A Journey to the Unseen Iran: From History to Language

Nara JALT is pleased to present a unique presentation and workshop:

Location:            Ikoma Takemaru Hall (Ikoma Chuo Kominkan), Room 6.
Date and Time: Saturday, 10 December 2016 – 2:30pm – 5:00pm
Speakers:            Mehrasa Alizadeh, Parisa Mehran

Iranian History, Culture, and Education: A Brief Overview

This talk will take you on a journey to the unseen Iran. The presenters will briefly introduce the history of Iran (also known as Persia), including various aspects of Iranian culture, literature, cuisine, music, religions, architecture, and heritage sites. Along the way, the history of foreign language education in Iran with the emphasis on the English language will be discussed within its greater educational context.

Why Not Try Learning Persian? Let’s Sympathize with Absolute Beginners!
The presenters will shortly introduce the audience to the Persian language. The participants will then learn some survival phrases and how to write their names in Persian as a hands-on activity.

Biodata
Parisa Mehran is a PhD candidate at Takemura Lab, Informedia Education Division, Cybermedia Center, Osaka University. Born and raised in Tehran, Parisa holds a BA in English Language and Literature and an MA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), both from Alzahra University, Tehran. Before moving to Japan, she taught English for academic purposes (EAP) at Alzahra University. In 2014, she obtained the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) Scholarship and is now pursuing further education in Japan. Parisa’s research interests include computer assisted language learning (CALL), online course design, and AR/VR applications in ELT. Collaborating with Mehrasa ALIZADEH, her doctoral dissertation concerns the design, development, implementation, and evaluation of an online course for teaching academic English to Japanese students at Osaka University.

Mehrasa Alizadeh is a PhD candidate at Takemura Lab, Informedia Education Division, Cybermedia Center, Osaka University. Born in Babol, a city in the north of Iran, Mehrasa moved to Tehran to pursue higher education. She holds a BA in English Language and Literature and an MA in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) from Allameh Tabatabai University, Tehran. She taught English at Iran Language Institute (ILI) for eight years. In 2013, she was offered the Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho) Scholarship and moved to Japan the following year. Her main research interests include computer assisted language learning (CALL), online course development/quality assessment, and AR/VR applications in language teaching. Her PhD research is focused on developing an online Academic English course targeting Japanese learners at Osaka University.

After the event will be the Nara Chapter Xmas Party/New Year’s Bounenkai at Toyojoytilino restaurant from approximately 6:30 p.m. Please check the Facebook Page of Nara Chapter for further information.