Principal Investigator: Hessam Dehghani, Assistant Professor of Teaching, Asian Studies
Project description
Language textbooks draw a homogeneous picture of the language and culture of the Persian-speaking community under the pretence of a standard or native culture. Most Persian language learners at UBC, being heritage Learners, are intrinsically motivated to learn the language to connect with their community and relatives who then look down on them for their non-standard usage or imperfect knowledge of the so-called standard culture and language. To empower my students, I have designed community-based learning (CBL) projects to turn course book themes into inquiries whereby students are put in conversation with community members to re-discover the diversity of language and culture together. The project aims at studying the impact of such projects on the critical understanding of both groups and on improving student motivation as a result.
Research questions
- How does CBL impact heritage students’ awareness of the language and cultural diversity within Persian speaking community in Vancouver?
- How does direct communication with the speakers of Persian through CBL, impact heritage students’ critical understanding of what is called standard in
Persian Language and culture? - How does critical understanding of diversity through CBL, motivate and empower students?
- How does CBL impact the community’s critical awareness of such dichotomies as standard vs. non-standard, authentic vs. non-authentic Persian language and culture?