Mode and Proficiency Effects in EFL Learner Production: A Corpus-Based Comparison of Written Essays and Spoken Monologues in ICNALE

Abstract

This empirical corpus-based TESOL study examines mode and proficiency effects in EFL learner production through a planned comparison of written essays and spoken monologues in the International Corpus Network of Asian Learners of English (ICNALE). The study focuses on how lexical, grammatical, and selected discourse features vary across written and spoken learner output, and how these patterns interact with proficiency level. Using a quantitative comparative corpus design, the study will analyze measures such as word count, lexical density, lexical diversity, academic vocabulary use, syntactic complexity, discourse markers, stance markers, and selected fluency-related transcript features where available. At this draft stage, the final ICNALE sample, feature counts, statistical outputs, and figures have not yet been supplied; therefore, all numerical findings are marked for author completion and verification. The manuscript is structured to allow the author to insert verified values after registering for ICNALE access, selecting comparable prompts, cleaning the dataset, and completing the analysis. The expected contribution is a mode-sensitive account of learner production that may inform integrated TESOL writing and speaking instruction, proficiency-sensitive assessment, and corpus-informed materials development. The paper differs from corpus-literacy or teacher-education review work by focusing on empirical learner-language evidence rather than teachers’ corpus-use knowledge.