Good evening. My name is Malorie Meshkati and I have compiled an essay to present to you all. And I use the word “compile,” because I wanted to emphasize that I did no more than organize the thoughts expressed by my fellow students of Persian. The Persian Institute at California State University Fullerton has been organized in a manner that is completely and totally Iranian from group selection to the teaching approach. To use a term that I first heard from Lindsay and Monica and that makes Khanom Dabiri cringe, “farsi camp” has both expanded our knowledge of the Persian language and transformed the way in which we view ourselves and the world. The most unique aspect of this language immersion program is the diversity of the group that has been selected to partake in this experience. As Dante has said on numerous occasions, “I’m still waiting for Ghazzal to tell us that they have been secretly video taping us for a reality show.” No two of us are remotely similar. We bring different opinions, ways of life, experiences, cultures, and most importantly styles of learning to the program. Our ages range from nineteen to thirty and our fields of study span from near eastern languages and cultures and global economy to criminal justice and biology. We come from different parts of the nation and world, such as Alabama, Texas, the northeast, Egypt, and right here in southern California. As Grace pointed out, “The Persian institute is the only one of the SLI intensive programs that has opened its doors to so many students who had never before studied Persian.” This receptive attitude, which has allowed for the diversity of the group, combined with the intensity of the Persian institute has fostered personal growth and maturity. Most of us can honestly say that we’ve spent more time with our fellow “Persians” in these past six weeks than we would have with our own families had we been at home. As Sahar calculated, “We spend about 100 hours a week with most of the people in this group.” And being such a diverse group, the bonds we formed allowed us to break stereotypes and reshape our own attitudes. This diversity has not also proved beneficial for the learning process. As Matt Ghazarian and Dante jointly pointed out, the combination of heritage speakers and second year students in the same classroom accelerates learning for both groups. The second year students have accessibility to heritage speakers and can ask questions about colloquial Persian or seek help with their homework, whereas the heritage speakers are constantly being tested by the second years. As a heritage speaker, I and I’m sure along with Sahar and Nima and Austen have to rethink and correctly relearn information that we know or at least thought we knew. In this way, our own mistakes are corrected and our previous knowledge is reinforced. True to its name, this six week intensive Persian immersion has exposed us all to Persian language and culture in a way that no other course could have. The girls in suite 205 spoke for many of the first years when they said that they love being able to read Persian even if they might not fully understand what they are reading. And the second years have reached the end of Thackston’s Introduction to Persian and are able to read both contemporary and classical Persian. Our conversational Persian has also improved
greatly. We speak Persian amongst ourselves as much as possible even when our ostads and the GA’s are not present. Even when it is necessary to speak English, the first years naturally and smoothly incorporate Persian phrases into their conversations. Consequently everyone’s comprehension has reached new heights. In the dorms, Sahar and I used to be able to gossip between ourselves, but we no longer are able to do so since our suitemates now can understand at least parts of what we are saying. The Persian Institute has also emphasized the importance of culture. Through movies, lectures, and interactions with Iranians, those of us, who are non-Iranian have been exposed to some of the simplest and most important Persian customs and traditions. Many evenings are spent drinking tea and/or studying and listening to Persian music, and Tarouf has become common amongst us. The most prominent subject that arose in student discussions about the Persian Institute was that of our ostads or teachers. Paven captured the general feeling when she described Khanom Dabiri and Danaee as “approachable, accommodating, and nurturing.” Their attitudes make us feel comfortable about the levels at which we are. Monica is not too shy to walk in on office hours and ask about ezafehs after Austen and Sahar just finished reviewing Persian poetry with Khanom Dabiri. Elsa reasserted Paven’s point by saying that she feels there is less mocking in this language program than previous language classes that she has taken. Our ostads create an atmosphere in which we feel comfortable attempting to pronounce words even if we know that we are most likely mispronouncing them. Khanoms Dabiri and Danaee also conduct their classes in a way that encourages us to constantly question until we fully understand. The openness of their classrooms allows us to raise our hands at any point in their lesson. We do not have to wait until they finish lecturing before we present our questions. They are equally considerate when answering us and do not get the slightest bit annoyed when they have to explain the same topic three times in a row or re-explain ten minutes later and will still explain it again during their office hours or break or lunch without showing frustration or aggravation. Yesterday, Khanom Dabiri spent much of our grammar lesson ingraining within the minds of the second years the correct usage of subjunctive versus indicative in conditionals and did not continue with the lesson until she was sure we all understood. And within the course of yesterday and today, Khanom Danaee probably repeated the word moteahed thirty times before its pronunciation and meaning stuck in our heads. Our ostads’ motivation for and persistence in teaching us is contagious. But in the transfer process, it is translated into a motivation and persistence to learn Persian. And one can feel this attitude just by walking amongst us. Every moment of the day is made into an opportunity to learn. The examples are endless. Since day one, Ariel has been picking up words from native speakers, asking their meaning, and constantly repeating them until not only she but also others in the dormitory learn them. Awad persistently tries to pick up as much colloquial Persian as possible to abide by Suite 203’s
Persian-language-only rule and Matt Ghazarian always seems to be reflecting about the poetic quality of Persian by analyzing words and phrases such as the common befarmaed. We could not have advanced so much without the help of Elnaz, Nahid, Negin, Warren, and of course Reza. Whether helping us with homework, teaching us colloquial sayings, or making us feel comfortable away from home, the GA’s have made themselves readily available to us. They are constantly reinforcing what we learn during instruction hours and do not appear to have run out of energy even during the final week. It was just yesterday that Reza returned to the computer lab after class hours were over to help the second year students with our final project. As a class, we want you all to know that we recognize and appreciate all you have done for us. “The Persian Institute has been a Godsend,” as Awad said. We have been given everything that we could have possibly needed from the best ostads and GA’s and learning facilities to housing and a stipend, and have used all these things to learn as much Persian as we possibly could throughout these past six weeks. We leave Cal State Fullerton not only having reached more advanced levels of Persian but also with different outlooks on life. And I know we aren’t making toasts right now, but if we were I would make a toast to the educational and emotional growth that will continue during study abroad.