Improving Farsi speaking skills

Recently one of my students asked how to improve his Farsi speaking skills. I gave him my usual advices about doing listening exercises, memorising new vocabulary and so on. However, it seems to be a big concern for many Farsi learners and perhaps there are no that many good materials to practice this beautiful language.

This article is for my student David and all other Farsi learners who would like to speed up their learning and particularly their speaking skills.

To start: Please watch this 20 min Ted talk:
https://ed.ted.com/on/GOA9dfE2

Ok, now few more advice and few more links:
You need to focus on the language content that is relevant to you. So if you have a Farsi speaker family member, try to focus on information you can get from them speaking to their friends, family, to you, on a phone … In this way you are more likely to pick up vocabulary that’s relevant to you and that you are likely to use sooner rather than later.

Some tips and useful tools:
Buy a Farsi keyboard stickers:

Use this free and good app on your phone to revise and memories new vocabulary, remember you can create your own set of words. Try to create new sets by using books that you are learning Farsi from and also everything you hear on a daily basis.
https://quizlet.com/5973334/farsi-asan-1-flash-cards/

If you have any one who talk Farsi around you try to only use Farsi to communicate.
Listen A LOT! Here are audios I recommended to listen to:
Radio Javan (for Iranian song and music)
BBC FARSI

If you like music also try these:
Marjan Farsad play lists (She sings slowly so you have a chance to grasp some words and add to your flash cards)
Pallet music band

Watch some Iranian movies and serials with English subtitles, you can find plenty on this website:
https://www.imvbox.com/

You need to ask questions or as it was called in the Ted Talk, Tool Box

این چیه؟
به فارسی چی می شه؟ …..
نفهمیدم لطفا تکرار کنید؟
یعنی چی؟ ……

I have a two and half years old daughter who is fluent in Farsi and Polish. Watching her learning the language you could see she was (still does) applying many of these principles all the time. On a single day when she was less than two years she could ask up to 300 times “what is this” (این چیه؟) And then she would ask it sometimes up to 10 times for a single object, I guess it was her way to memorise it. So don’t be shy, ask either in the class or outside if you have a speaking partner. If you don’t have someone try to find either online or at International Societies of a nearby university.

My last word is: give yourself a time. Be patient with yourself and never think you are not learning. Human brain and memory works in a complicated way, you need to give input but be aware that one of the ingredient of learning is time.