“Art of Reading” was invented by Ali Sedaghati nicknamed “Amoo Khayat”. “Amoo Khayat” born in 1946 in Mashhad, is an Iranian writer, child rights activist and sociologist. He has spent many years teaching literacy to child labours, homeless kids, and those left out of school.
Unlike the conventional teaching methods, in the “Art of Reading”, only 22 letters or the 32 Persian (فارسی) letters are taught in the beginning. The teaching of other letters that share similar sounds with these 22 letters and other linguistic exceptions is postponed until learners get sufficient practice with the first 22 letters and 6 vowels.
In this method, a signed code is used to teach each letter. Each signed code includes a word the starts with that letter, a story related to that world and a gesture based sign. For example, rice (برنج) is used to teach letter B (ب). Learners first hear a story about rice and then learn a specific gesture for letter B. Thus, every time the learners encounter letter B (ب) they are reminded of that letter’s sound though a specific word and it’s unique gesture based sign.
These signed codes are selected from simple and common words familiar to learners with limited Persian (فارسی) vocabulary. The stories related to each signed code are created in a way to remain in the listener’s medium-term memory after hearing it once and easily recalled. The gesture based movements related to each signed code can be taught to the student with a simple, attractive and enigmatic expression.
After teaching the 22 signed codes, the vowels ( آ، َ ، ِ ، ُ ، ای، او ) are taught to the learners through special signed codes as well. Next, learners begin the process of combining letters and vowels and learn single and then multi-syllable words. Finally, the remaining letters of the alphabet and the linguistic exceptions are taught.
This method has been used since 2008 in more than 90 educational workshops all over Iran, from small villages to border areas, to large cities to support child labours, Afghan immigrants, and illiterate adults. More than a thousand students have learned to read Persian (فارسی) in this way. Along this path, more than a hundred teachers have become familiar with “Art of Reading” and used it to teach Persian (فارسی) to their communities.
Along with all these positive experiences, it should be noted that this method depends on the presence of an skilled facilitator in the field. Thus, it becomes limited to specific places and people. TooTak aims to bridge this gap and create an online platform that integrates this method to teach individuals who are familiar with Persian (فارسی) language how to read Persian (فارسی). Then this method can be used anywhere and anytime.
To learn more, please visit Amo Khayat’s official website at: amookhayat.com
