Michael Freeze_Final reflection.docx
Here is my final reflection!
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These are two of the vocabulary lists I wrote out to practice the vocab and my handwriting. The one in blue ink (the first one) is from later in the semester. The second sheet is from earlier in the semester. Hopefully the handwriting in the blue ink looks better. I think the letters look at least a little smoother than the earlier list.
These are my I can statements and my learning plan. The learning plan includes my self evaluation.
This file is a learning activity based on lessons that helped me in Rosetta Stone. I described this lesson earlier in a Learning Journal and I just wanted to post it to see what it would look like. In this I go through how to say "This apple is green." In doing so I use a picture of a green apple and another picture of a green leaf. I use these to teach the student the vocabulary with the English word, the Persian transliteration, and the Persian script. I also include the verb "Is" and the demonstrative adjective "This." I then go through how the English sentence will be changed to be grammatically correct in Farsi. Finally I put the sentence together in English and then Farsi to show the student what the finished product looks like. This project actually helped me to learn that the Farsi word "En" means "This" I knew when to use it and how to say it, but I never really knew that it specifically meant "This."
Here is a conversation that Rachel and I recorded based on a conversation that I wrote for an earlier artifact. We accidentally added it to my page as music so if you hear us talking when you go to my page...sorry.
These two documents are supplements to the Culture Project I posted a few weeks ago. I didn't want to add them back to the same post because I was afraid they would be overlooked. These are the notes I used to compile my presentation and the notes I used to elaborate on specific headings within the presentation.
The Farsi words document contains the words I used in the presentation minus the Farsi names of people that I used.
Summary of my cultural project:
My culture project was on minority religions in Iran, specifically Christianity. I started out by laying out the history and framework of the Iranian government which is a theocratic republic based on sharia law. Sharia law, however, is not completely coded into the Iranian constitution. This causes confusion because Article 23 of the Iranian constitution actually protects minority religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism. Sharia law though, which as occasionally been used in court decisions, does not protect the practice of these religions. In fact, under Sharia law, the penalty for apostasy for men over the age of puberty is death. Because of this distinction between the Iranian constitution and Sharia law, there exists a gap between what is constitutionally permissible behavior on the part of the government, and what is religiously permissible behavior on the part of the government.
In order to surmount this gap and unify Sharia law with the Iranian constitution, there was a motion in 2008 to codify the death penalty of Sharia law for apostasy into the constitution. I was not actually able to find out from a substantial news source whether or not this passed.
This project also focused on recent events such as the capture of Christians toward the end of 2010. This is because the government sees Christianity, and attempts to spread it such as web broadcasts, as means by which western culture could undermine the theocratic Iranian state. Fear of such roundups or penalty of death under a Sharia law court decision has led many Iranian Christians to live double life. This double life is defined by the "zaher" and "baten" aspects of Iranian society in which people think of themselves as having two identities. One identity (baten) is their private identity which they display around their family and good friends. The other identity (zaher) is the public persona that they display. This applies to Christians, and those practicing minority religions in Iran because at home they are comfortable with their own beliefs. In public though, they must put their beliefs aside and conform to the Islamic society in order to avoid stigmatization and social repercussions. An example of this is Illyas who is a young man that is Christian in Iran. At home he reads his bible and wears a cross around his neck. In public though, he engages in Muslim prayer times. The social repercussions of not being Muslim in Iran though are demonstrated by Mona, a young woman who wanted a job with an Iranian state-run airline. She was turned down because she had never read the Koran.
In conclusion, this project was not meant to portray the Islamic societies as wholly hostile to Christianity, or to paint Christians as victims in any way. I simply wanted to study the Iranian government and Muslim society through the lens of religion.
This past week during our group session we went more in depth into Iranian culture and food. We especially talked about typical foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Maroof asked us what words we wanted to learn so we went through every meal and learned the Farsi vocabulary for typical dishes in Iran and Afghanistan. Some of these foods were omlets, fried eggs, kebab, rice, and macaroni. We also learned how to ask for specific foods at resturants and the typical manner in which food is ordered. Normally in the US we have a kind of cordial encounter with our servers. We say please and thank you a lot. In Afghanistan though, the dialogue is much more direct without many pleases and thank yous. Maroof also taught us how to ask for the check and andy utensils we might need.
I will be spending my time over the next week reviewing for the final exam. We have covered a lot of vocabulary and now it's just a matter of me practicing the usage of these words in sentences. I plan on focusing on sentence structure, on-sight-recognition of vocabulary words, writing and speaking. Basically I'm going over everything again. I also hope to focus on specific areas of Rosetta Stone to help me with these tasks.
Within the document above is a table I made to help me practice with verb conjugations. This table is based on the notes we took in class and the verb "Khondan," or "to read." I took the verb conjugation table and applied it to the verb "Khondan" in order to form simple sentences describing different people reading. The red endings of the words correspond to the part of the verb that is changed based on the conjugation rules.
Two of the presentations that I have really enjoyed so far were the presentations about Chawalas (tea stands) in Bangladesh and the presentation about Turkish baths. While most of us have to do research outside of the culture we are studying, these two presentations brought in cultural aspects that the students had acquired while in the countries themselves.
The videos that Andrew showed not only gave us a glimpse of what Chawalas really looked like, but they also brought the culture alive. It was interesting to see the things he talked about in his presentation actually occuring at the tea stand. An example of this is the tea stands serving as a kind of public forum. Although the focus of the videos was not directly on the public surrounding the tea stand, you could tell form the people standing around, and the noise in the immediate area, that the tea stand really did serve as a cultural meeting place.
I also thought it was interesting that the men who serve the tea work incredibly long hours and even though they are considered part of the lower class, they are not looked down upon by upper class members of society. In fact, Andrew said they were considered very trustworthy. I think Andrew's presentation was unique in that he was able to bring a personal/human aspect to the project that many other students have had the opportunity to do.
The presentation on the Turkish baths was very intersting. When I saw the way the baths were set up, I immediately thought of the Spanish / Moorish fortress the Alhambra. Within this fortress there are very similar baths. This is because the south of Spain was dominated by Moorish influence for a long period of time and still retains much of that heritage.
I learned that these baths were not only used for personal hygiene but also for social life. I found it very interesting that women would go to the baths to size up other women and determine whether they were fitting wives for their grandsons, sons, or brothers. So far these presentations have been really interesting and informative.
Over the past few weeks Maroof and I have been reviewing and working on new lesson specific vocabulary. I think I missed a post last week so I'll talk about what we did then. We started working on vocabulary to use in an airport including buying tickets, presenting a passport and finding a taxi after landing. Maroof has also been helping me with any grammar questions I might have. For instance, we were going back over family vocabulary and we began creating sentences out of that vocabulary to describe our family members. Over the next week or so, I plan to begin studying for the exam and ask Maroof any questions I might have.
I have been listening to the BBC farsi podcasts, but I still haven't had much time to work on Rosetta Stone because of my other school work. I have also been trying to memorize more vocabulary and make myself more familiar with normal sentence structure, especially in responding to questions.
This is the link to my Culture Project about Christianity in Iran.
Minority_Religions_in_Iran.pptx
Also, here is the link to my Learning Plan. Looking back on these goals, I realize that I did not do a very good job of maintaining the weekly progress that I would have liked. This is especially true with Rosetta Stone and listening to the Farsi Podcasts. The good news is that with continued practice, by the end of the semester I should be able to consider myself a "Beginner 1" on the "Levels of Competence Scale." I say this because we have gone through pretty much all of the material I need in order to verbally express myself and write at the "Beginner 1" level. I will just need to review.
Through conducting research on my Cultural Project I was able to learn about the Iranian government, Constituion, social structure and history. The Iranian government is based on Islamic law (Sharia law), but much of it is not codified in the constitution itself. This becomes an issue when judges make decisions appealing to aspects of Sharia law but that are inconsistent with the constitution.
The Iranian government took a turn toward becoming an Islamic state after the Revolution of 1979. Although Iran is an Islamic state, its constitution states that no person will be "taken to task" based on their religious beliefs. However, as recently as 2008 there was a motion to codify the death penalty as a punishment for apostacy, or leaving the Islamic faith. Also, although their religious rights are still protected under the Iranian constitution, about 70 Christians were captured around Christmas of 2010. This is because the Iranian government views Christianity as a western ideology and an attempt at destabilizing the religious foundation of the government.
During this project I also learned that technology has a lot to do with the influence of Christianity in Iran. Media sources such as satellite tv, the radio, and internet have greatly increased the number of converts to Christianity, thus causing more fear in the Iranian Government.
The people that are Christian in Iran must hide their faith. It is not socially acceptable to outwardly appear to be anything else other than Muslim. This brings in "baten" and "zaher" (inside and outside identities) that the Iranian culture contains. Essentially it means that Christians are Christians only in the privacy of their own homes or around their good friends, on the outside though, they are Muslim. I also learned that there are social stigma and repercussions attached to people who are not Muslim. An example of this is Mona, a woman in Iran who was refused a job by the Iranian state airline because she had never read the Koran.
This week's culture post is inspired by a conversation I had with Maroof. During our individual session he brought up the movie and the book "The Kite Runner" because another one of the Farsi students (Eric) is studying the author of the book. One of the scenes in the preview is about kite flying competitions. I read the book years ago and really enjoyed it. Now I want to see what kite flying in Afghanishtan is really about.
The information used in this culture post comes from this site:
www.afghanistan-culture.com
Kite flying competitions in Afghanistan are a combination of art and sport. The competators make their own kites and the goal as to direct thier kite toward another and using its string, cut the opponent's kite loose. In doing so, you become the victor. If you find the opponent's kite after it floats down to the ground then you are considered even more victorious. An interesting fact that this article pointed out was that many people are actually hurt while chasing kites from falling off roofs. Any kites that are found around the neighborhood are considered fair game for children to use and play with. People also use the kites the find for decoration in their homes.
Prime kite flying season is in the spring, summer and fall, but fall is preferred because of the winds that move through Afghanistan. During the week, most kite flying takes place on Fridays when people are off from work.
Unfortunately, kite flying was banned while the taliban ruled Afghanistan. The sport picked back up though after the end of the Taliban's regime.
This past week Maroof and I worked on conjugating verbs in the past tense. It's actually very similar to the present tense except the words use different root forms and the ending of the third person singular form of the verb is different. We also reviewed conjugating verbs in the present tense. Now, my ability to speak in simple phrases has greatly increased and is only limited by the vocabulary I know (or rather, don't know).
At this point in the semester I have learned vocabulary for parts of the body, basic introductions and conversations, every-day items, food, basic verbs, numbers, time and family relations. Maroof has also taught me how to conjugate verbs in the simple present and simple past tenses. From here on out, Maroof and I decided to learn vocabulary and basic phrases for checking into a hotel, catching a flight at an airport, getting a taxi and ordering food at a restaurant. If we have time I might also ask him if we can work on train station vocabulary.
I have decided to do my Culture Project presentation on minority religions in Iran, especially Christianity. My interest in this arose because of the raids on Christian churches in Iran at the end of last year and the beginning of this year. I wanted to study the dynamic of Christians in an Islamic state from a legal, historical, cultural and personal point of view. While this may seem lofty, all of these categories are easily intertwined because in Iran, most things lead back to religion. In fact, studying these categories is not difficult in and of itself, but trying to separate my findings into these categories has proven to be very difficult because of the religious influence in Iran.
One language activity that I would use to teach a student Farsi would be one that included listening, speaking, writing and some form of visual aspect. The best way I have been able to learn new words this semester is through using them in Rosetta Stone so my lesson might look a lot like what Rosetta Stone does. First off, my goal would be to teach them how to describe a situation... for example "The apple is green." In order for the learner to describe this situation I would us a picture of an apple with the Farsi word "seeb" under it. I would say the word and have the learner repeat the word and then copy it down in written form. I would do the same thing with a picture ofthe color green. The focus this time would be on the color "sabz." The third word would be the verb "to be." The actual verb is "budan" but the conjugated third person singular form used for objects is "ast." I would then put the three pictures together in the form of the sentence which would look like this: Apple (Seeb) + Green (Sabz) + Is (ast). I would then have the learner read the simple sentence and using the Persian Script under the original pictures, have them write it out. I think I might try to create this as an artifact to use as a visual example of how I think it might be best to teach someone a simple phrase in Farsi.
This is my updated learning calendar. Now that we have begun learning verb conjucations I feel like I will be able to learn phrases and basic questions more easily. However, because we mainly focused on vocabulary before I had to re-asses my progress. Unfortunately, I think I was a little ambitious to begin with and will have to remove a few topics of conversation from my list of topics. Fortunately though as we move into the last few weeks, this will allow me to focus in on specific conversations and learn the sentence structure and vocabulary that goes along with each one.
I know this is late but here is a conversation that I wrote. It is comprised of basic introductions and phrases. For a later artifact, I plan to record this conversation with another one of the Persian learners, or with my language partner.
This week we began working on verb conjugations. Now with the vocabulary I have learned I have been able to form simple sentences. I still hope to be able to put more time into Rosetta Stone over the next few weeks and continue listening to news podcasts in Farsi. Hopefully by learning more verbs and verb endings I will be able to pick up on more words in the podcasts. This coming week we will continue learning about verb tenses by working with the past tense.
Along with working on the verb conjugations I have continued working on reading and writing. I have been able to write out the simple sentences I come up with. This not only helps with verb conjugations but it also helps me to remember the rules for connecting certain letters to others and remembering which forms of letters to use in different locations of the word. My handwriting has also improved but it still takes me a while to write anything in Farsi because I'm not used to writing from right to left.
Over the next few days I plan to catch up with my artifacts by using writing samples, typing out simple sentences to practice typing and spelling, and recording a conversation between me and another Farsi student.
Since Farsi is also spoken in Afghanistan I thought it would be interesting to study some cultural aspects of that country as well. While greeting new people men and women usually exchange verbal greetings. Women are also welcome to extend their hands in order to initiate a handshake but men cannot do the same for women. Personal space should also be respected. Usually between men and women an arm's length of space should be kept. Between friends of the same gender though this distance is greatly reduced.
Eye contact also differs between the United States and Afghanistan. People of the same gender and age usually look each other in the eye. Younger members of society though should use indirect eye contact with their elders. Women and men should also avoid consistent, intentional eye contact with one another.
Afghanistan seems to be a strange mix of polychronic and monochronic culture. Usually more emphasis is placed on relationships and spending time with each other than actually meeting set deadlines. On the other hand, punctuality in business situations is appreciated and respected.
Afghanistan also has some cultural taboos. A few of them involve feet. Because they are seen as the "lowliest body parts," showing the sole of your shoe, pointing your heel or toe at someone, or moving something with your foot are all considered disrespectful. On a different note, men and women should not display affection in public. Also, like in Iran, refusing tea upon arrival will also be seen as rude. Other customs that parallel those of Iran include bringing a pastry or a nicely wrapped gift to the person's house.
The beginning of this week's reading was especially interesting. I liked how the book distinguished between dialects and accents because sometimes they seem to be used interchangeably. Dialects though, can encompass many different accents. Whereas a dialect includes grammatical traits or specific words that distinguish it from another dialect, accents are simply a different way of pronouncing words.
I also thought that dialect continuums were very interesting, end evident especially in my own experience in Spain. Castillian Spanish varies widely between the north and south of Spain. The closer a person lives to the south of Spain, the easier it is to understand the Andalusian accent native to the south. But, those who live farther north have a harder time understanding Andalusian speakers. Another example of this dialect continuum is an east to west continuum from Portugal to France that the book mentions. Most of this continuum occurs in Spain. If you begin with Portuguese then one of the official languages in Spain would be next on the continuum. This langage is Galician or "gallego" in Spanish. It is heavily influenced by Portuguese but is also very similar to Spanish. You could say that regular (Castillian) Spanish language comes next, followed by Catalan (spoken in Barcelona) which is a sort of mixture between Castillian and French. Finally French would be the end of the continuum.
Another example that I enjoyed (because it was talking about Spain again) was the example of the illegalization of the Basque language. For the Basque, their language is not just a language, it is a very important part of their identity, just like the book says. The other aspect of linguistic suppression in Spain is that the government also declared the other regional languages of Spain (including the abovementioned examples of Galician and Catalan) illegal during Francisco Franco's dictatorship.
This section on the book can also be applied to Farsi as a dialect of Persian. Farsi, Dari, and Tajik are all regional dialects of the Persian language. From what Maroof has said, Farsi and Dari easily facilitate intercommunication. Tajik though uses the Russian alphabet so it might be possible for a Farsi or Dari speaker to understand a Tajik speaker but impossible for them to communicate in written form because of the different alphabets.
With my language partner this week we worked on body, fruit, and color vocabulary. We have also continued practicing my pronunciation and reading ability by typing vocabulary words on the computer and reading them out loud. I have started making my own vocabulary lists as practice so that I get experience writing the words and making my own associations. I have also started listening to the Farsi podcasts again from the BBC and I hope to be able to get back into Rosetta Stone later this week. I spent a little time trying to catch up on the cultural studies for MLC110 and plan to get together with the other Farsi students to try to create a recorded artifact where we have a conversation together.
In Iran, people tend to do business with people they know because of the family-centered model of business. If you are someone who wants to do business with an Iranian who you do not know personally, you should spend time getting to know that person first. Personal relationships become the center of your ability to do business. In order to make a good impression you should also dress well and stay at a high class hotel. This is because status is very highly regarded in Iranian society.
When planning for the meeting, it is prudent to schedule the meeting six weeks to one month in advance and then confirm the appointment about a week before the appointment. As stated in an earlier post though, business slows down during Ramadan so meetings should be avoided during this time.
When arriving for your appointment it is respectful to be on time! Again, this is another example of how Iran represents a monochronic society. Initial meetings will usually not have anything to do with business. Instead the meeting will most likely focus on building a personal relationship between you and the Iranains. It takes some time for Iranian business people to become comfortable with foreign business men. Because of this you can expect to be treated in a sort of cold or formal manner.
During meetings it is very disrespectful to look at your watch. If you constantly worry about the time you will be considered untrustworthy. Meetings in Iran are also interrupted frequently so you will need to be patient as well. In order to remain professional, do not remove your jacket unless asked to do so. Also, as a matter of courtesy, present all written documents in both English and Farsi.
Iranian business negotiation can be hostile at times. Iranians tend to show emotion or even walk out of meetings if they do not like your proposals. You should be careful not to "drive a hard bargain" this will mostly work against you. Also, if you are under a time constraint, be careful how much information you divulge about it. Iranians will use your time constraints against you if they are aware of them.
Earlier I talked about certain cultural norms to observe if invited over to an Iranian person's house. Here I will talk about a few of the cultural aspects of being invited to dinner.
At first I was caught off guard by the first stipulation the website mentions (still the same website from the first culture post). This rule is to check whether the host is wearing shoes or not. If they are not, you are to remove your shoes at the door. After I thought about this though, I realized that this is something I do subconsciously already. I think it's because my mom was always strict about us taking our shoes off in the house. I guess I got used to looking around at my friends' houses to see if I was allowed to keep my shoes on when I arrived.
I greatly appreciate the second aspect of Iranian dining norms. It is to arrive punctually. It's not that I'm an extremely punctual person but coming from a monochronic society, I think it would be difficult for me to figure out when things actually started in a polychronic society.
Before arriving you should also check to see if your spouse is allowed to attend becasue normally conservative Iranians don't entertain mixed-sex groups. When you do arrive though, you are supposed to greet the elders first and shake everyone's hand. You should also accept offers of food or drink but only within adhering to the "taarof" stipulations of politeness.
When you are about to sit down you should wait to be told where to sit. Meals are generally family style so you should take a little bit of everything that is served and eat only with the right hand. Because Iranian hospitality includes having an abundance of food, you will probably be offerd more. You should accept some more but again, only after adhering to "taarof" or Iranian politeness standards first. When you finish eating you should also leave some food on your plate (which shouldn't be an issue assuming you will have already accepted more food than you can eat anyway). Finally, in restaurants there are usually two sections. One is for women and families, the other is for men only. Tipping in Iranian restaurants is usually between 10 and 15%.
As promised, in the next post I will talk about business negotiations in Iran.
