An Empirical Study Of The Influence Of Learning Strategies On L2 Vocabulary Attrition

Language study is an integrative interaction of acquisition and attrition. The study of language attrition was established as an independent subject in 1980s. Compared with the heated study of language attrition abroad, the study of this field in China is just at the starting stage. English education in China is also confronted with the embarrassment of the high input but low output. A a large number of students almost lose their English knowledge quickly when stopping using the language. Moreover, vocabulary is the first and the easiest level of language attrition. Therefore, how to maintain students'vocabulary proficiency is of great significance. Meanwhile, vocabulary learning strategies have a direct influence on the effect of vocabulary learning. Thus, finding the inner correlation between vocabulary learning strategies use and vocabulary attrition can not be overlooked.Taking this into consideration, two natural classes with one hundred participants from the Software Institute of Northwest University are randomly chosen as the research subject. Data collection of the pretest of vocabulary proficiency is made in June 2015 and the post-test of it and the questionnaire of vocabulary learning strategies are conducted in September 2015. Then the data is analyzed by SPSS 23.0.Major findings of this study include:first, ninety-eight percent of participants underwent vocabulary attrition during the three months'disuse of English with the overall attrition rate of thirty-two percent, low attrition group eight percent and high attrition group thirty-six percent; second, participants'vocabulary attrition is in inverse proportion to their initial English proficiency; third, compared with high attrition group, participants of low attrition group show a distinct advantage of VLS use; fourth, all strategies of the questionnaire are apparently significant to vocabulary attrition and sixteen items are strongly correlated with it, among which cognitive VLS are most effective and social/affective ones are the least.