Reimagining Persian Language Teaching: Technology, Multimodal Pedagogy, and Cultural Engagement in a Changing World

Vocabulary and grammar instruction, translation, and the use of literary texts for close reading are widely used in Persian language instruction (Abasi, 2012; Alizadeh et al., 2016; Talajooy, 2025). While these approaches are culturally and linguistically rich, they often emphasize form over communicative function and may not fully meet the needs of diverse learners seeking practical, engaging, and technology-enhanced language learning experiences.
This presentation reports on a qualitative study conducted in an asynchronous, university-level introductory Persian course offered in 2025, reimagining traditional instruction through task-based, multimodal, and learner-centered approaches. Drawing on research highlighting the implementation of digital, multimodal resources and innovative pedagogy (Lin, 2012; Ting, 2014; Tan, 2023; Fedorenko et al., 2021; Tan & Matsuda, 2020; Ho & Feng, 2024), the course integrated Padlet, social media platforms, and AI tools to foster creativity, collaboration, and linguistic growth, utalizing students’ digital literacy to cultivate lifelong learners.
Students completed weekly theme-based assignments that connected their personal stories to Persian cultural topics, including online research, interviews with cultural informants, multimodal journals, and collaborative infographic-style projects. AI tools provided real-time feedback, supporting individualized learning and learner autonomy. Analysis of student work and reflections showed that learners valued authentic cultural engagement, collaboration, and the multimodal design of the course, which fostered deeper cultural awareness and a stronger sense of belonging in the asynchronous classroom.
The session will present course design, research rationale, and outcomes, highlighting examples of student work such as including multimodal journals, theme-based tasks, Padlet collaboration, and AI integration. Participants will have practical, innovative approaches for creating engaging, inclusive, and technology-enhanced Persian language learning environments.