Investigating factors influencing the selection of educational materials for foreign Persian learners

In any language course - including Persian - for foreign audiences, the selection of educational materials is one of the basic principles of each course. In fact, no matter what method we use to teach Persian, we are forced to select the part of the language that we intend to teach, and many factors are involved in this selection. Of course, it goes without saying that no teacher can teach the entire Persian language, and in addition, no teacher can be found who knows all the ancient Persian vocabulary, so foreign language learners should not be expected to be able to learn all aspects and vocabulary of the Persian language within a given time frame. Therefore, the question that gives consistency to the body of this research is, what are the effective factors in the selection of Persian language teaching materials in a given course and what methods are effective in determining the selection of educational materials? Years of experience in different courses of second language teaching centers have shown that various factors, including the volume of educational materials, the time taken, the purpose of education, and the level of selection, are among the most important factors affecting the selection of educational materials for foreign language learners. The results of this study show that each of the above-mentioned factors has multiple dimensions, each of which plays a prominent role in the process of selecting educational materials.
Extended Abstract:
Introduction
Every language has four main aspects: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Some of this language learning is done informally and spontaneously. This means that no language learner is formally taught to listen and speak, but in teaching these two aspects, it is part of the learner's psychological development and is done by itself, but teaching reading and writing is never done by itself. Teaching these two aspects of language learning should also develop them while using listening and speaking. The goal of language learning is for the learner to be able to understand different concepts and make their meaning clear to others, for this reason, language teaching experts and instructors, while considering the goals of teaching any language, including Persian, consider the goals of the learner and accordingly, they are very meticulous in selecting educational materials. The fact that selecting educational materials in the first stage of language learning is a relatively difficult task is due to many factors, including who is the target audience of the education? Is the goal simply the everyday conversation of a traveler or tourist or is he preparing for an exam? Is he looking to learn the language for international purposes? Does he have cultural goals? How much time does the audience have? How old is he? And... These and many other things help the language learner in selecting educational materials so that he can provide a fruitful course with excellent achievements for the learners. What we are looking for in this research is to draw a comprehensive educational model based on the conscious selection of materials for a Persian language course for non-Persian speakers, and the author, based on field studies, library research, and personal experiences of teaching Persian and its challenges, seeks to draw a scientific model for selecting educational materials in a course for foreign Persian learners.
 
Methodology
This research has been conducted using a descriptive-analytical method and with the help of theoretical sources. Based on field studies and research, personal experiences, and the experiences of other teachers, the author has examined a comprehensive and general issue in teaching Persian to non-Persian speakers.
 
Results
Every language course, whether short or long, requires materials to be taught in that course. However, how to select these materials that will lead us to the desired goal depends on several factors, including: time, volume of materials, learner goals, and also the level of selection. Paying attention to these matters in a precise scientific and pre-researched process can greatly help us in achieving the educational goals of the Persian language in a course. Ultimately, the selection of materials for a course is influenced by points that must be observed throughout the course, otherwise the education may be stereotypical, boring, and ineffective. The results of the present study show that the first principle in designing course materials in a course is to pay attention to the frequency of frequently used words for the learner's communication to meet his communicative and primary needs, and then the number of educational words can be increased by increasing specialized vocabulary. Also, the semantic scope of the selected words is a fundamental principle in this course, and the language learner must first learn the original scope and primary meaning of the words, and then learn the meanings of the subsequent layers of the word in interaction with the language speakers. This study also concluded that it is better to first start teaching words similar to the international language (English) based on the similarity element, and because these words are easy to learn, the teaching process should be followed through this principle, as it both has higher retention power and removes the learner from the stress of not being familiar with the words of the source language.
 
Conflict of Interest
 The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
 
Acknowledgment
This research proposal was approved by Isfahan University of Medical Sciences with ethics code IR.ARI.MUI.REC.1404.055.