Comparing the Effects of Traditional and Phonics-Based Methods of Teaching Persian Alphabet on Adult Non- Native learners of Persian on the Reading Skill

The present study compared the effects of the traditional and the phonics-based methods of teaching Persian alphabet on adult Persian language learners' reading skill. The study aimed to identify the appropriate method of teaching Persian alphabet to non-Persian speakers and, based on it, to prepare and compile learning materials. The participants of this study were eight Chinese learners of Persian language who worked in Tabas Mining Group Company and aged between 24 to 31 years old. They were assigned to control and experimental groups. In the control group, the traditional method and in the experimental group, the phonics-based method was used to teach Persian alphabet. Through SPSS software package, t-tests were run on data to detect significant differences between the control and experimental groups. The results of the study showed that compared to the traditional group, the phonics-based group performed significantly better in word reading and reading comprehension.