LEARN PERSIAN

General Information

Persian, a language steeped in history and culture, and of ever-growing importance in international affairs, is currently spoken by more than 70 million people throughout Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia. It is the first language of approximately 50% of the population in Iran and is the country's official language—the language of government, media and educational instruction. Modern Persian is closely related to Dari (a dialect spoken in Afghanistan) and Tajik (spoken in Tajikistan). It is written in a variant of the Arabic script called Perso-Arabic, which has some changes to take into account Persian phonology. At WAL, students can expect to focus on using the language for practical everyday use. In addition, cultural information will be offered as part of the instruction.

Textbook: Thackston, W.M., An Introduction to Persian, Bethesda, MD, Ibex Publishers, 1993.

PERSIAN I

30 hours of instruction/5 weeks

The primary goal of this course is to build familiarity and confidence with the basics of everyday Persian through listening comprehension, conversation exercises and lessons to help with forming and using simple sentences. It is intended for the beginning student of the language. Coursework focuses on practical, everyday use of the language although some basic grammatical forms are introduced to build a foundation for future learning. By the end of this course, students can expect to read and write the alphabet with ease, to participate in common introductions and greetings and to hold simple conversations on select topics such as the family and travel.

Chapters 1 - 5
This course may be taken for 4 quarter university credits.

PERSIAN II

30 hours of instruction/5 weeks
Instructor's permission or completion of Persian I

This course focuses on building familiarity and confidence with the use of everyday Persian basic language through listening comprehension, conversation exercises and lessons to help with forming and using simple sentences. Coursework will focus primarily on practical, everyday use of the language though some basic grammatical forms are introduced to build a foundation for future learning. By the end of Persian II, students can expect to express themselves with simple sentences, use comparatives and talk about the past They can engage in conversations on a number of select topics (weather, asking about the family & friends, talking about activities) and in social situations.

Chapters 6 – 10
This course may be taken for 4 quarter university credits.

PERSIAN III

30 hours of instruction/5 weeks
Instructor's permission or completion of Persian II

Persian III is designed for students who have completed Persian II at the Washington Academy of Languages, or its equivalent.  The primary goal of the course is to continue to build familiarity and confidence with the basics of everyday Persian through listening comprehension, conversation exercises, and lessons to help with forming and using simple sentences.  Coursework will focus primarily on practical, everyday use of the language, though some basic grammatical forms are introduced to build a foundation for future learning.  By the end of Persian III, students can expect to express themselves with simple sentences engage in conversations on a number of select topics and social situations.

Chapters 10 – 17
This course may be taken for 4 quarter university credits.

PERSIAN IV

30 hours of instruction/5 weeks
Instructor's permission or completion of Persian III

Persian IV is designed for students who have completed Persian III at the Washington Academy of Languages, or its equivalent. The primary goal of the course is building familiarity and confidence with the basics of everyday Persian through listening comprehension, conversation exercises, and lessons to help with forming and using simple sentences.  Coursework will focus primarily on practical, everyday use of the language. Basic grammatical forms are also introduced to build a foundation for future learning.  By the end of Persian IV, students can expect to engage in simple conversations on select topics in a variety of social situations, use complex grammatical structures, verbal tenses and idiomatic phrases while making mistakes, and be able to read and paraphrase simple texts like short stories, notes, and advertisements.

Chapters 16– 18
This course may be taken for 4 quarter university credits.

PERSIAN V

30 hours of instruction/5 weeks
Instructor's permission or completion of Persian IV

Persian V is designed for students who have completed Persian IV at the Washington Academy of Languages, or its equivalent. The primary course goal is building familiarity and confidence with the basics of everyday Persian through listening comprehension, conversation exercises, and lessons to help with forming and using simple sentences.  Coursework will focus primarily on practical, everyday use of the language, while basic grammatical forms are also introduced to build a foundation for future learning.  By the end of Persian V, students can expect to read, write and engage in simple conversations on a number of relevant topics, building on the base of vocabulary and grammar acquired in Persian I-IV. 

Chapters 19 – 21
This course may be taken for 4 quarter university credits.

PERSIAN VI

30 hours of instruction/5 weeks
Instructor's permission or completion of Persian V

Persian VI is designed for students who have completed Persian V at the Washington Academy of Languages, or its equivalent. The primary course goal is building familiarity and confidence with the basics of everyday Persian through listening comprehension, conversation exercises, and lessons to help with forming and using simple sentences.  Coursework will focus primarily on practical, everyday use of the language, while basic grammatical forms are also introduced to build a foundation for future learning.  By the end of Persian V, students can expect to read, write and engage in simple conversations on a number of relevant topics, building on the base of vocabulary and grammar acquired in Persian I-IV. 

Chapters 22 – 25
This course may be taken for 4 quarter university credits.