Studying the growth process of verb construction in writings samples of Korean-speaking Persian learners ( of elementary and intermediate) based on the usage-based approach

Cognitive linguistics is an interdisciplinary approach that attempts to study language from a cognitive viewpoint. The verb's argument structure is a sub-category of cognitive linguistics for defining the subject and conveying the correct meaning, which is needed for the language learning process.
So, the present study aimed at analyzing the cognitive-based argument structure and the constructive process of the verb in 30 writing samples of elementary and 30 writing samples of intermediate Korean Persian learners based on Goldberg’s Construction Grammar (1995) and Mehrjoo’s (2017) Verb Valency Structures.
Running a semi-quantitative study, the researcher initially examined the valency structures to find the elements that should accompany the verb in the sentence. In the second part of the research, the argument structure of the verbs at elementary and intermediate levels was examined based on Goldberg's theory. Also, the usage-based approach was employed to analyze the movement of learners from attention into application mastery. For analyzing writing samples, a total number of 54 and 114 non-repetitive verbs were found and extracted at the elementary and intermediate levels, respectively. The results revealed that bivalent and monovalent verbs were the most frequent in all writing samples.
Consequently, it can be said that the Cognitive linguistic approach is generally integrated with the language learning process and considers all form-meaning combinations as one integrated entity. Most importantly, this approach can assist language teachers in teaching more efficiently.
Extended Abstract:
Introduction
Cognitive linguistics is an interdisciplinary approach that attempts to study language from a cognitive viewpoint. Therefore, it has received special attention in linguistics, cognitive sciences, and language neurology, characterized by a commitment to the inseparability of meaning and form in the study of language. Among various theories within the field of cognitive linguistics, construction grammar claims that constructions, or learned pairings of linguistic patterns with meanings, are the fundamental building blocks of human language, providing a comprehensive and integrated analysis of the language where all language patterns are considered as a construction. Therefore, the verb's argument structure is a sub-category of cognitive linguistics to bridge syntax and meaning to make a complete sentence. In other words, the argument structure of the verb reveals the basic and necessary elements of the sentence to define the subject and convey the correct meaning, which is needed for the language learning.
Since language teaching should be meaning-oriented and in line with the communication needs of language learners to express the intended meanings, teaching the verb-based structures on its constructions can meet such needs well. To this end, the present study aimed at analyzing the cognitive-based argument structure and the constructive process of the verb among 60 native Korean Persian learners based on Goldberg’s Construction Grammar (1995) and Mehrjoo’s (2017) Verb Valency Structures:
Goldberg's constructions consists of  ditransitive construction, caused argument construction, resultative construction, way construction and conative construction, and Mehrjo’s valence structures of verbs in Persian are including three categories: monovalent verb, bivalent verb, trivalent verb.
Then, the growth process of verb construction in writing samples of Korean-speaking Persian learners (of elementary and intermediate) based on the usage-based approach is elaborated.
Methodology
Running a semi-quantitative study, the researcher initially examined the valency structures to find the elements that should accompany the verb in the sentence. In the second part of the research, the argument structure of the verbs at elementary and intermediate levels was examined based on Goldberg's theory. Also, the usage-based approach was employed to analyze the movement of learners from attention into application mastery.
 Analyzing 60 writing samples, 30 writing samples of elementary and 30 other writing samples of intermediate Persian learners at the level, thus, a total number of 54 and 114 non-repetitive verbs were found and extracted at the elementary and intermediate levels, respectively.
Results
The results revealed that bivalent and monovalent verbs were the most frequent in all writing samples. Moreover, Way Construction was the most frequent structure in the extracted data. The findings also showed the development process from the elementary to the intermediate level. In terms of grammatical construction, the Persian learner first employed way construction because it assists them in making a way and continuing to reach the second construction, two object verbs that include purposeful switching from someone to something. Considering the usage-based approach in the four-stage process of learning language structure in linguistics named Attention, Initial learning, Semantic mastery, and Application mastery, the Persian learners have achieved the third level, semantic mastery, in their learning achievement process. This movement from the elementary to the intermediate level occurred due to repeating a language structure. Employing these language constructions helps learners to utilize cognitive grammar in a more complete and better way, assisting them to connect the syntax and semantic aspects of language in making sentences. The language proficiency distance between the two elementary levels and the language learning construction threshold becomes smaller. Thus, the form and meaning of construction are adopted to complete the learning achievement.
Although various factors such as experience, frequency, and repetition affect the links between form and meaning, based on the learning stages of a language structure, it can be said that Persian learners get a mental impression when they encounter a structure-like way of construction at the basic level.
Such mental perception links the features of linguistic construction (such as the sequence of phonemes or the order of its characters) with its image and representation. However, the mapping of form and meaning is incomplete, which is why the Persian learners of the present study employed and generalized a capacity like "arriving" to make a double valency.
These types of errors can be fixed at higher levels by increasing the frequency, repetition, selective attention, role salience, perceptual learning, and other factors, and the learners can reach the third level of semantic mastery and, finally the fourth and completed level of functional mastery/automatization. Thus, passing from the elementary to the intermediate level can improve the verb-learning process because of the interaction between cognitive mechanisms and linguistic structures.
Conclusion
The language teaching should be meaning-oriented and in line with the communication needs of language learners to express the intended meanings, teaching the verb-based structures on its constructions can meet such needs well. To this end, the present study aimed at analyzing the cognitive-based argument structure and the constructive process of the verb among native Korean Persian learners based on Goldberg’s Construction Grammar (1995) and Mehrjoo’s (2017) Verb Valency Structures.
The research has showen If foreign Persian learners purposefully employ the verb constructions to express their intended meaning within correct forms, they can understand the meaning of the verb and its dependents, and most importantly, they can conceive the existing links between syntax and semantic parts of each sentence.
 In fact, the employing language constructions helps learners to utilize cognitive grammar in a more complete and better way, assisting them to connect the syntax and semantic aspects of language in making sentences. The language proficiency distance between the two elementary levels and the language learning construction threshold becomes smaller as well, since the Cognitive linguistic approach is generally integrated with the language learning process and considers all form-meaning combinations as one integrated entity.
In general, cognitive approach such as usage-based approach have a unified and holistic view of language and consider all form-meaning of verbs as integrated units. Therefore, it can be used in various fields of Persian language learning, including curricullum development, teaching, testing and so on. So, implementing of usage-based approach makes Persian learning mechanism more effective and  efficient.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to appreciate the teachers for their time and efforts to participate in this research.
Conflict of Interest
The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.