This study investigates L2 learners’ language developmental patterns in oral and written modalities on the basis of processability theory. Similarities and differences in L2 learners’ oral and written production were analyzed in terms of the emergence and accuracy of morphosyntactic structures.
Concrete and objective indicators of second language (L2) learners’ language development allow valid and reliable assessment of the learners’ grammatical proficiency (e.g., Bardovi-Harlig & Bofman, 1989; Wolfe-Quintero et al., 1997). However, most language development research has analyzed spoken production only, so it remains unclear whether learners develop L2 linguistic knowledge in the same way regardless of the modality (see also Polio, 2017). This study investigates whether L2 learners’ language developmental patterns are identical across oral and written modalities on the basis of processability theory (PT; Pienemann, 1998, 2005). It aims to develop a “versatile” barometer of L2 learners’ language development that is applicable to both oral and written production. Eighty Korean EFL learners (20 participants of each level from A2 to C1) each completed an oral interview and a written task designed to elicit particular morphosyntactic structures predicted by PT with counterbalanced order. The oral interview and the written task included various activities, such as leaving a voice message, and writing an e-mail. The questions in the oral interview and the written task were comparable in order to highlight whether the participants’ language development was consistent across the two modalities. The participants’ transcribed productions were coded, and the emergence and accuracy of their grammatical structures were analyzed. The participants’ productions were compared across modalities and proficiency groups. The results showed that the L2 learners’ language development is comparable between oral and written modalities. However, specific features of the development, such as speed and accuracy, differ to some extent between the modalities. In particular, the L2 learners reached higher accuracy in the production of morphosyntactic structures earlier in written than oral modality. The results will provide teachers and researchers with better understandings of L2 learners’ production in spoken and written modalities and help them assess the learners’ language development appropriately.
