PERSIAN LANGUAGE LEARNING RESOURCES
When learning Persian as a child, my family and I discovered the appalling lack of language learning resources. Persian is a language spoken by 130 million people worldwide, yet finding language resources for Persian was a significant challenge. My childhood Persian lessons featured depressing stories, with defeatist morals that I believed did not encourage individualism. I distinctly remember the story of a man who dreamed of traveling by airplane. Near the end of his life, he saved up enough money to purchase a plane ticket, and boarded a plane headed for Shiraz, Iran. The plane never took off, as it caught flame, and the passengers evacuated to the airport. The man decided to never set foot on a plane again, and drove home, devastated. These depressing stories showed up numerous times through my years of lessons. It was not the fault of my teacher for feeding me this material - it was the only option. My teacher had, after all, traveled to the heart of the Persian language, and purchased her curriculums in Iran.
After years of unsatisfactory Persian language learning resources, my parents partnered with my Persian teacher, and turned to online platforms, and rare children's book series. These resources were much better suited to my needs, and provided effective and enjoyable learning for me. I would like to share these treasures with you, and hope that they will be as helpful for you as they were for me.
Persian Language Online is a free educational platform for learning Persian. Persian Language Online offers an array of high-quality lessons, with entertaining activities that keep learners motivated and engaged. Supported by a group of contributors from institutions including SOAS, University of London, the University of Cambridge, the University of St Andrews and Farhang Foundation, Persian Language online features hundreds of videos, exercises, and dialogue based activities that help people of all ages and skill levels to learn Persian.
I have used this platform for learning Persian, and highly recommend it! Organized modules help track your progress, and lessons grow more difficult as skills are mastered. This site is ad-free, and a wonderful resource for Persian learners.
Oznoz is a site that offers children's television shows in English, French, Spanish, German, Arabic, and Persian. The shows are free to watch, entertaining, and educationally helpful. Oznoz Persian includes six cartoon shows, including 1001 Nights, 16 Hudson, A First Norooz, Lili and Lola, and Mixed Nutz. The shows, despite their English titles, are dubbed in Persian, and are a fun learning resource for younger kids.
Finding Persian television in the U.S. is a challenge, and this site is a rare and precious resource. My personal favorite show Oznoz offers is Lili and Lola, about two sisters and their life growing up together. It features hilarious characters, and made learning Persian an even more exciting experience for me as a child.
Rosetta Stone Persian is an online resource for Persian learners of all ages and experience levels. A yearly plan for Rosetta Stone is $13.25, and a subscription allows access to lessons in 25 different languages, including Persian. Rosetta Stone is a 30 year old online institution, and has won several awards for its excellent and effective teaching methods. Named a Top Language App, Rosetta Stone offers 12 comprehensive units for learners, divided into segments for beginner, intermediate, and Advanced. With zero English translation options, this site is a Persian immersion experience, where learners match Persian audio with images or Persian text. The program additionally has a TruAccent Speech Engine, which listens to your pronunciation and helps you improve to sound like a native speaker.
The Pepper Puppy series in Persian is a children's book series featuring a young, playful puppy as he learns various life lessons. The series focuses on Pepper's lessons in good manners, daily habits, and growing up. Main character Pepper, (pronounced Pee-pear in Persian) acquires various life skills and coming-of-age knowledge throughout the series, such as learning to take turns and share with others, eating reasonable amounts of sweets, and taking care of a new pet. The series comprises several short picture books with dialogue and descriptive text, and colorful illustrations. Although designed for younger readers, (ages 5-6 years old), this series is a helpful resource for anyone learning Persian, and can be read and enjoyed even as an adult.
I read this series in Persian as a young child, and enjoyed its humorous narratives and its assistance as a learning resource. It is difficult to find this series for sale in Persian outside of Iran, but it can be found on specialized diaspora online bookstores, such as the Persis Collection, which accepts custom import requests for certain books primarily available in Iran.