ACROSS Journal of Interdisciplinary Cross-border Studies

Enhancing the Written Message Production Competence in Teaching Romanian to Foreign Students

Angela POPOVICI — 2025-07-09

The article addresses the importance of developing writing skills in Romanian as a Foreign Language (RFL) classes, particularly among A2-level foreign students. Starting from the observation that foreign language teaching places communication at the center of instructional activities, the necessity of rebalancing the didactic focus towards effective support methods for coherent writing is argued. A gradual narrative method is proposed and described, centered on the step-by-step construction of a narrative text based on a personal experience. The method is structured into logical stages— generating the narrative idea, introducing descriptive details, using connectors, and final self assessment—and is illustrated through a concrete example of classroom application. The conclusions highlight the benefits of the method in enhancing clarity, expressiveness, and autonomy in the writing process.

Metaphors and Translation, A Cognitive Study of Si Mohand Ou Mhand’s Selected Poetry

Kahina MECHAT — 2025-07-09

This study aims to analyse and evaluate the double translation, from Kabyle into French and from French into English, of twelve metaphors extracted from four poems of Si Mohand’s Ou Mhand. Mouloud Feroun translated the poems from Kabyle into French, and then Pierre Joris translated them into English. Thematic Organization Points (TOPs), which is a term advanced by Schank (1982), is used to explain each metaphor and the way it is translated. Cook’s schema refreshment (1994) is then used to evaluate the translation itself. The study is cognitive, analytical, descriptive, and qualitative. The study’s significance lies in its corpus, as studies regarding Si Mohand’s Poetry rarely dealt with three versions at a time. Furthermore, it is exhibited in the way the analysis is conducted, as it puts forward a new way of understanding metaphors separately in each version. It also suggests a way to evaluate the translation. The study aims to investigate to what extent equivalence is achieved within the translated metaphors. Results show that 67% of the metaphors translated from Kabyle into French are schema-reinforcing, 16.5% are schema-preserving, and 16.5% are schema-disrupting. Moreover, 8% of the metaphors translated from French into English are schema-reinforcing, 92% are schema-preserving, while there is no schema-disrupting metaphor. Furthermore, the schemata exhibited within the Kabyle version and the English version are as follows: 75% are schema reinforcing, 17% are schema preserving and 8% are schema disrupting. Based on that, the study concludes that the metaphors’ translation process was quite successful as there are only two schemata, which are schema disrupting in the Kabyle/French translation process, none is signalled in the French/English one, whereas only one schema disrupting was deduced in the Kabyle/English translation process.

Integrating communicative grammar into EFL instruction for effective learning

Ina PARA — 2025-07-09

This article explores the role of communicative grammar in EFL instruction. It examines the theoretical foundations of communicative grammar, its integration into communicative language teaching, and practical strategies for teaching grammar in EFL contexts. The study evaluates the impact of a communicative grammar lesson on the use of the present perfect tense, with the adverbs ever and never, incorporating tasks such as pair interviews and guided discovery. Data was collected from 8 pre-intermediate learners during a 45-minute online session, through observations, student feedback, and pre- and post-lesson quizzes. Results indicate significant improvement in students' ability to correctly use the target structure, with a 37.5% average increase in accuracy. The findings support the argument that communicative tasks, such as peer interviews and focused feedback, enhance grammatical understanding and encourage more natural language use. The study suggests that a
communicative approach to grammar instruction promotes more effective and engaging language learning.

Developing creative skills of pre-school children from the perspective of intellectual factors of creativity

Oana Iuliana ENACHE — 2025-07-09

The human psychic system is based on complex psychological processes and functions, in which activities and psychic attributes that form personality are integrated. The personality system is studied under the aspect of temperament, aptitudes and character, besides which, an important place is occupied by creativity, a term emphasized in relation to its three meanings creative behavior and psychic activity, personality structure or creative style and group creativity, all of which are relevant from the point of view of the individual's adaptation to the environment in which he lives. This complex approach needs to be started at the earliest possible stage, so that educational actions can make their mark on individual typology or in certain contexts of performance achieved as a result of group activity.

Implementation of teaching principles for the development of preschoolers’ creativity through integrated activities in kindergarten

Oana Iuliana ENACHE — 2025-07-09

Preschool education provides the foundation for the formation of each individual's personality, facilitating the development of the mental processes necessary for integration in diverse activities, as well as the traits of will and character that support development. Identifying the specific characteristics of creativity at pre-school age and the psycho pedagogical conditions which can stimulate or inhibit its development are essential guidelines for the educational process in nursery schools. The development of creative abilities, however, is achieved as a result of the design and implementation of activities geared to the psychosomatic characteristics of pre-school children, in accordance with the methodological, scientific and teaching aspects specific to the age level. Providing a didactically adapted legislative framework can ensure the success of activities and better results with pre-school children.

Professional Burnout of Higher Education Teachers:

Sergey ZAKHARIA — 2025-07-09

The problem of emotional burnout of higher education teachers is a consequence of constant exposure to stressogenic factors and has negative consequences affecting the physical state of the teacher, psychological and emotional spheres. The article analyses the problems and identifies constructive ways of solution: from preventive measures to optimisation of working conditions of a higher education teacher, which can have a beneficial effect on both external and personal factors of emotional burnout in professional activity.

Teaching Terms, Culturemes and Realia in Teacher Education Language Programs

Lucia ȘCHIOPU — 2025-09-15

This article explores the distinction between terms, realia and culture-specific terms as linguistic units within specialised and cultural communication through the research design Translating Culturemes, Realia and Specialised Terms in Teacher Education. Terms are approached as precise, standardised lexical units that convey technical meanings within professional domains, ensuring clarity and semantic stability. In contrast, culturemes are culturally embedded expressions tied to unique social traditions and practices, often lacking direct equivalents in other languages and requiring contextual adaptation in translation. Implemented within a teacher education program for language studies, this research examines how these units challenge teacher education students and evaluates various translation strategies: transliteration, cultural retention, functional equivalence, contextualization, etc., to preserve both meaning and cultural identity. A multi-level training terminological framework is proposed to guide teacher education students to effectively translate culturally rich texts. The findings highlight the complementary, yet distinct nature of terms, realia and culturemes and emphasise the importance of the training terminological framework, linguistic precision combined with cultural sensitivity in cross-cultural communication.

The Language of Yoga between “the Great Chain of Being” and “Layers of the Cake”

Mariana NEAGU — 2025-09-15

Metaphorical language and metaphorical gestures used to convey information about the subjective experience of the body have been explored in Mueller and Ladevig (2013) who consider gesture(s) as embodied forms of thought and understanding. In particular, in teaching dance, metaphors (in speech, gesture, and body) appear to be extremely useful means to communicate embodied experiences. Further, another study by Łozińska (2021) shows that metaphor is an important didactic tool used by yoga teachers to instruct practitioners about complicated postures and that the images permeating verbal and verbo-gestural metaphors used for didactic purposes during a yoga class are a mixture of static, dynamic and image-schematic elements.
The present paper explores the interplay of iconicity and metaphor in the terminology of the yoga practice by looking at the visual resemblance of asana names and the image content of the metaphoric source domain. According to Danesi (1995:299), “the particular content of a metaphor can be said to constitute an interpretation of reality in terms of mental icons that literally allows us to see what is being talked about.” As our aim is to indicate the possible relevance of categories of cognitive linguistics in the āsana practice, our objective is twofold: (1) to identify iconicity and metaphor in yoga asana terminology, and (2) to see how world /encyclopedic knowledge contributes lexical knowledge. To this end, we will attempt to answer the following research questions:
1. What is the role of iconicity in language processing in general and in the context of asana practice in particular?
2. What is the relationship between metaphor and iconicity?
3. Does the metaphor-icon link support asana practice teaching and learning?
Our metaphor analysis includes 80 yoga terms and verbal expressions accompanying the execution of yoga postures. The motivation for the choice of this topic is to understand how metaphor and iconicity can help communication in the context of yoga practice. The general framework adopted for this purpose is cognitive linguistics because metaphor is a key instrument in the presentation and understanding of yoga poses. We have identified and classified metaphors in the corpus according to the visual resemblance of asana names that evoke the mechanism of the Great Chain of Being, “a scale of forms of being – human, animal, plant, inanimate objects” (Lakoff and Turner 1989:167). We have also considered fragments from yoga lessons where metaphorical verbal structures point to the teacher’s linguistic creativity. Besides, the frequent use of prepositions and the use of the definite article instead of the possessive adjective before body part names round up the jargon characteristics in the context of asana practice.

The Dialogic Dimension of Teaching Legal English in the Digital Era

Iulia-Corina DOBROTĂ — 2025-09-15

This paper investigates the dialogic dimension of teaching Legal English in the special circumstances imposed by the advent of the digital era, emphasising the transformative impact of digital tools on dialogic pedagogy in the case of this challenging specialised language. Its main objective is to explore how digital platforms and technologies can enhance dialogic teaching methodologies, facilitating more interactive and engaging learning experiences for students of Legal English. It argues that traditional monologic approaches, which often dominate legal education, are insufficient in developing the necessary communicative competence for legal professionals. Instead, it posits that a dialogic approach, underpinned by digital tools, can significantly improve students’ linguistic and critical thinking skills. The study examines various digital platforms, such as virtual classrooms, discussion forums, and collaborative writing tools, which enable real-time interaction and feedback. These technologies support dialogic teaching practices like Socratic questioning, peer collaboration, and the analysis of real-life legal scenarios, thus fostering a more interactive and student-centred learning environment. The paper also addresses the challenges and opportunities presented by the digital era in implementing dialogic teaching, discussing the use of strategies for integrating digital tools into Legal English curricula, including the use of online case studies, virtual moot courts, and digital peer-review sessions. The conclusions show that leveraging digital technologies for dialogic teaching not only enhances linguistic competence but also better prepares students for the dynamic communicative demands of the modern legal profession. The study underscores the need for educators to adapt to the digital landscape to provide more effective and engaging legal education.