Head of the Persian department, Arif Ayyubi, collected Hindi film CDs dubbed in Persian from Iranian markets and is utilising them to make learning of the language interesting.

"In Uttar Pradesh, the language is introduced at the BA level and therefore those opting for Persian literature, first have to get acquainted with nuances of the language, and what better way to make it more understandable then making use of the audio visual medium of popular Hindi films," said Ayyubi.

This is a unique and an innovative effort adopted by the university administration to promote the language and to make the learning process more interesting. Ayyubi explains, "When the mental level of students matures, we move on to Irani movies because it depicts true Persian culture. Without learning culture one cannot learn its language."

Ayyubi, who has already created a library of around 90 dubbed movies including some Irani movies like Dokhtar-E-Sehreeni, Faroosh, Marr maintains that the initiative has been an instant hit with students. Though learning a language through an audio- visual medium is not new, this is the first time that movies are being used to instruct. " Nowadays students find it more interesting to watch movies rather than reading books. So an idea came to my mind -- Why not opt for this new method of teaching language. This gives a better insight into colloquial usage as well,"Ayyubi says.

The batch, comprising 24 Afghani students, is very enthusiastic about these new 'movie classes'. “The response has been encouraging as they are picking up the language fast ever since we started this experiment,” a beaming Ayyubi said, adding that they picked up the diction and pronunciation of the language really well with the help of this method.

Noorzabi, an Afghani student says, " To gain knowledge, both movies and books are helpful. Though books are very useful and they have their own place, learning through movies is very unique. We learn the practical aspects- the dialect and how to speak".

Today Persian is widely spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and parts of Uzbekistan. "The innovations of the Persian department have been very useful. We can learn the language in a short time, along with the pronunciation," said Sheer, another student of university.

The students are first shown a movie in the original language, followed immediately by the dubbed version. Ayyubi says, "The main problem that students of Persian language face is that what we do not speak what is written. We drop many words, many are silent and pronounced in a different manner. Say for example, words like Khush-haal hasti, Inshallah are not written and pronounced in the same manner."

The whole exercise is immensely beneficial for the students. Sher khan, a student of Persian, is happy with the new method.

"It's nice to watch Bollywood hits dubbed in Persian which are being used to help Lucknow University students speak the language with the right diction and accent. The entire class enjoys it. When we face difficulty, sir pauses the film to explain." Through this method Ayyubbi has proved that even a different language can be learnt within a period of two months.

"Unless students learn to speak a language, they will not be able to study its literature. Once, they are taught the language effectively, it becomes easier to study literature.