Weeks 9-11

[Will Cragin]

Week 9 goals – My goals for this week are simply to learn more about Dari, the differences between the two languages, and how best to go about the transition from studying Farsi to Dari. I will then adjust my lesson plans to go on from there.Week 9 Review: The transition from Farsi to Dari has been a little easier than I imagined. The hardest part is that because the differences are not great, its easier for me to slip back to Farsi without thinking, simply because that is what I have been studying for the last 8 weeks. However, working with Muska has helped a lot, especially because it is one on one. I think I learn much better when its one on one rather than in a small group.Resources - BBC Farsi, Farsi Textbook, Class notes, handouts, EasyPersian, language partner for speaking practice, and a new Blog in Dari that I have begun to follow.Week 10 Goals: This week I will continue to study Dari and try and practice over and over so as to re-enforce the subtle differences in the two languages. I also plan on watching youtube vidoes, in both Persian and Farsi, in order to be able to listen to the difference in accents in the two languages.Week 10 Review: Overall, I continue to see progress in the transition from Farsi to Dari. I also had a long conversation with Muska about culture in Afghanistan, and I am beginning to see how the difference in culture is reflected in the difference in dialect.Resources - BBC Farsi, Farsi Textbook, Class notes, handouts, EasyPersian, language partner for speaking practice, Hamesh blog.Week 11 Goals: This week I will begin to shift my focus to the cultural project, which I am doing on Farsi and Dari. I plan on seeking out people from Iran and Afghanistan to interview, conducting an initial literature review, and trying to get an overall sense of where this project needs to go. I will also continue to practice Dari with Muska, and hope to add 10 new vocabulary words to use.Week 11 Review: This week went well overall. However, after beginning my interviews and literature review on the Dari versus Farsi subject, I realized that it might be a little to ambitious for both my skill-set and the small time period I am working with. So, I have decided to change the topic of my cultural project to Kabul. I am interested in looking at the historical, political, and social dynamics that have made Kabul what it is today. Otherwise, I reached my goals of learning 10 new vocabulary words and have continued to adjust to Dari after spending most of my semester doing Farsi.Resources - BBC Farsi, Farsi Textbook, Class notes, handouts, EasyPersian, language partner for speaking practice, Hamesh blog, you tube videos.Week 12 Goals: This week I will focus on my cultural project and begin preparing for the exam. I am not going to attempt to study much new material, instead I am going to make sure that everything I have learned this semester is still there. I also want to continue to practice speaking with Muska, which has been very helpful in my language study so far. I am also going to work more on my portfolio and make sure it is complete.