Prediction of Parametric Resetting by UG-Based non-Primary Language Learning Hypotheses: Learning English Pronouns in EFL Context

This study addressed Persian monolingual and Kurdish-Persian bilingual learners' resetting of pronoun parameters of English as a second and third language and the effect of instruction on beginner learners' resetting of those parameters in relation to the predictions made by UG-based non-primary language learning hypotheses. A number of male and female EFL learners (22 Persian monolingual and 72 Kurdish-Persian bilingual learners) were selected following convenience sampling. They were assigned to three proficiency levels, i.e., beginner, intermediate and advanced levels based on their performance on the Oxford Placement Test. A grammaticality judgment test and a translation test were used to collect the data. The results of ANOVA revealed that intermediate and advanced Kurdish- Persian bilingual learners of English as an L3 and Persian monolingual learners of English as an L2 had managed to reset the parameters in question, but the beginner learners had not. The findings could best be interpreted and justified based on the Direct Access (DA) hypothesis, the Full Transfer/Full Access (FTFA) hypothesis and the Modulated Structure Building Hypothesis (MSBH). The results of paired-samples t-test indicated that beginner learners also managed to reset the parameters after instruction.