Welcome to Persian Online at ANU

آموزش زبان فارسی آنلاین در دانشگاه ملی استرالیا

Learn Persian through interactive lessons, multimedia activities and an active student community.

ABOUT PERSIAN ONLINE

Persian (Farsi) is spoken today by more than 120 million native speakers around the Middle East and Central Asia, primarily in Iran. Historically understood from the Mediterranean to India, it continues to enjoy a rich literary, cultural, and political legacy. ANU Persian Online is your chance to learn modern Persian – a key language of international affairs, global politics and world literature – and to immerse yourself in this current, yet deeply historical, language and culture.

Students of Introductory Persian quickly master the Persian script and learn to read, write, and converse while gaining familiarity with Persian culture, history and modern Iran through interactive multimedia-based online instruction. Introductory Persian provides students with a versatile foundation in spoken and written Persian and requires no prior knowledge or experience.

Intermediate Persian students build and strengthen core language skills and expand their knowledge and fluency in new directions with a focus on spoken and colloquial Persian as well as an introduction to Persian literature.

To learn more about the courses and how to enrol, see here.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN BY STUDYING
PERSIAN ONLINE

Writing

You will quickly learn to write the Persian alphabet, to handwrite and type cursive Persian script, and to compose texts and communicate about a variety of personal, everyday and academic topics and interests.

Conversation

Through online resources, activities, and interaction with fellow students and instructors you start the journey of speaking and comprehending Persian and enjoying the language's beauties and complexities.

Reading

You will learn to read Persian cursive writing and calligraphy and build a vocabulary of the most common and useful words. Each lesson instructs language skills and engages students in the rich culture and literature.

Culture

You will learn about aspects of Persian culture through innovative engagement with key cultural, historical and social topics supported by multimedia-rich lessons - essential to contexualise your new Persian skills.

WHO YOU'll BE LEARNING FROM

Dr Zahra Taheri

Convenor of Persian Language and Iranian Studies,
Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, ANU
BA Pahlavi/Shiraz University; MA Persian Literature, Research Institute of Persian Culture; PhD in Near Eastern Studies from UC Berkeley

Introductory Persian

WHAT OUR STUDENTS SAY...

I can tell student support is a big commitment the University makes to its students and I have experienced and appreciate this. To all involved I thank you. Learning becomes easier when one feels they can approach people to get the help they need.

- Janine

A great course and I am excited in continuing on to higher levels of Persian!

– Musa

Introductory Persian A exceeded all my expectations, providing a foundation for building on this wonderful language with a very structured, comprehensive and challenging program. We were guided by Dr Taheri and William who were patient, knowledgeable and accessible, providing so much kind encouragement and inspiration to delve into Persian language and culture. I can't wait to continue next semester! Thank you!

- Olivia

Students commit to online learning due to various lifestyle factors so having the recordings of the tutorials, when not able to attend live, to watch and learn from flexibly is extremely helpful.

- Josh

I have been extremely enthused with the course and learning Persian through such an innovative and intuitive platform with great personal learning support. Thank you.

- Laura

Face-to-face tutorials are vital. The explanations in the tutorials are clear and help consolidate the material learned and get targeted help where needed. The sound and video in the lessons are really helpful for getting a better idea of the stresses and phrasing of natural Persian, so we’re fully equipped to use it.