| Language attrition has been a heated language research field overseas in the past two decades.It is a study of the reverse process of language acquisition,or the language decrease resulted from a period of language disuse.Researchers abroad have invested much time and energy to expore various aspects of language attrition, including the nature of language attrition,the rate of attrition process,and the relevant variables at work during attrition,etc.Fruitful researches are producing more inspiring results.However,compared with second language acquisition,language attrition has much unexplored space to offer.In recent few years,Language attrition began to attract more attention from scholars at home.Language attrition may take place on different levels.For the great significance of vocabulary in language acquisition and retention,attrition in vocabulary has been a heated research area.According to the interference theory,vocabulary attrition occurs when recall of one word(interfering word) interferes with the recall of another word(attriting word).The presence of interfering words are a sigh of vocabulary attrition.This paper is intended to explore and try to answer three questions targeted at English vocabulary attrition in Chinese context:first,what are the major features of interfering words that may quicken the attrition process of the attriting words? Second, is the yet inconclusive Regression Hypothesis proposed by Jakobson applicable in Chinese English Learners? Third,could an attrition predictor invented on the basis of major relevant variables be used to predict the future attrition?To find answers to these questions,a background questionnaire based on relevant factors already explored to be at work in attrition was designed and the scores of the background questionnaire was used as an attrition predictor.The background questionnaire was handed out to 30 senior non-English-major college students who would graduate from campus in June,2009.According to the background result,7 of the 30 students were selected as a subject group for further vocabulary test which was given to them twice with three months in between.Words chosen for vocabularv test were all selected from the four textbook which had been taught over a long period of first two years.SPSS was used to analyze and compare attrition difference between word groups learned at different stages of time.Vocabulary were divided into unattrited words,attriting words and attrited words according to their attrition degree in this paper.Vocabulary test results were collected and analyzed to locate features of interfering words.The attrition difference between two tests were explored and the effectiveness of the invented attrition predictor tested.It was found that:First, interfering words which often quickens the attrition process of attriting words are widely distributed.Most of the words selected for the vocabulary test were encountered by interfering words.All the subjects are under influence of interfering words.Few words without interfering words fall into two groups:unattrited words and attrited words.Second interfering words display high similarity to attriting words on phonological,orthographic and semantic level.Seen from a chronological perspective,vocabulary attrition is a process in which unattrited words gradually turn into attrited words under the influences of interfering words.Second,Regression Hypothesis is applicable in the chosen group.The vocabulary retention for Book1 was much better than vocabulary retention for Book2,which showed that the first learned words are last to be forgotten,which is in accordance with Regression Hypothesis. Third,attrition predictor invented on the basis of a thorough consideration of the major relevant factors already explored to be at work may be effective in making predictions about future attrition.
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