Safarnaamaa

Lesson Plan by Ambreen Adnan, NYU Urdu consultant

Proficiency: Advanced Low

Age:19-21 years

Students have been reading different genres of literature throughout the semester while observing their different styles and characteristics.

Safarnaamaa or travelogue is a travel memoir that is a personal account of a writer connecting with the reader through simple language. The observations, experiences, and analysis of the writer in a foreign culture are often compared with the native culture in behaviors, practices, and products. This comparison aligns well with the World-Readiness Standards of Cultures and Comparison specifically. The lesson plan incorporates all C’s.

In the class, the students are reading safarnamas of different writers comparing them with modern-day vlogs, and travelogues of target culture’s bloggers.

Language targets:

  • Review of obligatory construction: mujhe vahaa jaanaa hai vs. mujje saarii jagaheN dekhnii haiN hai vs. mujhe sab samose khaane haiN  
  • Perfect tense: maiN X maiN gyaa/gayii vs. MaiN ne kilaa dekhaa
  • Subjunctive in a subordinate clase: hamaarii salaah kh…, aap vahaaN jaaeN, aap khaaeN…
  • Passive voice: dikhaayaa gAya hai kh….
  • Relative-Correlative sentences: jab …tab …
  • Phrases of agreement and disagreement: meraa khyaal hai kh…, maiN aap se itifaaq kartaa/nahiiN kartaa huuN…

Learning Episodes:

Interpretive:

  • Students in pairs read the blogpost of a writer, who was a guest speaker in their Urdu language class, on his visit to NYC. They use a glossary to understand the text and underline the concepts they do not understand.
  •  In a teacher-led discussion, students analyze the stylistic aspects of the genre.
  • Students note the socio-political references made by the writer to the Pakistani culture and the writers’ comparison between the two cultures.
  • Students read the text again and answer comprehension questions.

Read the text and answer the following questions in Urdu unless directed otherwise:

1.Which historical event the writer is referring to when he uses the phrase;

“حالانکہ علم ہماری کھوئی ہوئی میراث تھی …” in the text.? Elaborate your answer in a paragraph.

2. Do you agree with the opinions and observations of the writer about American society? Why and why not?

3. The writer made a political reference in the following statement:

“… ہم نے ایک خالص امریکی بھکاری کو ایک ڈالر دے کراپنے مُلک کے گویا تمام قرضے کی شرمندگی اُتار دی “
What is the economic relationship between Pakistan and America and how does it affect the people of Pakistan?

Interpersonal: In pairs, students discuss, negotiate and come to an agreement about a list of possible places to visit and the reasons to visit them or to have visited them (by choice).

Sample guiding questions:

  • Why should one visit this place? Is it nature, culture, food, history, etc?
  • What are some of the cultural products and what is their significance in the target culture? What would you like to know about them?
  • What are some of the practices or behavior patterns of the other cultures that you are curious to learn about?

Presentational: The students share their lists of places with the class and explain the reasons why these places are worth visiting.

Interpretive: The students watch “ Neelum Valley, Azad Kashmir…An Urdu Vlog” in Urdu and read “Safarnaamaa-e-Murree” as exemplars for their final presentation. They note:

  • format
  • language structures
  • useful expressions and phrases

Interpretive: Students assume roles based on their academic backgrounds, majors and interests (business student, history student, a student traveling on a budget, journalism student, etc) as traveloguers. They choose one place to visit/ have visited and research its culture, history, geography, politics, etc to document facts, observations, and perspectives from written or oral sources and write a travel blog. Lower proficiency students can document a Video blog or Vlog.

Students’ written drafts are checked by the teacher for:

  • correct use of vocabulary
  • appropriate writing style
  • relevance of content
  • comments in response to the question: “In what ways your understanding of the foreign culture has changed after reading about or visiting the city/country.”

Presentational Oral: Each student, in their specific role, presents their travelogues/Vlogs to their classmates.

The class presentations are evaluated based on the following rubric (1-3):

  • clarity of expression
  • depth of knowledge
  • accuracy of target language
  • creativity in writing style 
  • use of appropriate images

Presentational Written:

  • Students share their travelogues/Vlogs with their classmates on a class blog site.
  • Students create a travelogue site for the Urdu community in college sharing their personal travel experiences in the target language.

Interpersonal Oral: Students participate in a discussion based on the question, “In what ways your understanding of the foreign culture has changed after reading about or visiting the city/country.”

Resources: