The Impact of Linguistic Knowledge on Reading and Listening Comprehension Across ILR Proficiency Levels

Abstract

The ability to comprehend written and spoken language is the cornerstone of second language (L2) acquisition. This study investigates the extent to which three linguistic knowledge components—vocabulary, structural, and discourse knowledge—predict reading and listening comprehension in L2 Korean learners across proficiency levels. It further examines how the relative predictive power of these components differs between modalities. This study analyzed a large-scale dataset drawn from the Online Diagnostic Assessment (ODA) system, comprising over 10,000 data points across five Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) proficiency levels (1, 1+, 2, 2+, and 3). Multiple regression analyses revealed a significant cross-modal asymmetry. In reading, a developmental shift occurred: vocabulary was the primary predictor of reading ODA scores at lower levels, but grammatical knowledge (structural and discourse) became dominant at higher levels. In listening, however, vocabulary remained the strongest score predictor across all proficiency levels. These findings support a developmental interactive model of L2 comprehension, in which learners gradually shift from heavy reliance on lexical knowledge at lower proficiency levels toward a more coordinated use of lexical, structural, and discourse knowledge at higher levels, particularly in reading. The manuscript discusses important implications for proficiency-sensitive pedagogy and diagnostic assessment in L2 Korean.