Language retention

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Language retention

• By Tim Bullins
• ???

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L2 acquisition

• One must acquire L2 before retention begins

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Motivation influences results

• Studies show positive correlation between
  motivation and results
• motivation and achievement were more highly
  correlated in older students

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Why study another language?
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Societal pressures

• Family
• Tradition
• Customs
• Environment

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Career advancement

• International job opportunities
• Local companies pay more
• Employer requirement

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Personal interests

• Friends are studying
• Boyfriend/girlfriend speaks
• Heritage
• Hobby

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Academic requirement

• Entrance exam
• Study abroad
• Curriculum

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Being realistic

• L2 students (young children) in the U.S. require
  2 to 3 years of immersion before they master
  basic interpersonal communications skills and an
  addition 5 years before they can manage regular
  academic level skills.

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Acquisition methods

• Formal
• Public school system
• Private schooling
• Informal
• Self learning
• Language partner
• Family members
• Other

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Optimizing results

• Second language acquisition results are
  influenced by dedication and determination
• Having the right tools for the job
• Maintaining focus

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Creating the foundation

• L2 acquisition issues for educators

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In the classroom

• Do your research
• Know the latest theories of L2 acquisition
• Contact hours with students are limited and
  should be utilized for the maximum results
• Dont be afraid to change the way you teach
• Sticking the old methods might be easy for the
  educator but are a disservice to the students

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In the classroom

• Assess your students L2 abilities
• Observation
• Testing

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In the classroom

• Chose the right method of teaching for your
  students

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In the classroom

• Grammar-Translation Method
• Fails to enhance oral communications
• Translation is a specialized skill that requires
  special training thus it is doomed to fail the
  student in a regular classroom

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In the classroom

• Whole Language Approach
• Use authentic literature to practice reading
• Focuses on real and natural events
• Readings are real text
• Writing is for real audiences and not just
  practice
• Integration of reading, writing, and other skills

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In the classroom

• Consider using a task-based syllabus
• Students can be asked to
• Give and follow instructions
• Gather and exchange information
• Solve problems
• Give informal talks in class
• Take part in role play and drama activities

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In the classroom

• Set realistic goals
• Give the students enough work to challenge them
  but not overwhelm them
• Research has shown
• L2 learners need more time to make verbal
  responses
• L2 learners appear to work through a series of
  stages as they develop competence in the target
  language
• L2 learners make mistakes that are systemic and
  not random

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In the classroom

• Try to help each student become a good language
  learner

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Good language learner

• Is a willing and accurate guesser
• Has a strong drive to communicate
• Is uninhibited and willing to make mistakes
• Focuses on form by looking at patterns and using
  analysis
• Takes advantage of all practice opportunities

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L2 retention
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Definition

• maintenance of what has already been learned of
  L2, capacity to remember L2

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Why do we need it?

• Lots of time, and money in many cases, was
  originally invested in studying L2
• For employment
• Communications

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Why worry about it?
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A case study

• Lexical Attrition of Some Arabic Speakers of
  English as a Foreign language A Study of Word
  Loss
• By Hassan Al-Hazemi hghazemi at hotmail.com
  King AbdulAziz Military Academy (Riyadh, Saudi
  Arabia)
• Internet TESL Journal

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Abstract

• This study investigates the loss of English
  vocabulary knowledge (both general and
  specialized military) of some Saudi military
  officers in the Saudi Armed forces. The study
  investigates the lexical loss during 12 years of
  English disuse after leaving King AbdulAziz
  military academy in which those lexical items are
  previously learned. The study will examine the
  loss of the receptive vocabulary, which was
  claimed to suffer greater loss than productive
  vocabulary ( Nation, 1988).

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Investigation results

• The results of this investigation demonstrated
  that the ability of the subjects to recall words
  (both general and military) that have been
  learned few years ago is certainly low.

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Investigation results

• Less than half ( about 45 ) of the words given
  on the test were known to the subjects.

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Some conclusions

• Living in a country where English is not
  regularly spoken, these subjects may have
  forgotten more words.

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• The length of the period of disuse of English by
  the subjects of this study accounts only for part
  of the loss of the words presented in the test
  .The larger part of attrition can be attributed
  to the environmental factors as stated above.

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• Attrition occurs quickly, about 25 during the
  first year of disuse.

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Other researchers findings
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Vocabulary loss

• Vocabulary is the most vulnerable to memory loss

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Vocabulary loss

• The more you know, the more you forget.

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Vocabulary loss

• Students lose a fixed amount of knowledge over a
  period of time

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Vocabulary loss

• Researchers found greater quantitative and
  qualitative loss of English as a second language
  among 5- to 8- year-old Hebrew speakers than
  among older children experiencing similar disuse
  of the language. This suggests that children
  suffer greater language attrition in the same
  period of time than older ones.

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Improving L2 retention
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Take advantage of all practice opportunities
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Practice and resources

• Practice is equally important to L2 acquisition
  and retention however the amount of time spent
  after acquisition can be reduced by at least 50.

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Practice and resources

• Internet
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Television
• Radio
• DVDs

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Internet

• Listening
• News broadcasts from NPR, CNN, BBC, ABC are all
  effective ways to help maintain L2 listening
  skills
• Skype, MSN messenger, Yahoo messenger, and other
  such programs are effective means of keeping up
  with current colloquialisms and dialects as well
  as the standard L2

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Internet

• Reading
• Free online books as well as countless Web sites
  are available
• In order to maximize the L2 skills chose
  reputable articles or publications

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Internet

• Speaking
• Skype, MSN messenger, Yahoo messenger, and other
  such programs are effective means of practicing
  L2 speaking skills
• A computer recording program can be used to allow
  you to record your voice (while reading a text)
  and replay it to check for mistakes (this can
  also be sent to an L1 speaker if you want
  feedback)

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Internet

• Writing
• Blogging is a popular pastime for many people and
  is an excellent way to practice writing however,
  be prepared for some unsolicited feedback
• Create your own Web site
• A good way to practice writing as well as
  interact with people around the world

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Print media

• Newspapers, magazines and other printed materials
  can be used to enhance the learning experience.
• L2 readers should attempt to find publications
  that are reputable
• If these are not available locally, then the
  Internet can be used

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Television

• International programming is available in many
  homes
• Watching one hour of L2 television a week will
  help maintain L2 listening skills
• Avoid closed captioned programs, if possible
• DVDs offer a better selection

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DVDs

• DVDs allow L2 learners to control many features
  such as spoken language and closed captioning, in
  most cases.
• Watch without the captions
• The goal is to practice L2 listening and enjoy
  the movie
• Purchase the DVD, if possible, so you can watch
  it as often as you like until you can understand
  most of what is being said.

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Radio

• International programming on a short wave radio
  allows L2 listeners to listen to L1 language
  programming at a normal speed
• Local L1 broadcasters normally reduce the speed
  of their speaking in a mistaken effort to help
  the L2 audience
• Radio programming is also available via the
  Internet

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Practice and resources

• Local bookstores have many additional resources
  to help maintain L2 skills
• GRE practice CDs
• TESOL practice CDs
• Easy-to-difficult reading L2 books
• International shipping services are available
  from many bookstores around the world so books
  can be special ordered

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Practice and resources

• Additional requirements to maintain L2 skills
• Flashcards, vocabulary cards
• Daily input
• Daily output
• Pronunciation, enunciation practice

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References/Sources

• Carter, Nunan (2004) Teaching English to Speakers
  of Other Languages
• Mitchell, Myles (1998) Second Language Learning
  Theories
• Leaver, et al (2005) Achieving Success in Second
  Language Acquisition
• Harmer (2001) The Practice of English Language
  Teaching
• McKay (1993) Agendas for Second Language Literacy
• Kam, Wong (2003) English Language Teaching in
  East Asia Today
• Nunan (1999) Second Language Teaching Learning
• Al-Hazemi (1998) Lexical Attrition of Some Arabic
  Speakers of English as a Foreign language A
  Study of Word Loss, Internet TESL Journal