A Comparative Analysis of Constituent Order of Noun Phrase and Clause in Persian and French: A Sample Lesson Proposal for Teaching French-Speaking Persian Learners

This research compares the structure of the noun phrase and clause in Persian and French in order to determine the similarities and differences in the constituent order in the aforementioned constructions in the two languages. Utilizing principles of the communicative language teaching approach, it further attempts to design a sample lesson for teaching Persian to French speakers based on the perceived differences. This study comprises two phases. In the first phase, which was comparative and descriptive in nature, the researchers examined the constituent order in the noun phrase and the clause in the two languages. In the second phase, the researchers developed a sample four-skill lesson that tries to teach the cross-linguistic differences in the two syntactic units based on the communicative and task-based language teaching principles. Finally, to determine the efficacy of the sample lesson, a questionnaire was designed based on Jess’s (1987) Developmental Assessment model which was then distributed amongst 32 experienced French teachers of the Persian language. The analysis of the obtained data via descriptive and inferential statistical methods (paired and independent sample t-tests) confirmed the effectiveness of the sample lesson in enhancing all the four language skills.