Reading Persian: Parallel Engagement technique to serve Integrated Approach

In this presentation I will describe a language instruction technique that shows how it is possible to stay loyal to the original meaning of a literary text while maintaining adherence to current pedagogical best practice for second language instruction. First I will review the theoretical and practical foundations for this technique and then describes a specific implementation of the technique in an intermediate-advanced level Persian language university classroom. The technique outlined combines extensive reading of Persian short stories along with parallel texts and activities that incorporate linguistic modalities. This grants learners full exposure to the rich idiomatic forms of Persian literature and language while still retaining a primary focus on continued improvement in second language comprehension and production. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses of this approach to materials development and possible future directions will be discussed.