I'm three years ahead of my classmates in Persian, and because of that, and the fact the conveners are confident in my abilities (my grade thus far is 99.10% in all areas of language learning), I'm allowed to progress from where I am in class despite the class not having been formally taught what I am speaking and writing so basically when I speak in class and before class starts (I am the only one in class that converses with the lecturer in Persian, well, I am the only student who speaks Persian at all besides when answering questions) - nobody knows what I am saying lol. They will easily catch up by the end of next semester.
It's a little embarrassing when the lecturer applauds my abilities in front of everyone, (I actually believe they even ascribe more than I believe there is), but I always share the resources I have used in self study with my classmates. I even try to engage them by posting songs and poems I enjoy in Persian with the original Persian script, a transliteration, and English translation. Only had one classmate respond, but at the end of the day, it's kindness and more practise for me!
I share my resources and encourage language input because, realistically, at uni we only have 11 hours of oral practice per semester. So split those 11 hours between 20 students. We don't even get that time to speak if being realistic.
So, if it is stated by the experts that it takes 100 hours for tourist language skills, 200-300 hours for conversational foothold, 500-700 hours for more automatic conversing, and 1000 hours where you reach that point where you pretty much 'stop translating', you can see that if my classmates are thinking "I'm at ANU and I'm taking Persian, I'll be fluent by the end of it!" - they are way off. I already can see the students self-studying along with their uni course; it's obvious. But a lot do not and it shows in how much extra attention they need in class.
My study hours, so far, are between 300-500 with one language system I have been using from day dot accruing 240 hours alone, and that is just one resource. I'm not even counting all the hours of Persian music I listen to, films, series, vlogs, educational videos I watch, nor the chatting and texting I have with friends. I even speak Persian to Aude and the cats to drum in fixed phrases and practise pronunciation.
I'm now reading short stories in Persian script alone which is my 'happy place.' I'd like to go as far as I can with Persian as I love it more than Italian or Spanish (where my ability is only elementary), so I will keep on doing what I have been, and I guess that means I need to bloody pick up a pen and start writing in Persian too. Which I have not been doing as my handwriting is already bad in English.
Hmm, not much contemporary Persian poetry is available in an interlinear fashion. Maybe it's just me, but I find beauty in the transliteration and it allows people who cannot read Persian script the chance to at least to 'hear' the music of Persian poetry as well as read it. It's a bit of a dream to translate and present in all ways Persian poetry so I dunno, maybe that's what I'm striving for. Maybe even write a little poetry myself.
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