Post 1: Assessment and Goals Summarization

[Laila Hart]

I am in my third semester of learning Persian or Dari (Afghanistan) in a self-directed environment. In previous semesters, I have learned basic skills such as how to write the alphabet and numbers. This has granted me the ability to be able to write out words and even simple sentences in the language. I also learned basic conversation in Dari, such as the essential exchange of “Hello, How are you?” I also learned how to tell what I like and do not like in the simplest of terms (i.e. I like Farsi). Throughout the journey, I have also engaged in basic level conversations in regards to describing my day, the weather, my family, among other things. This semester, I would really like to focus on extending my vocabulary because I have the knowledge of sentence structure and conversation flow, but no words to use to deliver this. This semester, I hope to learn positive, negative, sympathetic and neutral reactions (i.e. “That’s amazing,” “How horrible,” “That’s tragic,” and “So so”). Also, as I build upon my vocabulary, I would like to learn how to describe myself as well as others and eventually be able to tell that I am Senior, Journalism major hoping to go into a career involving entertainment.  It would be of the utmost importance to learn how to understand simple instructions and know how to ask for directions to places. Then, I have had experience ordering food in a restaurant in my first semester and also this semester, but I would like to learn etiquette vocabulary, so I can be just as polite in Dari as I am in English. Additionally, I need to learn how to ask if items contain meat since I am a vegetarian. Finally, I want to be able to build upon my likes and dislikes. Most importantly, I would like to be able to hold conversations going at a typical pace for Dari native speakers.