UNDERSTANDING ENGLISH PROVERBS: LEXICAL, STYLISTIC, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND PRAGMATIC DIFFICULTIES

This study investigates the difficulties Uzbek EFL students face in learning, understanding, and using English proverbs. Drawing on the theoretical framework of paremiology, the research examines lexical, stylistic, cultural, psychological, and pragmatic factors that hinder proverb comprehension. A mixed qualitative–quantitative methodology was employed, including literature analysis, dictionary comparison, and textbook content analysis used in higher education institutions of Uzbekistan. The findings reveal that although the majority of lexical items in English proverbs fall within CEFR levels A1–B2, students may experience significant challenges due to insufficient stylistic awareness, limited cultural background knowledge, ambiguous dictionary definitions, and inaccurate or incomplete translations. The study also demonstrates that inconsistent representation of proverbs in textbooks negatively affects students’ paremiological competence. The research emphasizes the need for an integrated instructional approach that combines linguistic, cultural, and pragmatic explanations, as well as improved lexicographic practices, to facilitate effective proverb acquisition in EFL contexts.