Effects of Task Condition and Learner Proficiency on Syntactic Complexity in L2 Speech: Evidence From a Cross‐Sectional Learner Corpus

While task effects on L2 speaking have been examined from a task‐based language teaching (TBLT) perspective, learner corpus research may offer a broader view of learner production and help address the problem of limited comparability of classroom‐ and lab‐based TBLT studies. This study explores the intersection of corpus linguistics and TBLT by investigating how task condition and learner proficiency influence syntactic complexity in L2 speech. Monologic and dialogic data from the International Corpus Network of Asian Learners of English were analyzed using the L2 Syntactic Complexity Analyzer. Findings revealed that the monologic task elicited more syntactically complex speech than the dialogic task. Syntactic complexity also increased with learner proficiency, particularly in the use of dependent clauses and complex nominals. Manual inspection of corpus data further revealed that dialogic tasks require negotiation for meaning, clarification requests, and confirmation checks. The results provide evidence of patterns associated with task conditions and proficiency in shaping L2 speech and inform both learner corpus compilation and L2 speaking task design.