The materials of "Teaching Persian to non-Persian speakers" need some big changes. I am sure that this book can be considered a real milestone in making the change. This is most probably the first book that focuses on speaking skill. This book provides a real course on speaking Persian. Applying the new syllabi and methods in language teaching (e.g., task-based syllabus, situational, free discussion), I provided 15 lessons in this book. Some lessons require more than one session to be dealt with thoroughly. Language learners learn to speak Persian through doing various tasks by doing agreement, disagreement, description, free discussion, exemplifying, inferring, group discussion, and role playing. In order to do some tasks, learners do lectures and say their own words. Some links to videos on you tube were also provided, so that they can watch the videos and speak about them. Speaking is considered the macro-skill, and reading constitutes the mico-skill of the book. Learners can learn many new words through reading the texts, and doing the reading exercises. The book includes extensive Persian-English and English-Persian glossaries. In many sections, I used the informal Persian, the same way that Iranians use Persians in their daily life. The topics of the lessons are Persian culture, Persian history, Persian foods, Persian art and literature, technology, tourism, health and exercise, free time, jobs, social issues, past experiences, ideals, medias, ... . The wide range of topics permits language learners to be able to use language in different situations. It also helps them to know a very wide range of vocabulary. In addition, language learners will be acquainted with different aspects of Iran and Iranian life. Moreover, in some tasks, they need to talk about themselves, their own culture, their own country, and their own point of views. The book is most suitable for learners at intermediate and upper intermediate levels. Learners need to complete at least a 40 hours Persian course prior to using this book. As speaking basically occur in dialogue, then it is obviously not a self-study book.
About the Author: I am a masters' graduate of " Teaching Persian to non-Persian speakers from the University of Allameh Tabatabai(Tehran). I hold a second masters' degree in "Psychology of Language" from the University of Edinburgh. I am a PhD student of "Psycholinguistics" at the University of Bern.