| Language learning is a dynamic process. It includes not only language acquisition, but also language attrition. Language attrition as the reverse process of language acquisition refers to the deterioration of language competence by bilingual or multilingual language learners because of declining use of this language. There are some variables related to the process of language attrition. Cognitive styles as one more important variable influence the language attrition. Thus, this paper aims to explore the influence of FI and FD cognitive styles on different English skills’ attrition, which will help college students to comprehend different skills’attrition phenomenon influenced by their different cognitive styles and help them to maintain their English proficiency according to their own cognitive styles.Based on the regression hypothesis and the inverse hypothesis, the study selected 96 non-English major senior college students from a college in Inner Mongolia as subjects and conducted the research through tests including tests of CSFT and CET-4 as well as students and teachers’interview as the research instruments. Firstly, the study tried to investigate the status quo of students’ English attrition through comparing their test 1 and test2 scores (test 1 is the CET-4 exam the subjects had passed during their first year in college; test 2 is another CET-4 that is organized by the author after subjects had finished their systematical English course for 14 months). Then it tried to divide subjects into FI and FD groups through CSFT test, and lastly tried to find out what influence do FI and FD cognitive styles have on the English skills attrition.The data of this study are collected and analyzed by SPSS 17.0. The majority findings of this study are as follows:(1) Subjects have suffered obvious English attrition after they finished their systematical English course for 14 months, and writing skill is more sensitive to suffer attrition than reading and listening. (2) The majority of non-English major students belong to the FI cognitive style, and there exists a significant difference between FI and FD groups in listening, reading, writing and translation and total score in terms of language attrition. What’s more, FD cognitive style learners perform better at the maintenance of listening, reading and English total proficiency, while FI cognitive style learners perform better at the maintenance of writing and translation performance. That is to say, FD cognitive style tend to resist listening, reading and English total proficiency attrition, while FI cognitive style learners tend to resist writing and translation attrition.According to the relevant findings, the author provides some implications to help English learners to alleviate their attrition. From teachers’aspect, they need to have a general understanding of their students’cognitive styles, and adopt matching teaching methods and strategies to benefit different cognitive style students. They should also encourage and guide them to take full advantage of their style advantages and overcome the deficiencies of their cognitive styles. From students’aspect, they should aware of the importance of English maintenance, recognize their FI and FD preferences as well as its advantages and disadvantages to prevent English attrition effectively. They should also create more opportunities to practice English and improve as high English level as possible to alleviate English attrition. |
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