FARAH AKBAR
Teaching Urdu
as a Foreign Language
In addition to TESOL, as a multilingual, I also teach Urdu as a foreign language.
In 2018, I created and taught an online course on Urdu as a foreign language at CIFLTE, Teachers College.
Task: Describing my room
In the clip above, my student and I are trying to describe our rooms in Urdu.
The class is online and the two of us are sitting in two different cities but by the end of the lesson, we know quite a bit about each other's room - it was fun!
Task:
Planning a party in Pakistan
Lesson Introduction:
T: السلام علیکم (Assalam u alaikum)
Hi everyone, today we will be "Making Plans to Party in Pakistan".
Let's listen to a dialogue between Asha and Ali. The speakers are friends, so they’ll speak informal Urdu. Okay, let's listen to the conversation.
Listening & Speaking:
Watch the following clip and make a list of activities that the family is planning to do on 'Chaand Raat'
Task: Making plans to party in Pakistan
Dialogue (Audio)
A: علی، میرے بھائی کی منگنی کی تقریب اگلے ہفتے کے لئے مقرر کی گئی ہے. تم آ سکتے ہو نا؟
B: اگلے ہفتے؟ جی ہاں، بالکل میں آئوں گا. کون شرکت کر رہا ہے ؟
A: ہمارے قریبی رشتہ دار- چچا، چچی، ان کے خاندان، یہاں کے پڑوسی، اور میرے بھائی اور میرے دوست.
B:ٹھیک ہے. میں ضرور انهیں مبارکباد دینے جاؤں گا. تمہارے بھائی کی منگیتر کے رشتہ دار نہیں آ رہے ہیں؟
A: اوہ ہاں، وہ بھی آ رہے ہیں لیکن صرف تین.
B: ایسا کیوں ہے؟
A: ان کے رشتہ دار کراچی میں رہتے ہیں اس لیے سفر کرنے کے لئے فاصلہ بہت ذیاده ہے.
Romanization
A: Ali, meray bhai ki mangni ki taqreeb aglay haftay ky liye muqarar ki gai hai. Tum aa saktay ho na?
B: Aglay haftay? G han, bilkul mei aaon ga. Kaun shirkat ker raha hai?
A: Humaray qareebi rishta dar- chacha, chachi, in ky khandan, yaha ky parosi, aur meray bhai aur meray dost.
B: Theek hai. Mei zarur inhein mubarak baad denay jao ga. Tumharay bhai ki mangetar ky rishta dar nahi aa rahay hain?
A: Oh han, woh bhi aa rahay hain lekin sirf teen.
B: Aisa kyun hai?
A: Unn ky rishtadar karachi mei rehtay hain iss liye safar kernay ky liye fasla bohat ziada hai.
English
A: Ali, my brother's engagement ceremony has been fixed for next Saturday. You can come right?
B: Next Saturday? Yes, of course I will. Who is attending?
A: Our close relatives—uncles, aunts, their families, our neighbors here, and my brothers and my friends.
B: Okay. I will definitely go to congratulate him. Your brother's fiancé's relatives aren't coming?
A: Oh yes, they're coming too, but only three of them.
B: Why is that?
A: Their relatives live in Karachi, so the distance is too great to make the trip.