PROBLEMS THAT ARISE IN THE PROCESS OF TEACHING A FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND THEIR SOLUTIONS

Annotation: This article highlights the description of useful options which helps to think in English.

With the development of the period, the need and demand for learning a language have increased so much that nowadays there is a need to know a foreign language in almost every field. In particular, English has become one of the most studied languages in the world. The demand and supply for young personnel who can perfectly learn this language and contemplate in this one are increasing more and more. However, a question arises: “Why is it difficult for us to think in this
language?”, “How we can debate, praise and criticize in this language?”. These
questions will be answered fully, clearly, and with examples in this article.

Some reasons that prevent us from thinking in English and one of them is the use of bilingual dictionaries. That is, if we want to know the meaning of a word or phrase, we use bilingual dictionaries, from English to native language or from native to English. Many students continue to refer to these translation dictionaries whenever they want to know the meaning of a word because they have been taught the grammar-translation method since kindergarten and school and it has become a habit for them, however, it is very urgent that we should break this mode. Because of big differences between languages in terms of vocabulary, translation, grammar, and structure, we confront with a plenty of obstacles when we want to know how a word in Uzbek is called in English, we may not find this word in dictionaries, or we may find a word used in a completely different meaning in dictionaries. We know that every language has its own and figurative words, and in the process of translation we come across words with completely different meanings from bilingual dictionaries. In addition, it takes a lot of time to think and translate in a conversation – this leads to pauses, hesitations and the inability to speak quickly and fluently.

The reasons mentioned above are known to eradicate our study on foreign language. Even so, there are several methods and specific rules to overcome such misunderstandings and defects. If we follow them strictly, we can soon notice a great revolution, and we can communicate in English fluently and become proficient in meditating on English. To begin with, we should surround ourselves with English. This does not mean going to an English-speaking country, and even we can accomplish this task at our home. For this, we need to do a day of English for 10 minutes every day, and we should regard this time not as study time, but as a fun and interesting process. Later, we can gradually increase this time from 10 minutes to 20, 30, 40 and more minutes. At this time, we can listen to podcasts, listen to the radio or music, read blogs, magazines and books or watch the English movies that we like, and during this time we can do two things. Firstly, we can listen passively. At that moment, we reduce the stress and pressure and it helps us to learn the language deeply. We also get the opportunity to get to know the speech and pronunciation of native speakers and increase our range of vocabulary. The other is that we have the opportunity to repeat the words and phrases we perceive and find out, and this is very beneficial for regulating pronunciation standards.

Moreover, we should only turn to account words that we know and have already learned. Sometimes we try to explain or express an idea while speaking, but we don’t acquire knowledge of vocabulary. At this time, we endeavour to find the translation of this word in the dictionary or ask someone for a translation. Maybe it helps us to increase our vocabulary, but it has a defective effect on the fluency of our speech. Therefore, it is preferable to use only words that we acquainted with. Although these words are very elementary, if the speech is carried out fluently without pauses and word searches, we will be successful. If we don’t have enough vocabulary to explain something, we need to look around the word, by this we mean that, we can think of synonyms or alternatives for that word. If we can’t find them either, it’s best to refrain from expressing that thought or idea.

The next point is that we should start learning from small and build it up step by step. It is challenging to ruminate about this non-native language, however, we can initiate this from learning only simple words, after that, we broaden this range by being informed of collocations, phrases, simple and complex sentences. One of the most conventional and predominant ways is looking at a picture and illustrating it. At first, we start by saying only the name of the item, subject, person and event depicted in this picture which we know the translation of. Then, we make phrases with adjectives or pronouns from the ones mentioned above. We make simple sentences from word combinations, and complex sentences from simple sentences. Then we get used to doing this exercise when we walk down the street, do shopping, go to the doctor’s office, wait in queue at the bank. By repeating this actions permanently, we learn to describe, analyze and evaluate the events and cases happening around us. Thus, we rise from the bottom to the top. Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky said that the inner voice, our thinking came from the internalization of the outer voice. The inner voice in our head is the same as when we speak. There is one difference and it is our muscles. We do not make use of our muscles when we think, but we utilize when we speak. That is why, this process of thinking, speaking, thinking, and speaking through practice we can amplify it and help us to think in English.

Another strategy is that we should use English in our daily life. We should keep a diary and when we wake up in the morning, we should write in it our plans for the day, the tasks that we need to do, and at the end of the day, how our day was, what events happened, and what plans we made in our diary. Due to the repetition of such kind of workouts, we learn to use English in everyday life and use it correctly. Of course, there is a huge difference between speaking and writing, and they are separated from each other. But, according to some researches, writing and speaking are connected to each other in some cases. For instance, both of this skills require to meditate, criticize, prove or explain the phenomenon and it is depend on ourselves how to express this. However, we cannot write the way we speak. By taking notes, making some sentences on our diary, we learn to write cohesively and coherently in English without translation and a dictionary. As I highlighted above, we should only use the words we know.

In addition to this, as we know, practice is the most important part of learning language, as well as English. When we practice speaking with our friends, teachers, family members or other people, we will be more aware of events or things that are happening around us. So, we will more likely to think in English in order to make conversation with our partners.

The last option is that we should be monolingual. As I mentioned above, when we search words which we don’t know in bilingual dictionary, we may face some difficulties to find the exact translation or meaning. It is better to use monolingual ones that show the synonyms or definitions. By this, we can focus only on one language, enlarge our range of vocabulary and learn to think in this language.

All in all the discussion in this article has clearly shown some causes which disturb us from learning language completely and properly, and a huge number of options and strategies which help us to think in English, speak fluently and smoothly like native speakers and break up the barriers that we may face. By following these rules, we hope that students, even language learners can adapt to the English environment and live in it!

Cross cultural communication 
       
Annotation: This article illustrates a several number of opinions about the cross-cultural communication , in different parts of world
Key words: Cross-culture, communication,  endeavor, investigating,  geographies, intercultural 

      Cross-cultural communication is a field of study investigating how people from differing cultural backgrounds communicate, in similar and different ways among themselves, and how they endeavor to communicate across cultures. Intercultural communication is a related field of study. Often referred to as intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication is the study of how verbal and nonverbal communication takes place among individuals from different backgrounds, geographies, and cultures.

      As you can see, the definition is very straightforward, but learning how to implement cross-cultural communication into your career is not as black and white. Communication is also the core of publishing statements to broad audiences, monitoring all communication coming from clients, and preparing stakeholders for the worst are all duties of a PR professional.

With the globalization of businesses, PR professionals, in particular, must learn about cross-cultural communication and its impact on the PR industry so they don't make the mistake of misrepresenting a culture.

It is important to note before diving into the details of cross-cultural communication that there are cultural generalizations that do not account for specific individuals in a culture. For example, different countries around the world interpret hand gestures in different ways.  
Since cross-cultural communication is how people belonging to different cultures communicate with each other, there are bound to be clashes between different cultures. One tactic to reduce these clashes is prioritizing diversity when hiring. When people from differing cultures work toward a common goal, the risk of offensive misunderstandings decreases, and the quality of work increases.

          Communication is the exchange of meaning: it is my attempt to let you know what I mean. Communication includes any behavior that another human being perceives and interprets: it is your understanding of what I mean. Communication includes sending both verbal messages (words) and nonverbal messages (tone of voice, facial expression, behavior, and physical setting). It includes consciously sent messages as well as messages that the sender is totally unaware of sending. Whatever I say and do, I cannot help communicating. Communication therefore involves a complex, multilayered, dynamic process through which we exchange meaning. 

Every communication has a message sender and a message receiver. The sent message is never identical to the received message. Why? Communication is indirect; it is a symbolic behavior. Ideas, feelings, and pieces of information cannot be communicated directly but must be externalized or symbolized before being communicated. Encoding describes the producing of a symbol message. Decoding describes the receiving of a message from a symbol. The message sender must encode his or her meaning into a form that the receiver will recognize-that is, into words and behavior. Receivers must then decode the words and behavior - the symbols - back into messages that have meaning for them. 

For example because the Cantonese word for “eight” sounds like jaat, which means prosperity, a Hong Kong textile manufacturer Mr. Lau Ting-pong paid $5 million in 1988 for car registration number 8. A year later a European millionaire paid $4.8 million at Hong Kong’s Lunar New Year auction for vehicle registration number 7, a decision that mystified the Chinese, since the number 7 has little significance in the Chinese calculation of fortune. Translating meanings into words and behaviors - that is into symbols - and back again into meanings is based on a person's cultural background and is not the same for each person. The greater the difference in background between senders and receivers, the greater the difference in meanings attached to particular words and behaviors. 

Cross-cultural communication occurs when a person from one culture sends message to a person from another culture. Cross-cultural miscommunication occurs when the person from the second culture does not receive the sender's intended message. The greater the differences between the sender's and the receiver's cultures, the greater the chance for cross-cultural miscommunication. 

Communication does not necessarily result in understanding. Cross-cultural communication continually involves misunderstanding caused by misperception, misinterpretation, and misevaluation. When the sender of a message comes from one culture and the receiver from another, the chances of accurately transmitting a message are low. Foreigners see, interpret, and evaluate things differently, and consequently act upon them differently. In approaching cross-cultural situations, one should therefore assume difference until similarity is proven. It is also important to recognize that all behavior makes sense through the eyes of the person behaving and that logic and rationale are culturally relative. In cross-cultural situations, labeling behavior as bizarre usually reflects culturally based misperception, misinterpretation, and misevaluation; rarely does it reflect intentional malice or pathologically motivated behavior. Unwritten rules reflect a culture's interpretation of its surroundings.

          CROSS-CULTURAL MISPERCEPTION No two national groups see the world in exactly the same way. Perception is the process by which each individual selects, organizes, and evaluates stimuli from the external environment to provide meaningful experiences for himself or herself. Perceptual patterns are neither innate nor absolute. They are selective, learned, culturally determined, consistent, and inaccurate. • Perception is selective. At any one time there are too many stimuli in the environment for us to observe. Therefore, we screen out most of what we see, hear, taste, and feel. We screen out the overload and allow only selected information through our perceptual screen to our conscious mind. • Perceptual patterns are learned. We are not born seeing the world in one particular way. Our experience teaches us to perceive the world in certain ways. • Perception is culturally determined. We learn to see the world in a certain way based on our cultural background. • Perception tends to remain constant. Once we see something in a particular way, we continue to see it that way. • We therefore see things that do not exist, and do not see things that do exist. 

Our interests, values, and culture act as filters and lead us to distort, block, and even create what we choose to see and hear. We perceive what we expect to perceive. We perceive things according to what we have been trained to see, according to our cultural map. The distorting impact of perceptual filters causes us to see things that do not exist.

     Interpretation occurs when an individual gives meaning to observations and their relationships; it is the process of making sense out of perceptions. Interpretation organizes our experience to guide our behavior. Based on our experience, we make assumptions about our perceptions so we will not have to rediscover meanings each time we encounter similar situations. For example, we make assumptions about how doors work, based on our experience of entering and leaving rooms; thus we do not have to relearn each time we have to open a door. Similarly, when we smell smoke, we generally assume there is a fire. Our consistent patterns of interpretation help us to act appropriately and quickly within our day-to-day world. Categories Since we are constantly bombarded with more stimuli than we can absorb and more perceptions than we can keep distinct, we only perceive those images that may be meaningful. We group perceived images into familiar categories that help to simplify our environment, become the basis for our interpretations, and allow us to function in an otherwise overly complex world. 

Categories of perceived images become ineffective when we place people and things in the wrong group. Cross-cultural miscategorization occurs when I use my home country categories to make sense out of foreign situations. Stereotypes Stereotyping involves a form of categorization that organizes our experience and guides our behavior toward ethnic and national groups. Stereotypes never describe individual behavior; rather, they describe the behavioral norm for members of a particular group. Stereotypes, like other forms of categories, can be helpful or harmful depending on how we use them. Effective stereotyping allows people to understand and act appropriately in new situations. A stereotype can be helpful when it is • Consciously held. The person should be aware that he or she is describing a group norm rather than the characteristics of a specific individual. • Descriptive rather than evaluative. The stereotype should describe what people from this group will probably be like and not evaluate those people as good or bad. • Accurate. The stereotype should accurately describe the norm for the group to which the person belongs. • The first best guess about a group prior to having direct information about the specific person or persons involved.

     Modified, based on further observation and experience with the actual people and situations. A subconsciously held stereotype is difficult to modify or discard even after we collect real information about a person, because it is often thought to reflect reality. If a subconscious stereotype also inaccurately evaluates a person or situation, we are likely to maintain an inappropriate, ineffective, and frequently harmful guide to reality. Managers ranked "most internationally effective" by their colleagues altered their stereotypes to fit the actual people involved, whereas managers ranked "least internationally effective" continued to maintain their stereotypes even in the face of contradictory information. To be effective, international managers must therefore be aware of cultural stereotypes and learn to set them aside when faced with contradictory evidence. They cannot pretend not to stereotype. If stereotyping is so useful as an initial guide to reality, why do people criticize it? The answer is that we have failed to accept stereotyping as a natural process and have consequently failed to learn to use it to our advantage. 

For years we have viewed stereotyping as a form of primitive thinking, as an unnecessary simplification of reality. We have also viewed stereotyping as immoral: stereotypes can be inappropriate judgments of individuals based on inaccurate descriptions of groups. It is true that labeling people from a certain ethnic group as "bad" is immoral, but grouping individuals into categories is neither good nor bad-it simply reduces a complex reality to manageable dimensions. Negative views of stereotyping simply cloud our ability to understand people's actual behavior and impair our awareness of our own stereotypes.          

   Bibliography:

   ADLER J. N. (1991) International Dimensions of Organizational Behaviour. 2nd ed. PWS-KENT Publishing Company.
  Beamer L., & I.Varner (2001) Intercultural Communication in the Global Workplace. 2nd ed. N.Y.: McGraw-Hill.
    Condon, J.C. & Yousef. F.S. (1975). Introduction to intercultural communication. New York: Bobbs-Merrill Company. 
  Gudykunst, W. B., & Kim, Y. Y. (1992). Communicating with strangers: An approach to intercultural communication (2nd ed.). 
  New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc. Hall, E.T. (1959). The silent language. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday. Lewis, R.( 1997) When Cultures Collide, Doubleday.
      

The heart of the poet

The poet's heart does not want evil
He seems to consider the enemy as a friend
Turns bad into good
 
Best wishes come true
The poet's heart does not want evil
He doesn't chase an elusive dream
A wish becomes a goal
If you live without a purpose your heart does not want separation
So that tears don't flow from these cups

No one should suffer the pain of separation
Let them endure every pain with patience
The heart of the poet advocates goodness
May this bright world become heaven 
May all good intentions be answered.

First of all, letting everyone know that we’ve picked a date for the Hayward Lit Hop, a community festival with different readings and events up and down B Street in Hayward, CA.

The third annual Lit Hop will take place the afternoon of Saturday, April 27th and we encourage everyone reading this who is in the area to attend! More information and a video clip showing off the Hop and how it works here on our website.

Secondly, Clare Songbirds Publishing House (CSPH) is launching its inaugural Elizabeth Royal Patton Memorial Poetry Competition. More about poet and English teacher Elizabeth Royal Patton here.

The Elizabeth Royal Patton Memorial Poetry Competition will be blind judged by a panel of five judges and cash prizes will be awarded to the top three poems. An anthology will be published with all the poems that make it through the first round of judging and each poet with an entry in the anthology will receive a free copy. All submissions must be sent via Submittable and the full rules and the link are here. The submission period will be from February 1 through April 18, 2024.

Now, for this month’s second issue, Grief and Joy. These feelings coexist here in abundance.

Nosirova Gavhar offers up a playful and happy glimpse of winter while windswept canyons drive E.T.’s speaker to silence.

Nigora Togaeva revels in the natural and cultural beauty and richness of the Uzbek region of Kashkadarya. Sayani Mukherjee’s work radiates the beauty of a cluster of golden poppies. Mahbub Alam remembers the wondrous scenes he’s seen in person and in his mind’s eye.

Peter Magliocco also speaks of memory, and aging and fading romantic and sexual desire while J.D. Nelson expresses his quiet weariness facing everyday life and its mishaps.

Taylor Dibbert reflects on the life of his beloved dog. Isabel Gomes de Diego surrounds us with our mortality with her images of the Chapel of Bones in Evora, Portugal while Bill Tope’s taut horror story presents retribution for thefts from beyond the grave.

Stephen Jarrell Williams speaks of different types of loss: the lack of physical and relational and spiritual homes, a departure on a train, and the fading of sunshine. George Gad Economou shares his booze-fueled dreams of leaving the past behind to move into the future.

Faleeha Hassan’s speaker plods along on a heavy wagon ride weighed down by sorrow. Safarova Zarnigor expresses the angst of being an old soul looking for love in a new world while J.J. Campbell searches for connection in a lonely town and stage of life.

Eva Lianou Petropolou laments how the children of Gaza will come of age in a time punctuated by war. Mykyta Ryzhykh speculates on unheard perspectives and untold stories buried under rubble. John Mellender relates a night in jail after an intense political protest in mock-epic verse while Daniel De Culla makes a mockery of the obscenity of war and power-hungry leaders. Walter Shulits also lambastes American political and economic power brokers in his epic series of poems while Ian Copestick blasts racism in law enforcement.

Sabrid Jahan Mahin urges us to be strong in a harsh and selfish world. Gulsanam Qurbonova encourages readers to think positively and avoid useless gossip while Lobar Davronova encourages moderation in the use of social media.

Yoldosheva Farangiz illustrates the transformation of a boy guided away from a life of mindless distraction to one of study. Guzal Sunnatova thanks her sister and her teacher for their encouragement to write and study poetry.

Tolquinboyeva Odinaxon writes of awakenings, moving from a hot summer to a fresh new autumn school year.

Continuing with the school theme, Sevinch Tulquinova describes technical tools that can help college students learn language. Meylieva Zebiniso discusses psychological and pedagogical teaching techniques. Madina Fayzullayeva points out resources to help students organize and cite research papers. Baratov Quvonchbek encourages students to learn fundamentals of media literacy to be able to evaluate information. Maftuna Umaraliyeva discusses methods of helping English language learners grasp idioms while Asilabonu Sobirova outlines ways to help English language learners improve their reading skills.

Alan Catlin constructs numbered short verses that link ideas and fragments in unusual, but resonant, ways. Vernon Frazer joins and juxtaposes fragments to suggest nebulous processes: the slow destruction of a reputation, the passage of human history. Patrick Sweeney crafts thoughtful one-liners that request multiple readings.

Shahnoza Ochildiyeva exults in the many wonderful summer activities available to Uzbek school children. Gulasal Nematjanavna highlights the optimism of and the opportunities open to Uzbekistan’s fresh generation of youth leaders.

Bangladeshi poet Muntasir Mamun Kiron extols the glorious historical tradition conveyed in the Bangla language. Barnokhan Ruziyeva describes academic programs in linguistics and translation that propel Uzbekistan into thought leadership in those fields.

Zuhra Ruzmetova finds nurturance in the bosom of her motherland of Uzbekistan. Others find care and companionship in more personal relationships.

Lilian Dipasupil Kunimasa celebrates life and friendship in pieces that peal with gentle musicality. Annie Johnson evokes the sweet comfort of sleep and memories of love and care.

Elmaya Jabbarova evokes the mysteries of how love begins, and how it fades. Graciela Noemi Villaverde suggests that passionate love can bring us to a form of divine eternity in our own minds while Maja Milojkovic compares deep, spiritual love to religious practice. Kristy Raines’ speaker describes a close intimate relationship that has brought her comfort and peace.

Ahmad Al-Khatat urges men who have found true love to appreciate the women dear to them. John Edward Culp invites listeners to hear love’s eternal story. Duane Vorhees describes sensuality and human thought and feeling through clever metaphor.

Jerry Langdon crafts a love poem that resembles a pop song, along with describing serious depression.

Mesfakus Salahin draws on religious and natural metaphors to convey grief. Dildora Toshtemirova mourns but looks forward to better days.

Diyora Kholmatjonova poetically grieves her departed mother while Sevinch Omonova encourages hers to find happiness in life. Nilufar Tokhtaboydva urges respect for parents due to the countless ways parents care and sacrifice for their children.

Gulsevar Xojamova provides a poignant reminder that not everyone has parental support while Akramova Shiringul Furqatjon illustrates the miracles that can happen through compassion and noticing the suffering people around us.

Nilufar Ergasheva illustrates her family and village navigating the change of seasons and a long winter, while Christopher Bernard’s poem points out small ways people hold onto warmth and the hope of spring in a bleak midwinter.

Mark Young’s “geographies” suggest maps and construction and our built and natural environments while Brian Barbeito finds the extraordinary in seemingly daily natural scenes, drawing on alien and spiritual metaphors.

We hope that this issue will help you find the beauty and grace in daily life, where pain, ecstasy, comfort and wonder all make up the panoply of our experiences.

February first
peanut butter sandwiches
for dinner tonight


—


weary of winter
my tongue goes to the space where
my teeth used to be


—


I’ve just missed the bus
I can walk home by the time
the next one arrives


—


bio/graf

J. D. Nelson’s poems have appeared in many publications, worldwide, since 2002. He is the author of ten print chapbooks and e-books of poetry, including *Cinderella City* (The Red Ceilings Press, 2012). Nelson’s first full-length collection is *in ghostly onehead* (Post-Asemic Press, 2022). Visit his website, MadVerse.com, for more information and links to his published work. His haiku blog is at JDNelson.net. Nelson lives in Boulder, Colorado, USA.

The Police Questionnaire 
--------------------
Someone I know
is trying to join
the police force.

I know
I feel the same
way too
but I really love
this person.

I was asking them
how the first online
interview went.

'It's just like a kind
of questionnaire
sort of thing.
What would you do
in certain circumstances'

Me, being a natural
piss taker said;

You come across a
gang of white men
standing around, 
and a black man
on the floor, bleeding.

Who do you arrest ?

If you answered

The black man.

Welcome to the police.

Deep Winter



White sky blue earth

a road of wind hard as stone between them

the sun swings his walking stick as he strolls
across the boulevards of February

a small bird wings to a rain gutter
sleeved in snow
or perhaps it was only a mirage

a child sits at a window
making faces at an impending storm
it does not believe in blizzards

but it loves them

you hold my love like a globe of ice
where a soul once would have been

no the winter sovereign in your mind
will never become my final hope for spring

____

Christopher Bernard is an award-winning poet, novelist and essayist. His most recent books are the first two stories in the series “Otherwise,” for middle-grade readers: If You Ride A Crooked Trolley . . .  and The Judgment Of Biestia.