An Empirical Study On English Lexical Attrition Among Senior One Students In Chinese Context

Language attrition, considered as the inverse aspects of language acquisition, refers to the phenomenon that the language ability or skill of bilinguals or multilinguals gradually regresses with time because of reduction or cease of using the language. In terms of the types of language attrited, language attrition is classified into first language attrition and second or foreign language attrition. During the years when language attrition was recognized as an independent field, it has gained great importance and attracted many researchers’ attention. Over the past thirty years, the researchers have devoted to exploring what is attrited, how attrition manifests itself and why it happens from different aspects of language and have received great achievements. Among all kinds of attrition researches, lexical attrition is a heated issue. The researchers have conducted many empirical studies and also have got many valuable findings.Based on the previous research findings, the present study aims to investigate if the senior one students who learn English as a foreign language experience the lexical attrition after the summer vacation in Chinese context. The author attempts to answer three questions:1. What’s the actuality of lexical attrition among senior one students?2. Will Regression Hypothesis justify the lexical attrition?3. What are the linguistic representations of the attrited words?Therefore, the author conducts the same vocabulary test twice among 31 selected participants, before and after the summer vacation. The results of the two vocabulary tests are compared and analyzed to find out that senior one students experience significant lexical attrition and that Regression Hypothesis justifies the lexical attrition. The analysis of linguistic representations of the attrited words indicates that the words that are similar in pronunciation and spelling are likely to be attrited and the words whose semantic relations are complicated to the students are also likely to be attrited.Based on the findings above, the author puts forward some implications for the senior one English vocabulary study and teaching which are conducted in Chinese context. The students and the teachers are supposed to realize the existence of the lexical attrition. The students had better keep in touch with English in holidays while the teachers are advised to keep the students review the words learned in junior textbooks at the beginning of the senior one grade.