Analysis of second language (L2) learners’ language development can allow valid and reliable assessment of the learners’ L2 linguistic knowledge, which can enable the teachers and researchers to choose appropriate teaching or experimental materials (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 (Polio, 2017). In addition, L2 writing research has primarily investigated changes in specific elements of L2 writing rather than investigating linguistic development per se. This study explores whether L2 learners’ language developmental patterns are comparable across oral and written modalities on the basis of processability theory (PT; Pienemann, 1998, 2005). 87 Korean EFL learners with four different proficiency levels from beginner high to advanced (i.e., A2, B1, B2, & C1 based on Common European Framework of Reference) each completed speaking tasks and writing tasks designed to elicit particular morphosyntactic structures predicted by PT in counterbalanced order. The tasks were conducted one-on-one with each participant. The speaking and the writing tasks included open-ended questions and various activities, such as leaving a voice message and writing an email. The speaking and the writing tasks were comparable in order to highlight whether the participants’ language development was consistent across the two modalities. In order to encourage the participants to respond to each question simultaneously, designated time constraints were given; the time constraints varied depending on type of the tasks. After completing either the speaking or the writing tasks, there were intervention tasks to distract participants from the similarity of the task types. The participants’ oral responses were transcribed, and the transcribed productions and the written productions were coded. Implicational tables of each modality were created based on the emergence and accuracy of their grammatical structures, and the two implicational tables were statistically compared. The implicational tables for the speaking and writing tasks were highly correlated with each other, suggesting that the L2 learners’ language development is comparable between oral and written modalities. In other words, the theoretical framework of language development can be extended to certain types of L2 writing. In addition, this study found the PT-intrastage development, which some recent studies proposed (Di Biase, Kawaguchi, & Yamaguchi, 2015) not only in earlier stages but also in later stages, and the development within a stage was also comparable between the oral and the written modality. However, accuracy differed between the modalities. The L2 learners reached higher accuracy in the production of morphosyntactic structures earlier in the written than the oral modality. In addition, accuracy in the written modality was more stable. The results provide teachers and researchers with a better understanding of L2 development in oral and written modalities and may help them assess learners’ development appropriately.
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