Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Mohammad Naghizadeh ¹
• Reza Morad Sahraei ²

¹ Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran.

² Department of Linguistics, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, University of Allameh Tabataba’i, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The acquisition of the Persian Ezafe construction, as a central morphosyntactic feature, can be challenging for non-Persian learners, particularly Arabic speakers whose first language lacks a comparable structure. This study examined the learning of this construction by 90 Iraqi Arabic-speaking learners with the aim of identifying the developmental trajectory of acquisition, the role of first language transfer, and the effect of explicit instruction on the internalization of Ezafe, drawing on the MOGUL framework to analyze the interaction of modular and non-modular knowledge. The research questions focused on how proficiency level, Arabic transfer, and instructional intervention influence the accuracy and efficiency of producing and processing Ezafe. A mixed-methods design was adopted, including oral reading, sentence completion, real-time processing, error analysis, and instructional intervention. This methodology was selected for its ability to evaluate syntactic (modular) and phonological (non-modular) aspects simultaneously, with MOGUL providing the analytical framework for their interaction. The findings confirmed a proficiency-dependent developmental trajectory: beginners, influenced by Arabic transfer, often omitted the Ezafe vowel, but with minimal instruction they showed understanding of the relation between noun and adjective or between head noun and dependent noun (modular knowledge). The diminishing role of Arabic transfer was observed with increasing proficiency. Instructional intervention improved reading accuracy from 65% to 85%, sentence completion from 55% to 82%, and reduced reaction times from 1400 ms to 1000 ms, supporting the positive effect of explicit instruction on production accuracy. These results confirmed the MOGUL account of modular–non-modular interaction. Pedagogical applications include frequency-based practice, visual representations such as syntactic diagrams, and interactive technologies. The study contributes both to advancing second language acquisition theory and to improving Persian language pedagogy for non-native learners.

Keywords

• MOGUL(Modular online growth and use of language) framework
• Ezafe construction
• Modular knowledge
• non-modular knowledge

Main Subjects

• Effective solutions and methods in international Persian language education