Intensive Persian Language

Objectives and learning outcomes of the module

On successful completion of this module a student should have gained:

1. knowledge and understanding of basic Persian grammar
2. knowledge and understanding of essential Persian vocabulary
3. knowledge and understanding of the appropriateness of basic Persian structures and expressions in a given context
4. the ability to understand short passages in written Persian on everyday topics
5. the ability to produce short passages in written Persian on everyday topics
6. the ability to understand spoken Persian and to engage in short spoken discourse on everyday topics

Workload

Total of 22 weeks teaching with 8 hours classroom contact per week, consisting of 2 hours of lectures and 6 hours of language classes.

Scope and syllabus

The module provides a thorough grounding in all the major grammatical structures of the Persian language with emphasis on practical written and spoken Persian. It covers phonetics and phonology, verbal morphology and noun classes, and basic tense-aspect-mood distinctions. Communicative practice is established through learning language around dialogues dealing with a range of everyday situations. This is an intensive module with written and oral drills, compositions, and simple composition and translation tasks used to reinforce the grammar points. The module provides students with a comprehensive (rather than basic) knowledge of the major structures of Persian and practice of using Persian in a variety of everyday situations. It allows students to interact with Persian speakers in Persian and enables them to use (read and comprehend) original Persian language sources (unedited newspaper articles and fiction excerpts) with the help of a dictionary. This provides students with a basis to approach research topics relating to Persian language and the history, society and culture associated with Persian.

Method of assessment

Two three-hour written examinations taken in May/June (30% each); an oral examination of 20 minutes duration taken in May/June (20%); a two-hour mid term test in term 2 (20%).

Suggested reading

• Teach Yourself Modern Persian by Narguess Farzad.
• Reading material in the form of selections from modern fiction and current journalism is also provided.

Disclaimer

Important notice regarding changes to programmes and modules