Communicative, Task-Based, and Content-Based Approaches to Persian Language Teaching: Second Language, Mixed and Heritage Classrooms at the University Level

While research in second language acquisition (SLA) and foreign-language teaching continues to move forward, Persian language instruction at the university level has not always adapted its methods to reflect these advances. The purpose of this paper is to illuminate some of the ways in which recent advances in the Communicative Approach, Task-Based Learning, and Content-Based Instruction can be applied to Persian language teaching. This piece draws upon the most recent findings in SLA research and foreign language pedagogy to define the various approaches. It gives an overview of how these approaches are currently used in Persian language teaching materials, and suggests how they might be effectively applied to Persian language classrooms. In particular, the paper considers how the approaches might benefit L2 learners and heritage learners differently. It will primarily be of interest to Persian language instructors at the university level, as well as instructors of other Less Commonly Taught Languages, as languages that tend to lack up-to-date instruction materials.