Reading: Two articles are included in the reading section. The first is the summary of President Biden’s speech at the UN General Assembly in 2022, the second is that of President Raisi. Students will be required to read both articles and assess the stylistic and lexical differences between the speeches of the two leaders of both conflicting countries.
Listening: This video features a 20-minute segment from the first presidential debate ahead of the second round of Iran’s 2024 presidential elections, featuring a heated exchange between the two candidates, Saeed Jalili and Masoud Pezeshkian. This material will help students become more familiar with the language and style of a live political debate in Iran.
Subject of Conversation - Students will be divided into two opposing groups, each of which will try to analyze the respecting speeches of both Mr. Biden and Dr. Raisi. They will try to find out the weak and strong points in the speeches of both presidents. The success of each group will depend on the number of highlighted relevant points, and stylistic, lexical and grammatical correctness during the presentation in the class.
Homework:
- Please carefully read the texts and study the vocabulary.
- Watch the entire segment of the political debate between M. Pezeshkian and S. Jalili, and summarize the main issues discussed (around 200 words).
Vocabulary (First and second articles):
| Persian Word | Transcription | English Translation |
| حقوق اولیه | hoquq-e avvaliyye | fundamental rights |
| اساسی | asāsi | basic |
| اقصی | aqsa | farthest, farther |
| نقاط (مفرد: نقطه) | noqāt (sing. noqte) | points |
| بیان اعتراض | bayān-e e‘terāz | expression of protest |
| مسالمت‌آمیز | mosālematāmiz | peaceful |
| باروری | bārvari | productivity, fertility |
| برخوردار بودن | barxordār budan | to enjoy, to have |
| جوامع (مفرد: جامع) | javāme’ (sing. jāme’) | communities |
| اقلیت | aqalliyat | minority |
| دگرباش | degarbaš | LGBTQ+ individual |
| خشونت | xošunat | violence |
| از نظر | az nazar-e | from the perspective of |
| پیگرد | peygard | prosecution, legal pursuit |
| به چالش کشیدن | be čāleš kešidan | to challenge |
| به رغم | be raƴm-e | despite |
| معترض | mo’tarez | protester |
| موضع‌گیری | mouze’giri | stance, positioning |
| تناسب داشتن | tanāsob daštan | to be proportional, to be suitable |
| وقایع (مفرد: واقعه) | vaqāye’ (sing. vāqe’e) | events, incidents |
| حل و فصل | hal o fasl | resolution |
| مسئله (جمع: مسائل) | mas’ale (plur. masā’el) | issue, matter |
| مماشات نشان دادن | momāšāt nešān dādan | to show appeasement, to show leniency |
| انتقاد | enteqād | criticism |
| اختصاص دادن | extesās dādan | to devote, to allocate, to assign |
| سانسور | sānsur | censorship |
| محدودیت | mahdudiyyat | limitation, restriction |
| ابعاد (مفرد: بعد) | ‘ab’ād (sing. bo’d) | dimensions |
| واکنش | vākoneš | reaction |
| جان باختن | jān bāxtan | to lose life, to die |
| استاندارد دوگانه | estandārd-e dogāne | double standard |
| نقض | naqz | violation |
| دستکم | dastekam | at least |
| از جمله | az jomle | including, such as |
| بومی | bumi | indigenous |
| مرز | marz | border |
| پناهجو | panāhju | asylum seeker |
| اعدام دسته‌جمعی | e‘dām-e dastejam’i | mass execution |
| زندانی سیاسی | zandāni-ye siyāsi | political prisoner |
| اتحادیه اروپا | ettehādiyye-ye orupā | European Union |
| مردمسالاری | mardomsālārī | democracy |
| حزب سیاسی | hezb-e siyāsi | political party |
Weekend Presentation: On the first day of the following week, each student must be prepared to deliver a 6-7 minute presentation on politics in their own country or any other country of their choice. The presentation can cover any aspect of the political landscape or provide a short overview, with a focus on using political terminology and sentence structures they've learned throughout the week. After each presentation, a Q&A session will follow, where students will respond to questions from their peers. This exercise will help students develop their speaking skills, expand their vocabulary in a political context, and enhance their ability to express complex ideas clearly in Persian.