پژوهش نامه ی آموزش زبان فارسی به غیر فارسی زبانان
پیاپی 2 (زمستان 1391)

Language textbooks are conventionally expected to develop the four language macro-skills, including listening, reading, writing and speaking in language learners. However, mastering the reading skill is of particular importance, since it enhances the comprehension of specialized texts in students. The objective of this research is to investigate the scientific aspect of Persian textbooks in teaching the reading skill. In this research at first, the significant studies and findings in the area of reading are reviewed. Afterwards, Neil Anderson's ACTIVE model, as one of the most systematic models introduced to this area, is entirely described. Following this, some selected sources of teaching Persian are analyzed based on this model. It is concluded from this analysis that these sources have hardly addressed the current findings in the area of language teaching, especially the Anderson's ACTIVE model. The cultivation of vocabulary, the principle common within all traditional methods of language instruction, is remarkably implemented throughout these books. Among other components of Anderson's ACTIVE model, the principle of verification of strategies has been considered more. The teach-for-comprehension component has been rarely applied too. Despite its tremendous significance, the activation of prior knowledge principle is disregarded in almost all books. Furthermore, the principles called increase reading rate and progress evaluation are neglected all through these sources.

Researchers of language teaching believe that teaching method has a lot of impact on the speed and depth of learning. The importance of this is so obvious on teaching some Persian language structures which are syntactically and semantically complicated. One of these structures is conditional sentences which has been considered in this study. Here we tried to teach conditional sentences via both Structural and Task-based methods to non-Persian speakers to finally select one of these methods as the most efficient. To achieve this, 30 Arab students from Imam Khomeini International university, who were selected at random, were devided into two groups (control and experimental) and conditional sentences were taught to them; Control group through Structural method and experimental group through Task-based method. At last, a test in conditional sentences was held and the data revealed that Task-based teaching method is more efficient for teaching conditional sentences.

Increasing development of innovative technologies has changed the methods and possibilities of learning a language. The use, as well as development, of virtual educational systems is increasing. This is while, in teaching Persian as a foreign language, factors such as the expanding number of assorted candidates, high volumes of demands for learning Persian, inadequate resources, and the difficulties in conducting regular courses for all candidates, have multiplied the need of introducing virtual courses. Such inevitabilities led to the proposal of a project fordesigning and implementing a basic virtual Persian language course at Imam Khomeini International University. Needs analysis and feasibility studies for selecting a suitable system of conducting virtual courses have made it clear that in order to offer suitable syllabi for instruction of Persian, new tools related to the type of teaching contents have to be created. This article deals with the technical analysis of designing and implementing suitable tools for conducting virtual courses in Persian language through which a successful module for conducting Persian courses may be designed and developed.

This study compares the amount and type of direct and indirect strategies and peripheral modifications employed by Persian speakers and Persian language learners in the request speech act, in different contexts (concerning formality, familiarity and importance of the subject of request). A Discourse Completion Test, as well as direct observation, was used as the main instrument for data collection. 80 native Persian speakers and 80 Persian language learners of two levels in one age group of 20-30 participated in this study. Results indicated that there is no significant relation between the importance of the subject of request and formality and the amount of peripheral modifications employed by language learners when requesting. But, depending on the amount of familiarity with the addressee, they use peripheral modifications. However, native Persian speakers acted differently depending on the given variables and this indicates that Persian language learners are not aware of suitable strategies in different contexts. Findings of this research can help us for teaching Persian language in this way that educational material and class activities should prepare Persian language learners for applying suitable strategies when needed and communicating successfully in different situations.

Negation has many complicated forms and can be represented in a variety of ways. Some sentences have explicit negation items and some other sentences convey the notion of negation without having any explicit negation item. Negative Polarity Items (NPIs) are expressions that need to a negative context to be grammatically correct, and their meanings are compatible with negative sentences and are only used in some special sentences. Learning such categories for non-native Persian language learners is quite difficult, because of the difference between grammar of their mother tongue and that of Persian language. Although in the recent decades, in the field of second language studies, many researches have been done, there was not enough concentration on the application of NPIs by second/foreign language learners. The present paper aims to study and analyze the differences between the errors made by non-native Persian language learners when comprehending or producing sentences containing NPIs. To do this research, after selecting 46 adult learners at random, they were tested within two groups and they answered a questionnaire contained 20 sentences. Then, the errors made by them were carefully studied and comparison between the two groups, considering the difference in the standard deviation, showed a meaningful distinction between the errors of the two groups. The average score of the first group was higher than the second and the standard deviation was smaller. Findings of this research suggest that the two groups made different errors.

This study deals with teaching the verbal meaning networks in second/foreign language, and evaluates the effects of this kind of teaching on the learning process of foreign Persian language learners. For this purpose, a pretest was carried out among 50 foreign language learners, from which 30 individuals were selected for this research based on their scores. The subjects were divided into two groups (control and experimental), and were taught using two explicit and implicit teaching methods. The selected subjects in both groups, with the advanced language proficiency level, were given 27 verbs which were presented with their semantic lexical networks. The control group was given lessons without a direct reference to the subject of networks, while the experimental group was taught with awareness of that subject and, in addition to providing the meanings of the verbs in the margins of the lessons, some techniques such as showing the verbs in a color coded way and making the verbs in bold were used too. After each lesson, a quiz was carried out among the learners and the results of both groups’ test were compared using statistical methods. Comparing and analyzing these results through the T-test indicated that the experimental group considerably outperformed the control group.

One of the main objectives of teaching Persian to non-native language learners is helping them to communicate with Persian speakers in a variety of personal and professional situations in their daily life. To investigate the issues of verbal communication, we are obliged to pay attention to the different language functions. To do this, the present research aims to study the amount of attention paid to those functions in Persian language teaching textbooks. After examining the different sources of teaching Persian language in Iran, a book series called “Farsi Biamuzim” was selected. From this five volume series, reading passages of the first, second and third volumes, because of their attention to and applying language functions, were selected. After collecting and analyzing data, it revealed these volumes have paid special attention to language functions, according to Halliday’s Seven Functions of Language and the number of language functions in every volume, in contrast to the previous volume has an increasing trend too. Also, from these functions, interactional function has gained the most, and imaginative function, the least frequency. The high frequency of interactional function shows that these volumes of “Farsi Biamuzim” are able to act as a communicative tool and answer to the needs of language learners.