Syllabus
Intermediate Persian I: PERS 2003 (3 credit hours) Fall 2008
Instructor: Mr. parviz Hussaini, Religion Dept., UGA
Class Hours: MWF 3:35-4:25, Miller Learning Center Room, 268
Office: Peabody Hall Room 22
Email: parviz@uga.edu Phone: 706- 372- 0085
Office hours: by appointment: Email me and make one.
Course Description:
This is an elementary level course stressing oral fluency, written expression, and reading comprehension. The objectives of the course are to help students to accomplish the following objectives:
1- Read texts of elementary level difficulty.
2- Communicate and converse in Farsi on a variety of topics and to understand spoken Farsi in everyday situations.
3- Write elementary narrative style paragraphs coherently and with reasonable accuracy.
4- Develop cultural awareness through additional readings and class discussions.
Course Requirements and Attendance:
Students will be taught through the use of vocabulary in simulated settings and situations through repetition drills, frequent use of vocabulary, acting, and reading loud. This will be augmented by the reading and grammatical analysis of various texts. Students are required and encouraged to speak Farsi in class discussion. There will be a brief vocabulary quiz on Monday of each week (no more than ten words each), a lesson quiz (15-20 minutes), each Friday when there is not a midterm exam, three midterms, and one final exam. The new lesson and the vocabulary for the coming week's lesson will be introduced each Friday.
Your text has an accompanying CD; so you will be assigned homework from it. You must work extensively with it in order to learn how to speak and understand spoken Farsi.
Studying, Self-testing, and Flashcards:
Researchers in higher education agree that for students to learn, they need to study at least two hours outside of class for every one hour of class per week. This is particularly true if you want to learn a language. Since you have four hours of class per week, you should therefore plan to study outside of class at least 8 hours each week for this class.
For language learning, self-testing is a must. For this, flashcards for vocabulary and points of grammar are a useful method. In addition, ideally you should get a study partner with whom you can practice speaking.
Attendance and Participation:
All students are expected to attend each class and to focus on the course in class (not on things extraneous to the course). Class attendance is absolutely necessary.
Students will be allowed 4 absences for any reason, including sports and other school or personal events. Such excuses (illness, family problems, etc.) are to be e-mailed to the instructor, but it is completely at his disposal to accept them or not. After the 4 absences, each absence will result in 1% reduction of the final grade.
Please note that no make-up quizzes or tests will be given without a physicianÕs or deanÕs excuse. Late assignments will also result in a 1% reduction of your final grade for this course. The final exam is scheduled for Mon., Dec. 16, 12:00 – 3:00 pm. This cannot be changed unless you have a total of three exams on that day.
Absolutely no cell phones (or other communication devices) are to be used in class, as these are highly disruptive. This includes silently checking your messages or sending text messages! If you violate this policy, you will be counted as absent for that day without notice. No exceptions!
While Learning Farsi,
1. DonÕt be afraid of making mistakes. It is impossible to learn a language without making them and being corrected.
2. Use what you learn as soon as you have a chance.
3. Review previous lessons frequently, and make your own vocabulary notebook which will help you control your learning.
4. Participate in group repetition in class. It may seem mechanical, but it helps to build the skills needed for individual speech.
5. Open your mind to the different and to the new. Not only Farsi, but every language has its own mentality, and comparing it to English will not help. Also try to avoid any prejudices and preconceptions.
6. Do not let any interruption break the continuity of your involvement with the Farsi language.
7. Remember this may lead to an interesting career opportunity one dayÉ
8. Enjoy yourself!
For useful websites see the following:
Readings:
Modern Persian Spoken and Written: An Elementary Text. V. 1, Available at UGA Bookstore
Additional materials will be distributed to the students throughout the session as necessary.
For practice and reference for writing the alphabet use:
http://gheyaspour.tripod.com/farhang/index.html click on Alefba; and
http://www.easypersian.com/farsi/lesson_1.htm for lessons on the vowels
http://www.easypersian.com/persian/New/Farsi_writing.htm (do lessons one-ten)
Evaluation:
Class Participation and attendance 8%
Weekly Vocabulary quizzes (9@ 2% each) each Monday 18%
Homework (including flashcards) and writing assignments 8%
Lesson Quizzes (10@ 3% each) each Thursday 30%
Midterms (3@ 7% each) 21%
Final Exam 15%
(The final is cumulative and is based on the lessons, including vocabulary, and class materials; we will review for the final exam during the last week of class.)
Grading: 90-100 = A, 80-89 = B, 70-79 = C, 60-69 = D, and less than 60 = F
Course Schedule: Intermediate Persian: PER 2003 Fall 2009
Week 1-2 (Aug 19- Aug 29) (Mon. Sept. 7 Labor Day, no class)
Introduction, Lesson 12
Class expressions
Vocab 1 (Tuesday, Week 2)
Quiz 1 ( Tues. Week 3)
Start lesson 13 (Thursday.)
Week 3-4 (Aug. 31-11)
Lesson 13
Vocab quiz 2 (Tues, Week 3)
Quiz 2 (Tues. Week 4)
Start lesson 14(Wed.)
Week 5-6 (Sept. 14- 25)
Lesson 14
Vocab quiz 3 (Tues, Week 5)
Quiz 3 (Tues, Week 6)
Review (Wed. and Thursday)
Week 7 (Sept. 28-Oct. 9)
Tues. Oct 6, review
Thurs. Oct 7 Midterm
Wed. Thurs. Introduce lesson 4
Week 8-9 (Oct 12-23)
Lesson 15
Vocab 4 (Tues. Week 8)
Quiz 4 (Thurs. Week 9)
Week 10-11 (Oct 26-Nov.6)
Lesson 16
Vocab quiz 5 (Tues Week 10)
Quiz 5 (Tues Week 11)
Week 12-13 (Nov. 9-20)
Readings in Mulla Nasruddin from Elementary Persian Reader
Vocab 6 (Tues. Week 12)
Quiz 6 (Thurs. Week 13)
Week 14 Nov. 23-27 (Thanksgiving break, no class)
Week 15-16 (Nov. 30- 4; Dec. 9 Tuesday, the last day of your class)
Review
Final Exam (last day of class)
Honesty Policy: The UGA Academic Honesty Policy will be followed. In other words, all academic work must meet the standards contained in "A Culture of Honesty." Students are responsible for informing themselves about those standards before performing any academic work. The link to more detailed information about academic honesty can be found at http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/honesty/acadhon.htm
Changes to this Syllabus: The instructor reserves the right to make any changes to this syllabus. The course syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary. Changes will be posted on WebCT.