论文总字数：33702字

摘 要

本文从中国实际教学中存在的问题出发，结合语言磨蚀现象，探索有效的英语教学策略来解决现存的教学问题。一直以来，语言学者仅仅关注到了语言习得并从语言习得中寻找提高外语教学效率的办法，很少有人关注到语言磨蚀对语言学习的影响。基于国内外语言磨蚀研究方面的最新发现，笔者归纳出一些语言磨蚀的启示，将这些启示应用到我国英语教学实践中。通过对国内外语言磨蚀研究的综合分析，本文旨在探索有效的英语教学策略来减少甚至避免语言磨蚀，提高英语学习效率。

关键词； 语言磨蚀；教学策略；英语教学

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 1

2.1 The definition of language attrition 1

2.2 The development of language attrition as a research area 2

2.3 The definition of teaching strategy 2

3. Theories about Language Attrition 3

3.1 Hypotheses about language attrition 3

3.2 Influential factors in language attrition 5

4. Enlightenment to English Teaching Strategies 8

4.1 Having a timely review 8

4.2 Having diagnostic tests frequently 8

4.3 Making language knowledge a dynamic system 8

4.4 Combining several routes of second language acquisition 9

4.5 Popularizing life-long education 11

4.6 Attaching importance to pronunciation teaching 11

4.7 Intensifying listening and reading training 12

4.8 Extending the second classroom 12

5. Conclusion 13

Works Cited 14

1. Introduction

In China, English language teaching has always been paid much attention to. From elementary school to university, not only students but also teachers and researchers devote themselves to advancing English language teaching and learning. The effects, however, are not of our expectation. What’s more, some colleges fail to set up English courses on the third and fourth grade succeeding the compulsory courses for the freshmen and sophomores. Students who are not of English major hardly touch English after they have passed CET4. Undoubtedly, after graduating from the university, these students’ ability to use English begins to slip and vanish gradually.

During a long period, researchers in English education have dedicated themselves to changing the situation in which students spend substantial time on English but attaining little progress. Although they have achieved some fruits, their focus is just limited to language acquisition and they are unaware of the fact that languages have the property of attrition. During English language teaching, attempting to keep the ability to use English is of equal significance to acquiring that. This thesis is just to study the English learning in terms of language attrition and provide some insights into current English teaching strategies in China.

This thesis first introduced the definition of language attrition and teaching strategy as well as the development of language attrition as a research area. Then it made a synthetic review of the theories about language attrition including three hypothesis and some factors which play a role in language attrition. According to the aforementioned theories, the author summed up some enlightenment to English teaching strategies in the hope that language attrition in English study can be reduced and English study can be of high-efficiency.

2. Literature Review

2.1 The definition of language attrition

Language attrition refers to the phenomenon that languages suffer from degeneration gradually i.e. the inverse process of language acquisition. It mainly occurs when language learners reduce or even stop using the second language. The symptom is that learners’ ability to use the target language is partially or completely lost.

2.2 The development of language attrition as a research area

As a burgeoning sub-area of linguistics, language attrition originated in 1980 when The Conference on the Attrition of Language Skills was held in The university of Pennsylvania of USA. In the year of 1995, de Bot and Wethens made a comprehensive review of foreign language attrition for the first time. Later on, language attrition has established itself as a new discipline. Researchers mainly adopted the longitudinal case method. Among the various experiments, the most noticeable is the experiment named “The Contrastive Empirical Research on the Second Language Attrition and Acquisition of Three Turkey Children” conducted by Kuhberg in 1992. Currently, those empirical researches we now see are mainly concerned with vocabulary, syntax and fluency. China’s research on language attrition started late and until the beginning of this century did some researchers (Zhong Shuneng, 2003amp;Cai Hansong, 2004) begin to keep a watchful eye on it. Besides, most of their works are the inductive descriptions of foreign research findings.

2.3 The definition of teaching strategy

In terms of the definition of teaching strategy, many scholars have discussed. Some elaborate the definition from the perspective of teaching procedures; some from the perspective of teaching aims. Wu Meina (1994:156) argues that teaching strategy is the overall consideration of such factors as teaching procedures, methods, forms and media for the accomplishment of a particular teaching aim. Shi Liangfang(1996:142) holds that teaching strategy is a set of particular methods adopted by teachers to reach the curriculum objective. Thus, it can be summarized that teaching strategy is the relatively systematic behavior adopted to arrive at some amount of particular teaching objectives after taking into account comprehensively the teaching procedures, teaching methods, teaching organizational forms and teaching media.

In view of the aforementioned definitions, the author concludes that teaching strategy is based on teaching theories and optimization of teaching elements. Teaching strategy is flexible and instructive.

Generally, there are four principles in the choice of teaching strategy.

　(1)Learners are the center of the teaching process: students are the active participant　in the learning process and constructors of language knowledge while teachers are collaborators of students.

(2)Teaching environment should be optimized: given the current situation of English　　teaching in a non-native environment, teachers should create a relaxed and natural atmosphere.

(3)Information should be sent to students in a multi-dimensional way: multi-sensory language input should be available to students.

(4)Interactive principle: there should be man-machine interaction, teacher-student interaction and student-student interaction in classroom teaching.

This thesis is to start from China’s English teaching practice and draw lessons from the research results at home and abroad in order to propose some English teaching strategies from the perspective of language attrition and improve the proficiency level of English learners.

3. Theories about Language Attrition

3.1 Hypotheses about language attrition

3.1.1 The regression hypothesis

According to the regression hypothesis, language attrition follows an opposite order with language acquisition. That is to say, the language skills acquired first are late to be subject to attrition while those acquired late are first to be subject to attrition. This hypothesis can be dated back to 19th century when Ribot pointed out that the language representations acquired late suffer from oblivion most easily, which is called The Rule of Ribot. Freud cited Ribot’s opinion in his On Aphasia in 1981 and used the term “regression” first to refer to the phenomenon that aphasic’s languages returned back to the early language. According to Freud, the most complex language representations learned latest would be forgotten the earliest. In 1941, Jacobson applied first The Regression Hypothesis to the study of un-pathological language oblivion in the process of phonology study. He pointed out that the mode of language oblivion duplicates that of child language acquisition in reverse order.(Jacobson,1941). Later, he named this the mirror image of language acquisition. Freud introduced the regression hypothesis into the study of language attrition in 1980 and named the phenomenon of language attrition “Jacobson’s Regression phenomenon”; hence, this hypothesis is called “Jacobson’s Regression Theory”. Since then, Jacobson’s Regression Theory has been accepted and believed in with the conviction that it reveals the underlying law of language attrition.

Nevertheless, the Regression Hypothesis receives criticism later. Some researchers raise questions about it in terms of the theoretical basis. In line with the cognitive theory initiated by Piaget, learners’ language competence advances ceaselessly with the enhancement of communicative competence. Therefore, we can deduce that language attrition is not in inverse order with the language acquisition in the sense that only vocabulary and syntactic systems are affected in un-pathological language attrition.

3.1.2 The inverse hypothesis

Opposite to the regression hypothesis, the inverse hypothesis thinks that the ultimate achievement of the target language before attrition is the crucial element to affect language attrition. The ultimate proficiency of the target language has an inverse relationship with the speed of attrition. That means the better you learn the language, the less you will forget it. The language representations which are hard to suffer from attrition are not those learned earliest but best.

A number of investigations have testified the validity of the inverse hypothesis. Bahrick pointed out that with the improvement of the language proficiency level, the proportion taken by language attrition in the whole knowledge frame shrinks little by little.

3.1.3 The dynamic system theory

Many linguists study language attrition in terms of dynamic system theory adopted widely in other areas of study. Like the systems of biology, physics or mathematics, the linguistic system is a dynamic system with continuous changes and developments. Traditional language acquisition theory tries to explain language acquisition in linear theory i.e. language learning is in a gradual process from difficult to easy. In contrast, dynamic system theory stresses the interaction between linguistic system and environment and the according adjustment of the linguistic system. It lays emphasis on the composition of the evolving linguistic system. Those changeable factors in the system including pronunciation, grammar and lexicon act upon each other and impose impacts on the whole system. Each language learner has an independent dynamic system of languages and these independent dynamic systems make up a bigger dynamic system of languages together. In this big system, the individual systems interplay with each other and language learners’ linguistic competence is subject to constant changes. For instance, after a period of language learning, the learner’s native language and the target language will occur waxing and waning i.e. language attrition. In fact, this is the typical representation of the dynamic pattern of language.

3.2 Influential factors in language attrition

To comprehend the factors which play a role in language attrition is of great significance to explore effective English teaching strategies. Although some factors are still under investigation, researchers have reached a consensus on such factors as learners’ proficiency level before language attrition, the routes of second language learning, affective motivation, reading and writing ability and language transfer.

3.2.1 Learners’ proficiency level before language attrition

Researchers have found that learners’ proficiency level before attrition is in inverse proportion with the amount and speed of attrition. That is to say, the higher the proficiency level of English language learners is, the lower the extent to be subject to attrition is. Besides, they found that there is a boundary in the course of English language learning which is named critical threshold. When language learners’ proficiency level have stridden over the critical threshold, the target language is not easier to suffer from attrition. Here, the critical threshold equals Level A in the language proficiency test scale provided by ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages). When the language proficiency level reaches the threshold, learners have grasped the relation between the language and cognitive structure i.e. “strategy” and language attrition is difficult to occur.

3.2.2 The routes of second language acquisition

Second language acquisition refers to the systematic study of how one person acquires a second language subsequent to his native language. People learn a second language at different rates with different attainments. Researchers hold that languages acquired through explicit teaching tends to resist more attrition than that acquired though immersed teaching. Explicit teaching refers to direct instruction of grammar, lexicon, and pronunciation while immersed teaching refers to complete interaction and communication between language teachers and learners in the target language. The latter may be good to promoting learners’ ability to communicate in the target language i.e. fluency, but does harm to learners’ accurate language learning. In the immersed class teaching, teachers highlight the fluency of the target language and give too little care to learners’ errors while speaking. In consequence, learners may repeat the same mistakes because of a lack of correction.

3.2.3 Affective motivation

Affective motivation refers to language learners’ attitudes towards foreign language learning. Snow(1984) conducted an experiment about the attitude of Spanish college students towards their foreign languages and found that positive attitudes impose impacts on language attrition which make the foreign language slower to be subject to attrition. In foreign language learning, affection mainly refers to motive, confidence, anxiety and other personality characteristics. Only when language learners possess keen interest and higher enthusiasm in foreign language learning, face language learning with confident and healthy mind, overcome the anxiety emotion in English communication and be willing to express opinions can the language attrition be minimized.

3.2.4 Reading and writing ability

Olshtain cleared in 1986 that reading and writing ability can keep off language attrition effectually, which was verified by researchers later. Hansen-Strain(1990：367—377) revealed that reading and writing ability before attrition is in an overt relation with language attrition. Hansen(2001：60-73) investigated Japanese, Chinese and Korean in 1997, 1998 and 1999 respectively. These three languages have distinct writing systems. The subjects in the investigation spent two years mastering the target language. He found that the reading and writing ability of the subjects existed great difference and the ability determined the degree of language attrition.

Reading and writing ability enables language users to verify the knowledge of the target language by means of reading so as to be conductive to the maintenance of the target language. Besides, the aspiration to understand the written materials in the target language can strengthen the learners’ motive to resist language attrition so as to avoid oblivion. Last but not least, from the perspective of the neurolinguistics and psycholinguistics, reading and writing ability can add text and image representations and new nerve prominent connections in the memory of language learners so as to consolidate the basic knowledge of the target language.

3.2.5 Language transfer

Influenced by the behaviorism view that second language learning could be regarded the development of a new set of habits, the native language takes on great significance for it is regarded as the major cause for lack of success in learning a second language or foreign language. Similarly, native language plays an important role in the process of language attrition. A distinction is made between positive transfer and negative transfer. When some characteristics of the native language are similar to those of the target language, positive transfer more often occurs; when certain representations of the native language are different from those of the target language and language learners tend to rely on the rules of the native language, negative transfer occurs accordingly. Positive transfer can facilitate target language learning and reduce language attrition while negative transfer can interfere target language learning and accelerate language attrition.

4. Enlightenment to English Teaching Strategies

4.1 Having a timely review

According to the regression hypothesis, the language points acquired first are late to be subject to attrition while those acquired late are first to be subject to attrition. Therefore, during the last stage of classroom English teaching, teachers should strengthen practice to have a most timely review and increase the comprehensible input to avoid oblivion and degeneration. What’s more, at the beginning of each class, teachers should spend 5 to 10 minutes in helping learners review what they have learned in the last class. By so dong, students are able to deepen the impression and consolidate the learned knowledge.

4.2 Having diagnostic tests frequently

According to the inverse hypothesis, the ultimate proficiency level of the target language has an inverse relationship with the speed of attrition. Hence, English language teachers are supposed to test the learners frequently so as to affirm learners’ proficiency level and make adjustments properly. Such tests are named diagnostic tests. A Diagnostic test is aimed at knowing students’ strengths and weaknesses in certain stage of study, whose final aim is providing teachers with information about teaching effects or quality. Quiz adopted often in classroom teaching is actually a kind of diagnostic test. Diagnostic tests have the following four features. Firstly, they can be used at any time without being confined by periodicity during the process of teaching. Secondly, what they test is syllabus coursebook-based. Thirdly, the choice of the content of the tests can be more targeted. For example, if teachers want to know students’ mastery of some specific verb phrases, they can design a test specially. Fourthly, the length of the tests can be depended on different situations. Some may be only one page while others may be several pages.

4.3 Making language knowledge a dynamic system

According to dynamic system theory, failure to extract language is one of the main manifestations of language attrition, so the classroom teaching should create more hints to help language learners to extract language and make all the language knowledge and skills a dynamic system. In practice, language teachers should utilize multimedia while teaching for the purpose of making learners perceive the target language through several senses and establish stable connections in the mind. For instance, while instructing vocabulary, besides the normal teaching of the meaning, pronunciation and collocation of a particular word, teachers are supposed to analyze the affixes and offer some related information about the origin of the word. In consequence, when learners feel hard to recall a word, the anecdote or the origin related to the word can help learners to recall it successfully.

4.4 Combining several routes of second language acquisition

Routes of second language teaching have a lot to do with the degree of language attrition. Nowadays, there exist numerous English teaching methodologies including the Grammar-Translation Method, the Cognitive Approach, the Communicative Approach and Task-based Language Teaching. These teaching methods have both advantages and disadvantages; hence, in teaching practice, we should not confine ourselves into only one method but combine several methods simultaneously in accordance with the situation.

• The Grammar-Translation Method: The Grammar-Translation Method belongs to the school of traditional linguistics. It emphasizes the teaching of the target language grammar and grammar is regarded as the core of language. The principal practice technique is translation from and into the target language. Reading and writing are the major focus. In the classroom, the teacher uses the native language of the students as the main medium of instruction and there is little use of the target language. The teacher emphasizes accuracy rather than fluency. This method has overt advantages including enabling students to have a better understanding of the meaning of abstract words and complicated sentences and fostering students’ ability for reading comprehension and grammatical production. On the other hand, it has been denounced for its disadvantages. One of those disadvantages is that memorizing grammar rules and bilingual word lists do not motivate students to actively communicate in the target language.
• The Cognitive Approach: The Cognitive Approach believes that language learning is a process which involves active mental process and not simply the forming of habits. The Cognitive Approach concentrates on the learner"s processes of learning rather than on mechanistic procedures imposed upon him. Teachers are required to tell the learner about the language, because knowledge of language rules facilitates learning. The learner is the centre of classroom teaching. Learning should be based on understanding. All the four skills are of equal importance. Mistakes are unavoidable in the creative use of language. The Cognitive Approach involves more active use of the students" mental power, which is especially suitable for adult language learners. Meaningful learning draws on the students" experience, which will make learning more effective. It utilizes all four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing. It gives students opportunities to develop functional performance skills. However, the Cognitive Approach is difficult for teachers to select and prepare meaningful presentations. Students who are slow to comprehend do not work successfully with the method because learning depends a lot on analysis and understanding. There are not yet complete and systematic practical activities and procedures for classroom use.
• The Communicative Approach: The Communicative Approach thinks that more efficient second language learning will take place if the emphasis is on getting one"s meaning across or understanding the speaker rather than on formal accuracy. The general aim of this approach is to develop the students" communicative competence. Nevertheless, the Communicative Approach also has deficits. It remains vague about the relative importance of accuracy and fluency. There are some possible pedagogical risks and the most obvious is the fossilization of learners" errors. Moreover, many learners often feel disinclined to invest effort into further learning when they know that they can already cope with the most urgent communicative situation.
• Task-based Language Teaching: Task-based Language Teaching, which takes the task as the central role, is a new developing form of communicative approach in the past twenty years. A task is "an activity or action which is carried out as the result of processing or understanding language". In a Task-based Language Teaching class, students" activities have the explicit aims and detailed operational demands. The meaningful task activities can arouse students" sympathetic response and stimulate students" desire to take an active part in them. It is good for cultivating the ability to analyze and solve the problems, developing students" personal characters and improving their intelligence levels. When it comes to the disadvantages, some are confirmed evidently. For example, it takes amount of time to finish a large learning task. It is hard to master the difficulty of the task. It is difficult for everyone to participate in the activity.

4.5 Popularizing life-long education

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