Developing and evaluating a comprehensive textbook for teaching Persian to Chinese speakers at the elementary level on the basis of Standard Framework for Teaching Persian Language

The availability of Persian for Specific Purposes textbooks is a priority. Thus, it is essential to prepare and develop appropriate educational content for “Teaching Persian to Chinese Speakers” within a standard framework and following a structure and approach which is in line with learning needs of Chinese speakers. Accordingly, the Standard Framework for Teaching Persian Language and the International Curriculum for Teaching Chinese Language were consulted to develop a comprehensive textbook for teaching Persian to Chinese speakers at the elementary level. The textbook was intended to be covered in 120 to 144 hours of instruction. For textbook development, an integrated approach was used which drew on "grammar-translation" and "communicative" approaches. The study aimed to evaluate the textbook and answer the following two questions:1. How effective was the structure of the developed textbook from the perspective of the instructors who taught Persian to Chinese speakers? 2. How effective was the integrated approach which drew on "grammar-translation" and "communicative" approaches from the perspective of the instructors? Along with the textbook, a45-item questionnaire was given to 36 Persian language instructors to fill out. The textbook was evaluated in terms of its approach, main subject, vocabulary and structure, quality of the tasks, pictures, instructional texts, and main skills. The results of statistical analysis verified the effectiveness of the approach and the structure of the textbook for elementary Chinese learners of Persian language.

Expanded Abstract
Due to the necessity of specialized materials and textbooks for Teaching Persian for Specific Purposes, developing appropriate educational contents for teaching Persian is an essential matter. The matter has been considered here for teaching Persian to Chinese speakers on the basis of a standard framework and considering the needs of Chinese learners of Persian. Accordingly, at the first phase of the present research Standard Framework for Teaching Persian Language (which specifies grammar, vocabulary and functions for each level) and the International Curriculum for Teaching Chinese Language (which specifies objectives, skills, linguistic knowledge, strategies and cultural competence for each level) were used to develop a comprehensive textbook for Chinese learners of Persian at the elementary level. Standard Framework for Teaching Persian Language consists of 61 grammatical, 104 lexical and 55 functional points at the elementary level, while the International Curriculum for Teaching Chinese Language consists of 36 grammatical, 64 lexical and 53 functional points at this level. The above two sources were examined and their common points in the three areas were selected for the intended textbook which came to a number of: 47 grammatical, 68 lexical and 48 functional points. The textbook adopted an integrated approach which drew on "grammar-translation" and "communicative" approaches and mainly focused on selecting the appropriate grammar, vocabulary and function for elementary level Chinese learners of Persian. The textbook was intended for 120 to 144 hours of instruction. The chosen approach was also in line with cultural and education background in the Chinese context which favors collectivism, socialization for achievement, high acceptance of power and authority and overview of Chinese traditional education system. These sources of Chinese culture are often claimed to have an important effect on attitudes and behaviors of Chinese learners. Grammar-translation focuses on form with an emphasis on grammar and vocabulary. Communicative approach focuses on function, with use of the language in realistic situations. Either of the above mentioned methods used in isolation is unlikely to function effectively in teaching Persian to Chinese speakers. The study illustrated that an integrated approach can emphasize different aspects of the language that is to be acquired by the Chinese learners and be operative for this community of learners (Zhou & Niu, 2015). The textbook consisted of 12 lessons which included warm up section, main text, vocabulary, grammar, grammar tasks, communicative tasks, speaking tasks, writing tasks, listening tasks and reading comprehension tasks. The lessons focused on both written and spoken forms of standard Persian and were accompanied with Chinese definition for the vocabulary and grammar explanations. The main aim of the current research was to evaluate the prepared materials and to answer the following research questions: 1- To what extent was the structure of the prepared textbook effective from the perspective of teachers who have taught Persian to the Chinese? 2- To what extent was the integrated approach effective from the perspective of teachers who taught Persian to Chinese speakers? In this regard, a 45-item questionnaire was prepared which was given along with the textbook to 36 Persian language instructors who taught at Persian language teaching centers of Shahid Beheshti University, Imam Khomeini International University, Dehkhoda Institute, Allameh University, the School of Foreign Ministry and International Relations as well as Beijing, Shanghai and Xinjiang Universities of Foreign Languages. The results of statistical analyses produced a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.978 which exceeded 0.7 level and showed the effectiveness of the approach and the structure of the prepared textbook. The questionnaire aimed to examine the teaching materials in terms of their approach (3 questions), main subject (5 questions), vocabulary and structure (5 questions), quality of tasks (5 questions), pictures (4 questions), texts (4 questions) and four main skills of listening (6 questions), reading (6 questions), reading (4 questions) and writing (3 questions). At first, the data from the questionnaires were entered into the Excel software and then, SPSS software was used to analyze the normal distribution of the data through the Kolmogorov test. After that, the cumulative frequency of each item was obtained and based on it a histogram was plotted for each curve and was compared with the normal graph. Finally, a sample run test was performed on the data. The results of the statistical analysis illustrated the effectiveness of the approach and the structure of the textbook for Chinese learners of Persian. In addition, the results showed the appropriateness of the level of vocabulary and structure, the quality of tasks, the content and number of pictures, and the flexibility of teaching texts used intuitively in different ways. The research results indicated that the textbook was effective in transferring the Iranian culture, familiarizing the learners with the norms of Iran, and obtaining the necessary communication forms.