An Empirical Study On English Attrition Of Non-English Major Vocational College Students

After more than 30 years' development,language attrition has become a relatively independent research field.Foreign scholars have carried out extensive research on language attrition,which formed a systematic theoretical system.By contrast,domestic research seems rather quiet,most of them are the introduction and summary of the research results of foreign language attrition theory.There are few empirical studies on the language attrition of English learners in vocational colleges.This thesis targeted all non-English majored students and 53 English teachers in a vocational college in Hefei as the subjects.According to examination paper of College English Proficiency Test A.In June 2016 and June 2017,the author tested some students' English proficiency to point out whether non-English major students' language skills-writing?listening and reading have been attrited one year after the completion of systematic English learning in vocational colleges.After the test,the author made a questionnaire survey of all non-English majors in Class of 2014 and interviewed 53 English teachers to investigate the reasons for the attrition of English skills after the one-year's disuse of English,and to suggest ways to mitigate this phenomenon.The empirical results indicate that students of non-English majors in higher vocational colleges experienced a severe decline in English after systematic English learning for one year and there is an obvious English skills' attrition among the subjects after the one-year's disuse of English.Questionnaire and interview results indicate that students' poor English foundation?weak motivation of follow-up English learning ? bad attitude to learning English ? low interest in learning English ?no follow-up English courses?the separated content of English courses with students' study and life ? the lake of an English learning environment are all the causes to students' language skill attrition.On the basis of the research results,this thesis provides implications for how to slow or resist English language attrition for non-English majors in high vocational colleges.The first,setting up follow-up courses to help clarify students' learningobjectives.The second,using diversified teaching method to improve students' interest in English learning.The third,constructing the school-based curriculum and improve the practicability of teaching.The forth,strengthening the campus English environment construction and strengthening the contact with the target language.