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The Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studiesin collaboration with theDepartment of Middle Eastern Studies and theCenter for Middle Eastern Studies, University of Chicago jointly present:
Selecting Linguistically Appropriate Literary Texts in Teaching Persian Language
Mahbod Ghaffari, University of Cambridge Saturday, 5 April 2025, 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time (Canada and US) Zoom Meeting Registration:https://utoronto.zoom.us/meeting/register/xVWCr9HHQ4SQkzmQ-NlB3w
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Abstract:
In teaching the Persian language, the selection of literary texts plays a pivotal role in developing linguistic proficiency and cultural understanding. This presentation explores strategies for identifying and integrating linguistically appropriate literary works into Persian language curricula, emphasizing a three-layered framework: the linguistic, cognitive, and cultural layers. The linguistic layer focuses on the text’s vocabulary, grammar, and syntax, ensuring it aligns with learners’ proficiency levels. The cognitive layer considers the intellectual demands of the text, matching it to the learners’ capacity to comprehend and analyze its content. The cultural layer highlights the importance of selecting texts that not only reflect Persian cultural nuances but also consider the cultural features of the learners’ source language, as well as their interests and priorities. By balancing these layers, instructors can foster intercultural competence, sustain learner motivation, and create meaningful connections between form, meaning, and culture.
Bio:
Mahbod Ghaffari is an associate professor in Persian language, linguistics, and culture at the University of Cambridge. He received his master’s in teaching Persian and a PhD in linguistics. He has taught linguistics, methodology, translation, Persian language and culture, and Iranian cinema at different universities since 1998. Mahbod has written several books and articles on teaching Persian and presented many papers at conferences. He has published Fārsi Biyāmuzim/Let’s Learn Persian series in 5 levels (first edition: 2000-2003 and second edition 2017-2021) and Persian for Dummies (2018) and developed www.persianlanguageonline.com, which is a three-level interactive online Persian program (2013-2015).