A Study On Lexical Attrition Among Junior High School English Teachers

Lexical attrition refers to the loss of the target language vocabulary by learners after the end of language learning for some reasons,which is a common linguistic phenomenon.In recent years,many studies have been carried out on lexical attrition of different language learners.However,there are few empirical studies of English lexical attrition among junior high school English teachers.Therefore,relevant empirical studies are still necessary.In order to explore whether lexical attrition occurs to junior high school English teachers and the affecting factors to find out effective ways to curb it.The study adopts qualitative and quantitative research methods to investigate 104 junior high school English teachers in Kunming.Through a vocabulary test,questionnaire and interview,the results show that:(1)English lexical attrition occurs to junior high school English teachers in Kunming after a certain period of serving as an English teacher.And the degree of the attrition in the rural area is more serious than that in the urban area.Besides,most of the attrited words are not forgotten completely.(2)English initial proficiency,English contact,emotional attitudes and school or government policies are the affecting factors.Among them,English contact is the most powerful one.(3)Some measures have been taken by schools or relevant departments,but the result is not satisfactory.According to the findings,three measures are put forward.Firstly,teachers should increase the amount of English contact.Secondly,teachers should hold a positive attitude towards English,which can help them enhance English proficiency.Thirdly,schools or relevant departments should provide chances for teachers both in urban areas and rural areas to have more English contact.The study is helpful to understand lexical attrition.Based on the research findings,some practical suggestions are put forward for the future research.Furthermore,some implications for junior high school English teachers,schools as well as educational institutions are also mentioned.