Below is my learning plan for the next week. Hopefully this plan is not too ambitious but I think all of my objectives are essential to learning Farsi and will be important in working on my communication with others. The one objective I am extremely excited for is being able to watch a scene from the movie Kandahar, which is in Farsi, in order to see how many words I can pick up and to work on recognizing when words end and begin/spaces between words.Learning PlanObjectives• Learn the numbers by 10s through 100• Learn interrogatives and be comfortable using them in conversation• Learn how to tell time and the different times of day• Learn 5 adjectives and be able to use them in a conversation• Learn 5 prepositions• Learn pronouns and rules for verb conjugation in the present tense• Be able to listen to a chapter of the movie Khandahar and identify word spacing, greetings and interrogativesResources• Language Partner• Other classmates• BYKI flashcards• Modern Persian text book• Diigo Links• Other classmatesKandahar movieTasks• To learn the numbers I will study the diigo link and make flashcards. The flashcards will have English on one side and then the transliteration, script and symbol of the number on the back.• Practice reading phone numbers in Farsi to better learn the numbers• Study the interrogatives through both flashcards and oral repetition• Practice reading time in Farsi by looking at the clock during classes or at my cell phone between classes• Make flashcards for 5 more adjectives and practice using them with the language partner and classmates• Make flashcards for 5 prepositions in order to learn them• Make a list of pronouns as well as the rules of verb conjugation• Make a table of pronouns and the appropriate verb conjugation rules with them• Watch the 5th chapter of Khandahar where a variety of interrogatives and greetings are used to work on my listening comprehensionEvaluations• Be able to ask someone how old they are, understand there age and then respond appropriately when asked how old I am• Be able to hold a simple conversation that allows me to greet someone, ask them how they are and respond with newly learned adjectives, ask them what their name is and respond when asked what my name is, where they are from and respond with where I am from and properly say good bye• Be able to ask what time it is, understand the response and be able to answer the question what time is it• Be able to greet people according to the time of day and tell them what time of day it is• Have a language partner take an object and place it in relation to another object and be able to say where the object is in relation to the other• Be able to describe how I am feeling, my language partner is feeling and how my other classmates are feeling in order to practice pronoun useBe able to recognize 2 greetings and 2 interrogatives in the scene from Kandahar
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After reviewing what my objectives were for this past week, I can say that I have successfully completed them. I can speak and write the numbers, 1-20, identify and say 10 colors, say 5 more adjectives and use them in a conversation when asked how I am, and can say the days of the week in order. It seems like a lot to have learned in only a week, but I find that practicing them everyday whenever I get a chance really helps me to learn them. Sometimes in class when I would get bored I would find myself writing down the numbers and the days of the week to practice them.The drill instructions are also extremely helpful because there my pronunciation is corrected and I have the opportunity to converse with Mona and other students in addition to working on my comprehension skills. On Thursday, Mona decided that she would speak as much as possible in Farsi and I realized how much I could understand and the words I didn't understand I could figure out through her gestures/drawings on the board. It was also nice because every drill when we come in she asks us how we are and it allows us the opportunity to use the adjectives we are learning.This week hasn't been frustrating besides the fact that my Modern Persian textbook still has not come, but hopefully I will get it soon because I am finding it helpful, particularly for vocabulary and grammar. I haven't used the audio tapes yet, but will give those a try hopefully during this upcoming week. The one slightly frustrating thing is that I feel like I am focusing more on the oral/conversational side of Farsi instead of the written part. I know that the writing component I wanted to achieve was extremely basic, but I think I will need to focus more attention on writing in order to get where I want to be.On a cultural note, we learned from Mona that in Iran the weekend only consists of one day, Friday, the holy day. I find it interesting that there is only one day off, because when I was in Jordan the weekend was two days, but it was Friday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday. I will be interested to try and understand why there is this difference and why they decided to only have one day off.Since this week went so smoothly I'm enthusiastic to see how much I can accomplish in the next week.
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Reflection on Week 2This week I decided to work on a subject area that I’ve always been very unsure and uncomfortable in for years. Taking the advice of my professor, I decided to use this week to the work on a very specific area, and I choose the area of formal, informal, and professional addresses. Using “Tolo TV” clips, one of the mainstream media outlets in Afghanistan, from their official website and Afghan forums/messageboards recommended to me by my language partner Muska, I picked out specific moments when guests and speakers would arrive at the main set and notice the various ways the two or more individuals greeted each other. This varied from professional, family, semi-professional, etc. settings. I was unsure of why the females were never addressed as “zanaka”, a broad term I’ve used for years to address the female sex, and a plethora of other questions popped in my head which I tried to remedy in my sessions with Muska. Here are a couple of very specific nuances and rules that I learned:* “Zanaka” is a very degrading name to address females in any setting unless its used as slang in very informal jokes* “Zan” is a lot more proper in addressing women in informal and professional settings compared to “zanaka” but hardly the best way. It’s a lot more proper in informal settings, yet is also susceptible as a degrading name if used in a improper tone.* “ Khanoom” and “Na-taq” are far and above the most proper ways of addressing females in any setting. It’s resistant to becoming degrading in any context or tone.* “Quar-ak” which means “sister” is a bit of a wild-card. It can be used in informal and formal settings but is generally not accepted in a professional setting unless the individuals are comfortable with each other. However, where the three previous titles can be used in a marital sense, this title cannot.* When dealing with females or males generally at least 20 years older in a non-professional formal setting, it’s accepted to use the titles “Khal-ah” and “Ka-Ka” respectively. The literal meanings are “aunt” and “uncle”, but it is used nonetheless.* The titles junior, senior, III, etc. are not used in FarsiI have omitted most of the male nuances, but the most interesting thing I learned from that area is that males are usually called by two names, their first and middle, and if there’s no middle name, it is substituted with common titles, such as: Allah, Muhammad, etc. And if they carry the term “Sayed”, it is a reference to their holy genetic connection to the Prophet Muhammad.
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Posted by Becky Walker on February 6, 2009 at 1:38pm
This week was a combination of frustration and learning. I am finding the aural exercises overwhelming, because I am expecting to gain more from them than I am. The challenge is being able to overcome my frustrations of knowing no content, and still listen for any clues of words, greetings, or sentence separation. I generally try to avoid using listening exercises until my competency is a bit greater, so this is a learning process of both language and learning.The google-book that I found online has helped greatly with grammar and basic terms. It has been the perfect filler until my Modern Persian book arrives next week.Thus far, everything on my lists have been completed for the past three weeks. Now all I have to do is use the words and phrases repetitiously so that can use them outside of the groups in which I learned them. I will begin to scramble my flash cards so that all the colors, numbers, and phrases aren't in their individual groups but interspersed with each other.Overall, I am still pleased with my progress. I throughly enjoy our drill classes, I am finding them extremely beneficial, especially our most recent class when Mona spoke entirely in Farsi at the beginning, and we try to interpret what she was saying.
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Posted by Becky Walker on February 3, 2009 at 4:09pm
I was pleased with my progress this week, though I will have to attribute it to the language itself. Electing to learn the numbers and days of the week at the same time was nice, as the days of the week are labeled by which day in the week they fall on--for example, Monday (do.shan.be) is day one.Mona is incredibly helpful in informing us which types of greetings are appropriate for who. Unfortunately none of the sites I have found tell the learner who is the subject being addressed with various greetings, and using the wrong one with the wrong person would be rather insulting--so thanks Mona!I am still struggling with the amount of reading and writing that I want to use. I understand that its important, and that I should learn at the beginning, but I am finding that it greatly inhibits my learning curve. I could learn at a much quicker rate if I didn't have to worry about whether I use the 't' that has the two dots, the one that looks like a b, the one that looks like a b with the dot, or the one with three dots.My rationale for wanting to learn Farsi is to be able to orally communicate, with no ambition of wanting to translate or write. I'm going to go through this next upcoming week still writing down the words in Farsi script, but I have a feel that as the weeks progress, my words will become purely transliterated.Overall, I am pleased with the amount of Farsi that I am learning, and I think that the manner in which I am learning it is ideal for what I am hoping to gain from this course.
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So far I am feeling confident in how much Farsi I have learned thus far. At this point I feel like I know and can recognize all of the letters of the alphabet, basic greetings, questions and answers. Below is my learning plan for week 2 and already I feel as though I have accomplished much of it already. I have begun to realize how helpful flashcards, the language partner and practicing with classmates are. The only setback I have had so far is the language partner asked me a question today and I was not able to understand what she was saying so I got flustered instead of trying to understand what she was saying. I think this was a valuable lesson in learning what not to do, freezing when asked a question, but staying calm and trying to understand what she is saying. I realized once she asked another student the same question I knew what she was asking, but had become flustered when put on the spot. This is definitely something I want to work on for next week and be better prepared for class so that hopefully this scenario does not repeat itself.Learning PlanObjectives• Learn numbers 1-20 and be able to say them and write them• Learn 10 colors and be able to say them and identify them• Learn 5 adjectives and be able to use them in a conversation• Learn days of the week and be able to say them in order and recognize them when writtenResources• Language Partner• Other classmates• BYKI flashcards• Print out of Farsi numbers• Links posted by others on Diigo, particularly the one related to days of the week posted by Becky WalkerTasks• To learn the numbers I will study the handout of Farsi numbers, make flashcards and learn the flashcards. I will then mix up the flashcards so that they are not in order and be able to correctly place them in order from 1-20. Without the flashcards or the handout sheet I will write the numeric symbols in order from memory.• I will learn 10 colors from the BYKI flashcards, make flashcards, and then be able to identify different colors after studying the flashcards• I will learn 5 adjectives from the BYKI flashcards, make flashcards with English on one side and Farsi on the other and study them in order to use them appropriately in a conversation. I will practice my conversations with my language partner and other classmates• I will learn the days of the week from the online site posted by Becky Walker on the Diigo by placing them on flashcards and studying them. I will also put the Farsi script on one side of the flash card so that I can learn to recognize the days of the week when they are writtenEvaluation• In order to determine if I know the numbers 1-20 I will recite them orally to my classmates and language partner in order. I will also have a classmate scramble the flashcards with the Farsi side up and have me put them in order to demonstrate that I know the numbers in addition to writing the numbers in order from memory.• In order to determine if I know the colors I will have my classmates or language partner point to objects around the room that are the 10 colors I have learned in order to orally identify them.• Be able to respond with 5 different adjectives when asked the question how are you by my language partner or classmates.• To learn the days of the week I will take my wall calendar and translate from English to Farsi the days of the week orally and be able to look at a Farsi calendar and identify the days of the week.
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Finding out the severity of my English accent and ways I can remedy them with my language partner. In the past I have been described as being as fluent as a 6 year old, meaning I understand everything orally, however my own, individual oral skills are underdeveloped. Increasing my vocabulary, to the extent I can use at least 2 synonyms for every word. I have no target subject area that I want to focus my vocabulary in, at this stage; any and every increase is needed for me. I have found that the daily BBC news podcasts are an extremely valuable resource. The various clips run anywhere from 2 to 30 minutes long and cover a plethora of subject areas. I plan on completing the first two levels of Rosetta Stone and then retesting myself on it 3 or 4 days later to get a handle on much information I attained. I will use the time with my language partner to ask her any questions I have on the BBC clips. The clips carry a very sophisticated tone and might be above my level but I believe it will greatly accelerate my development. I also plan on listening to the audio clips in Blackboard and afterwards trying to provide a summary outloud to an imaginary audience to determine how much information I can sink in. And once again, I jot down every question or area I find interesting to further discuss with the language partner during our sessions.
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* To be a lot more comfortable in regular, every-day type of conversations without pausing or translating what I am trying to say in English first, but directly thinking in Farsi first* Decreasing my English accent, and developing a more native tone*Develop a faster pace in my conversations* Increasing my vocabulary and knowledge of proverbs* Increasing my knowledge in the culture of the surrounding language, including history, customs, etc.* Start having dreams in Farsi, because it is said that dreaming in a language is one of the first signs of comfort.* Understanding more jokes and connation’s associated with the language* Using correct grammatical structure for a variety of purposes* Speaking without showing frustration or relying on gestures* Responding correctly to humor, sarcasm, and figures of speech* Recognizing when to match voice level and intonation to a variety of situations
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