Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ARA3145: Advanced Persian Language II

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

This module aims to actualize your active and passive command of the Persian language acquired in ARA3144 (Advanced Persian I) through a wide range of written and pedagogical materials, that is, by study of classical and modern Persian texts, both prose and poetry, using films and other media where appropriate. It aims to give you mastery of most all aspects of higher Persian grammar, with a deeper knowledge of its grammatical and syntactical structures, as well as to perfect further your writing and listening skills. Emphasis will also be given to enabling you to write modern Persian at an advanced level and the develop the capacity to carry on conversations in Persian to the level of semi-fluency. You will develop your reading skills to an advanced level for both modern and classical Persian, using texts of various genres and historical periods.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills	1. Demonstrate a comprehensive knowledge of the grammatical and syntactical features of written Persian and spoken Persian; 2. Read various genres of classical and modern Persian texts, to write in modern Persian, as well as to translate from both classical and modern Persian;
Discipline-Specific Skills	3. Speak modern Persian semi-fluently; 4. Decipher and translate classical Persian texts with minimal use of a dictionary;
Personal and Key Skills	5. Demonstrate time management skills and ability to conduct independent study; and 6. Demonstrate written and oral communication skills in a foreign language.

Module Content

Syllabus Plan

The class will be conducted mostly in Persian. Teaching includes lectures and commentary on the main textbook (Safar-Moghaddem); group discussion of the learning materials of classical Persian prose and poetry given as homework; as well as translations from English into Persian and from Persian into English will be introduced. Students will also give oral presentations (each student talks for 10-15 minutes in the class in Persian about a given topic), followed by questions by other students, replies by the presenter, and feedback from the teacher. Students will also listen to listen to Persian BBC TV broadcasts, news programmes, interviews, etc., and discuss these in groups.

Weeks 1-5. Advanced Persian Grammar (text based); study and translation of advanced Classical Persian texts
Week 6: mid-term quiz
Weeks 7-9: Advanced Persian (conversational and listening skills)
Weeks 10-11. Review of entire class

Learning and Teaching

This table provides an overview of how your hours of study for this module are allocated:

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
44	106	0

...and this table provides a more detailed breakdown of the hours allocated to various study activities:

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	44	22 x 2 hour Lectures and seminars on Persian grammar, reading comprehension and translation. Interactive class work on written texts, consolidating the linguistic skills of reading, writing, and translating
Guided Independent Study	106	Weekly homework assignments in writing, translation, grammar, oral presentations, etc. Each homework assignment consists of around 4.5 hours work

Online Resources

This module has online resources available via ELE (the Exeter Learning Environment).