Persian Language Semester Program and Internship
16 weeks, from Aug 22, 2021 to Dec 10, 2021

Armenian School of Languages and Cultures - ASPIRANTUM is organizing a 16 weeks Persian language semester in Yerevan, Armenia. The 16 weeks of Persian language school will start on August 22, 2021, and will last till December 10, 2021 (111 days, 320 hours of Persian language instruction).

The testimonials of ASPIRANTUM Persian language summer, winter, and online school alumni are available here: https://aspirantum.com/testimonials

2021 Persian language 111 days’ school will help the participants to master skills in written and oral modern Persian, to read and interpret Persian texts from different periods as well as to rapidly deepen their knowledge in colloquial Persian, Iranian culture, linguistics, religions of the region as well as learn more about Armenia.

If requested, we will also connect our semester-long Persian program participants with several organizations in Yerevan, Armenia, so that along with learning Persian in Yerevan, students also have a chance to work as interns at those organizations. Among the organization that we currently discuss partnerships with are banks, language schools, IT startups, and the interns' jobs vary from content writers in English, PR, and marketing specialists to English teacher and political science expert. If you are interested in becoming an intern for 16 weeks in Yerevan, please mention this in the additional information field of the application.

The 16 weeks Persian language semester-long program offers 320 hours of intensive Persian language classes during 80 days of teaching (from Monday till Friday each week). Every day the participants will receive Persian language instruction for 4 hours as well as after class lectures and extra training. The classes start in the mornings and the schedule is the following:

09:00 - 10:00 - Persian language class
10:00 - 10:10 - Coffee Break
10:10 - 11:10 - Persian language class
11:10 - 11:20 - Coffee Break
11:20 - 12:20 - Persian language class
12:20 - 12:30 - Coffee Break
12:30 - 13:30 - Persian language class (fourth and final class)

Several times during the 16 weeks the Persian language classes will be followed by a lecture in the Persian language about Iranian linguistics, literature, political realities, and history. 

During the Persian language summer classes the following components will be covered every day to foster the Persian language knowledge of participants:

Grammar: Every day class will cover the main grammatical concepts of the modern Persian language as well as parallels with classical Persian.
Vocabulary: During the 16 weeks course it is anticipated that the participants will learn more than 3000 new Persian words from literary language as well as words used in everyday life.
Listening: The classes are scheduled in a way that participants with the guidance of an experienced instructor learn the Persian language through songs and movies as well as watching and listening to news and other short videos about interesting and sometimes funny topics and stories about Iranian realities.
Speaking: Every day the Persian language classes will push the students to exercise their speaking abilities through discussions, conversations, and role-plays about different texts and topics.
Writing: Each day the participants of the Persian language class will have assignments and homework to complete for the next day and the homework will primarily involve writing assignments.
Reading: Every day students will read and discuss political texts, prose and poetry, conversations, and news. The corpus of texts to be read and discussed during the classes comprises different prominent Persian authors, daily conversations as well as news of the day.

The students will receive a detailed syllabus of each day’s class. Currently, only 4 weeks of the main program are available on the website https://aspirantum.com/curriculum/persian-intermediate-syllabus as well as the full programs of the “Learn Persian through the Shahname” course https://aspirantum.com/curriculum/learning-persian-through-shahname-syllabus and “Learn Persian through Rumi's Masnavi” course https://aspirantum.com/curriculum/learn-persian-through-rumi-masnavi-syllabus that may be included in the 16 weeks school. During the coming weeks the syllabus of all 16 weeks will be available on the website. 

Levels:

This 16 weeks Persian language school is designed for participants, at least 18 years old, who want to make well-grounded progress in their knowledge of the Persian language, deepen their knowledge of Persian grammar, colloquial speech and literary language.

The Persian language semester-long program will have 1 group of up to 12 participants (the ASPIRANTUM Persian language groups during the last 3 years have usually had 4-11 students). The participants must have at least a lower intermediate and/or intermediate level of Persian language knowledge before starting the 16 weeks classes with ASPIRANTUM. Below are the descriptions of mentioned levels:

1. Lower intermediate level (A2):

You have a certain amount of difficulty in understanding the Persian language except in very precise situations; You are capable of having a simple conversation in Persian; You understand a simple written text or isolated words in Persian; You still make a lot of mistakes of expressions, vocabulary, and grammar

2. Intermediate level (A2-B1):

You manage to enter into a discussion but do not always find the appropriate turns of phrase in Persian; You manage to express your opinion in Persian and to understand the person you're speaking with; You understand voice recordings (radio, telephone, answering machine, skype, etc.); You have difficulty understanding a person who speaks quickly; You still make pronunciation, grammar, and precision mistakes

Our instructors of the Persian language have extensive experience teaching students of mentioned levels in one group in a way that all students have a rapid growth in their knowledge of the Persian language. 

ASPIRANTUM’s Persian language schools are organized in a way that undergraduate and graduate students, researchers, and professors as well as anyone interested in learning Persian benefit from it the most. So everyone with lower intermediate and intermediate levels of Persian is welcome to apply and participate in ASPIRANTUM’s 16 weeks Persian language school from August 22, 2021, and will last till December 10, 2021, in Yerevan.

Deadline:

The deadline to apply to the 16 weeks 2021 Persian language school is July 15, 2021.

To apply, please fill in the application form below.

Participation fee:

The participation fee is 10,080 USD for the 16 weeks Persian Language course.

This price includes reading and writing materials, coffee during the breaks, welcome and farewell parties, transportation and meal costs during cultural trips, and some dinners with guest speakers.

We will not cover accommodation, breakfast, lunch, dinner, visa costs, insurance, travel costs to Armenia, from Armenia and in Armenia, any costs of accompanying friends or family members.

To apply please fill in the application form below.

Registered participants should send 100% of the participation fee before July 29, 2021, online or via a wire bank transfer.

Trips in Armenia

During the 16 weeks of international Persian language school, 6 trips will be organized to the most popular cultural heritage sites of Armenia. On the first day (24 January 2021, Sunday) the school will start with a trip to the Garni pagan temple and Geghard Monastery. During 5 other weekends, the participants will have guided trips to Amberd fortress, Lake Sevan, Ejmiatsin, Tsaghkadzor, Bjni, etc.

Accommodation in Yerevan

Previously our summer and winter school participants have found great accommodation deals through Airbnb. Airbnb works perfectly in Yerevan and it is very easy to search and find a proper place. ASPIRANTUM staff is always ready to guide you and help to find the best accommodation through Airbnb. Please also check our detailed guide about how to find accommodation in Yerevan. 

Scholarships

Each participant of the winter school may find other sources of financial aid from their own University/School/Community or other relevant foundations.

Letter of Invitation

ASPIRANTUM will provide applicants with an official letter of invitation to support scholarship and travel grant applications.

For questions and inquiries please contact [email protected] or WhatsApp Dr. Khachik Gevorgyan +374-91-557978

To apply, please fill in the application form below.