Intermediate Persian Syllabus
Each day’s lesson is a combination of grammar, reading, listening, conversation, drills and exercises. Reading includes various types of materials, from standard and media texts to modern and classical literature, poetry and prose. As a requirement of an intensive course, students are highly recommended to prepare ahead for each coming lesson—review the grammar, read the material(s) for the following lesson and do the homework: composition, listening to the audios, watching the videos and some exercises to optimize their contribution in the class and speed up their pace of learning.
Persian Language Semester Program
from Aug 17, 2025 to Dec 05, 2025
16 weeks (or 12-15 weeks)
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Persian Language Summer School
from Jun 22, 2025 to Aug 29, 2025
10 weeks (or 5-9 weeks)
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Persian Language Winter School
from Nov 03, 2024 to Dec 27, 2024
8 weeks (or 4-7 weeks)
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Week 1 - Political Persian
In the following week we are going to study the different aspects of modern political Persian, including the peculiar stylistic, lexical and idiomatic aspects, that characterize the speech of Iranian politicians and journalists. After the completion of the week, students will be able to read, interpret and translate average political texts that appear in Iranian media. Attention will be payed to the development of listening skills by using different authentic recordings of native speakers.
Week 2 - Cultural Persian
This week introduces students to the language of Iranian culture, covering topics such as cuisine, archaeology, cinema, literature, and art. Through selected authentic texts, videos, and discussion topics students will learn key vocabulary, stylistic features, and idiomatic expressions relevant to cultural discourse. Listening and reading skills will be strengthened, enabling students to interpret, translate, and discuss intermediate-level cultural content with confidence.
Week 3 - Colloquial Persian
People use Persian to write academic books and order coffee. But do they use the same language while doing this? The answer is “No!''. In Iran (and basically everywhere else), we have two versions of Persian: literary and vernacular. You can easily find examples of literary Persian in books and in newspapers. But when you go out to the streets in Tehran, few will speak the same Persian found in books. The language they speak is called “mohāvere”, i.e. “vernacular” based on the dialect of Tehran.
Week 4 - Persian Literature
This week offers a chronological journey through key figures and works of Persian literature, from its classical roots to modern prose. Students will be introduced to classical poetry, medieval travel writing, mystical verse, and 20th-century narrative forms. Texts will be approached as a means to deepen linguistic skills, with a focus on expanding literary vocabulary, improving reading fluency, and recognizing stylistic and grammatical features specific to literary Persian across different historical periods.
Week 5 - Economic Persian
Economics is the moving force of the state, and studying the characteristics and peculiarities of the language of economics is as important for the student of Persian as the language of politics. It is important to note that most of the political and social debates in Iran are held around the current economic situation in that country. During this week, we will start studying the different aspects of the modern Iranian economy and its political aspects. This will be done through the lense of modern Persian economic texts, audio and video recordings. During the learning process attention will be paid to the stylistic, lexical and idiomatic aspects of economic Persian. After completing the week, students will be able to read, interpret and translate standard economic texts that appear in Iranian media. Special attention will be given to the development of listening skills by using various video recordings of native speakers.
Week 6 - Legal Persian (The Constitution)
An important role in the modern Islamic Republic of Iran is played by the Iranian Constitution which was written down and accepted in 1979 and amended for the last time in 1989. Studying the constitution, the vocabulary and the legal terminology contained in it is a significant, one might say crucial step for understanding the system and nature of the modern Islamic Republic of Iran. Overall, the Constitution contains 177 articles, which are on topics such as the state flag, language and religion, as well as the structure of the government, the responsibilities of the president and the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, the legislature, the judiciary, the executive, etc. During the following week, major parts of the constitution are going to be read, explained, commented on, and studied in detail. This will help students to acquire a solid knowledge in the legal, political and also ideological terminology of modern Persan which is focal for understanding the modern Iranian state.
Week 7 - Military Persian
Military discourse is an important component of political language in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This week, students will engage with authentic texts and videos mostly from official Iranian sources focusing on regional and internal security, defense policy, and the structure of Iran’s armed forces. The interactive mode of learning will enable the students to actively engage in the process of learning. Attention will be paid to the words, technical terms and expressions, related to the military and defensive aspects of the language.
Week 8 - Historical Persian (Modern History)
There is no need to emphasize how important it is to study the political history of modern Iran in order to understand how this country works. The Islamic Republic of Iran, which came into existence at the beginning of the last quarter of the last century, is the child of the political events of the 20th century. Today’s Iran is one of the major regional players in the Middle East, and it has an enormous impact over the political events happening in the region. This week we are going to read texts related to the history of the Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties, the Islamic Revolution, and the modern Islamic Republic of Iran. The materials in this week are going to provide students not only with a background for understanding the history of Iran of that period, but also with a core vocabulary which will help students to pursue their studies further.
Week 9 - Identity Persian
Iran and the neighboring regions in Western Asia, Caucasus and Central Asia are home to a diversity of ethno-linguistic and religious groups which had lived in those areas for centuries and millennia. These communities form a network of social interactions, which play a major role in the politics of the Near East. Indeed, the study of politics in the modern Near East makes little sense if we leave out those numerous ethno-religious communities, which inhabit the territories of Middle Eastern states. This week we are going to study texts addressing the ethnic, social and cultural issues of the region.
Week 10 - Religious Persian
Religion plays a huge role in the politics and everyday life of the people of the Middle East, a role that is impossible to overestimate. There are a variety of religions in this area and it is in general considered to be the birthplace of many religions. Though Islam is the major and most important creed in the Middle East, there is also a significant number of representatives of other religions and sects, like Christianity (Apostolic, Maronite, Nestorian, etc.), Judaism, Mandeism, Yezidism, Zoroastrianism etc. This week we are going to discuss questions related to religions and religious life in Iran and the Middle East in general. A special place will be given to exploring the religious terminology of the state doctrine of the IRI, the Twelve-Imamite Shiism. Other religions, like Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Yezidism will also be covered.