. Repetition in songs aids vocabulary retention.
3. Role play.
Through situational activities such as “At the Store,” “At Home,” or “In the Garden,” children practice real communication scenarios. This method fosters confidence and active participation.
4. Using multimedia and interactive resources.
Modern technologies such as Wordwall, Kahoot, and LearningApps generate great interest among children. With visuals, sounds, videos, and animations, children learn through seeing, hearing, and movement simultaneously.
5. Creating a “language environment.”
Displaying German words, colorful posters, and organizing a “language corner” in the classroom allows children to experience the foreign language naturally.
6. Interactive lessons involving parents.
Activities like “Family Day” or “Language Game Day” engage parents alongside their children. This fosters a positive emotional atmosphere and strengthens children’s motivation.
3. The importance of play and emotional atmosphere
Emotional atmosphere plays a crucial role in language learning. Psychological studies show that when children experience joy, surprise, and excitement, they retain information more effectively. Therefore, using games, humor, and colorful visual materials in German lessons is essential.
For example, during “Let’s Sing Together” activities, children not only hear the words but also accompany them with gestures, which develops their motor skills.
Moreover, a teacher’s positive energy and encouraging words (“Sehr gut!” “Prima!” “Super!”) boost children’s self-confidence. Thus, the teacher not only teaches the language but also nurtures self-esteem and positive emotional development.
4. Practical experiences and observations
Observations conducted in several public and private preschools in Tashkent, Samarkand, and Namangan regions have shown that lessons using interactive methods engage children 30–40% more actively and double their vocabulary acquisition rate.
For instance, during the “Language and Culture Week”, children easily learned expressions such as “Ich bin Anna,” “Ich habe eine Katze.” Through drawing, singing, and role-playing, they actively participated in communication.
Additionally, classrooms with a “Picture Vocabulary Wall” (Bildwörterwand) helped children memorize words more effectively by seeing them daily. Such visual methods strengthen visual memory.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, increasing preschool children’s interest in learning German requires using interactive methods that suit their age, psychological, and linguistic characteristics. Lessons that integrate play, music, movement, and emotional engagement encourage active learning.
The most effective approaches in teaching German include:
1. Organizing lessons through play and ensuring children’s active participation.
2. Using songs, pictures, and multimedia to make lessons engaging.
3. Creating a “language environment” and involving parents in the learning process.
4. Applying an individual approach and motivation system for each child.
The application of interactive methods enables children to enjoy learning foreign languages, express their thoughts, retain new knowledge, and develop independent learning skills.
Thus, teaching German at an early age through interactive methods is a key factor in improving the quality of preschool education, developing children’s communicative competence, and preparing them for successful future language learning.
REFERENCES
1. Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Harvard University Press.
2. Piaget, J. (1962). Play, Dreams and Imitation in Childhood. W. W. Norton & Company.
3. Lenneberg, E. H. (1967). Biological Foundations of Language. Wiley.
4. Cameron, L. (2001). Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Cambridge University Press.
5. Brewster, J., Ellis, G., & Girard, D. (2002). The Primary English Teacher’s Guide. Pearson Education.
6. Pinter, A. (2017). Teaching Young Language Learners. Oxford University Press.
7. Harmer, J. (2015). The Practice of English Language Teaching (5th ed.). Pearson Education.
8. Wright, A., Betteridge, D., & Buckby, M. (2006). Games for Language Learning (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
9. Rixon, S. (2013). British Council Survey of Policy and Practice in Primary English Language Teaching Worldwide. British Council.
10. Ellis, R., & Shintani, N. (2014). Exploring Language Pedagogy through Second Language Acquisition Research. Routledge.
Nilufar Mo‘ydinova was born in Qo‘shtepa district, Fergana region, Republic of Uzbekistan. A graduate of the Uzbekistan State University of World Languages, she works as a manager at “Fair Print” Typography Service. Her articles have appeared in Bekajon, Kenya Times, The Diaspora Times Global, and Synchaos. Member of the International Writers’ Association of Argentina (Grupo de Trabajo de Escritores Internacionales – Argentina), holder of international certificates, Global Ambassador for Peace, and participant in international anthologies and conferences.
You are my wealth, my dearest and unique, And always because of you my speech is art. Don’t let your peace be broken and bleak, I will not let your candle in my heart depart.
Your presence means that my existence is true, I have no happiness and joy apart from you My nation, in my heart, pride I knew, For you are the light that illuminates my way anew.
Abdusaidova Jasmina Quvondiqovna A student of class 8-“D” at School No. 22, Gallaorol district, Jizzakh region. Born on July 20, 2011. I am interested in artistic skills such as drawing and writing poetry.
