English Language Attrition Levels and Language Maintenance Efforts among Indonesian Non-English Department Students

Authors

  • Yunita Uswatun Khasanah Universitas Negeri Malang
  • Utami Widiati Universitas Negeri Malang
  • Sintha Tresnadewi Universitas Negeri Malang
  • Anik Nunuk Wulyani Universitas Negeri Malang

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18326/register.v17i1.73-99

Keywords:

English language attrition, language maintenance efforts, affective factors in attrition

Abstract

In the EFL context, the primary linguistic environment for learners is a formal classroom in which they receive input, feedback, and opportunities to practice with teachers and other learners. However, as learners graduate from schools, they might no longer have access to such an environment and thus be deprived of the main intake to support acquisition and retention, which makes them susceptible to language attrition. This study aims to explore the levels of attrition experienced by 165 multilingual non-English department students 30 months after graduating from their secondary schools, the possible factors associated with attrition, and the predictive power of some language maintenance efforts (LMEs) on English attrition. The participants took standardized English tests, that is, Test 1 and Test 2 administered within a 24-month interval and responded to a questionnaire about LMEs. A paired t-test was used to establish a link between attrition level and the identified factors. A multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to determine the predictive power of LMEs for attrition. The results show that learners with different proficiency levels experience different levels of attrition. Factors like attitude and motivation showed different degrees of correlation with attrition. A negative correlation was found in the three dimensions of LMEs: entertainment, literacy activity, and academic activity. Contrary to popular literature on first- and second-language attrition, the dimension of social interaction has a very low predictive power for foreign-language attrition.

Author Biographies

Yunita Uswatun Khasanah, Universitas Negeri Malang

Yunita Uswatun Khasanah graduated from the doctoral program of the Department of English, Universitas Negeri Malang. She carried out her dissertation research under the supervision of Prof. Utami Widiati. Her research interests include language attrition, language teaching methodology, and ICT in language teaching.

Utami Widiati, Universitas Negeri Malang

Utami Widiati (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8603-4556) is a professor in English language teaching at the Department of English, Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia. She obtained her professorship in the area of literacy learning in 2009. Her research interests include foreign language literacy, SLA, curriculum and material development, and teacher professional development. She is a pre-and in-service teacher trainer and has written secondary school English textbooks prescribed by the Indonesian government. She also serves as the chief editor for TEFLIN Journal and the president of TEFLIN (The Association for the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language in Indonesia). She can be contacted at utami.widiati.fs@um.ac.id.

Sintha Tresnadewi, Universitas Negeri Malang

Sintha Tresnadewi is a senior lecturer at the Department of English, Universitas Negeri Malang. Her research interests include grammar teaching, ICT use in language teaching, second language acquisition, testing and evaluation, and language assessments. She can be contacted at sintha.tresnadewi.fs@um.ac.id

Anik Nunuk Wulyani, Universitas Negeri Malang

Anik Nunuk Wulyani (https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4080-8288) is a faculty member of the Department of English, Faculty of Letters, Universitas Negeri Malang (UM). She obtained her master's degree from Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Bandung, Indonesia, and a doctorate degree from Victoria University of Wellington, Te Herenga Waka, New Zealand. Her research interests include teacher professional development (TPD), Extensive Reading, Teacher Research, and TEFL. She has been extensively involved in formal and informal teacher training with her institution and the Indonesian Extensive Reading Association (IERA). 

References

Bardovi-Harlig, K., & Stringer, D. (2010). Variables in second language attrition. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 32, 1–45.

Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I. M., & Luk, G. (2012). Bilingualism: Consequences for mind and brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16(4), 240–250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2012.03.001

Cherciov, M. (2019). Investigating the impact of attitude on first language attrition and second language acquisition from a Dynamic Systems Theory perspective. International Journal of Bilingualism, 17(6), 716–733. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006912454622

De Bot, K., Martens, V., & Stoessel, S. (2004). Finding residual lexical knowledge: The ‘Savings’ approach to testing vocabulary. International Journal of Bilingualism, 8(3), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069040080031101

Deng, H. (2016). The influence of Chinese context on attrition of English tense. SHS Web of Conferences, 25, 01007. https://doi.org/10.1051/shsconf/20162501007

Dörnyei, Z., & Skehan, P. (2003). Blackwell handbooks in linguistics. Handbook of second language acquisition, 589–630.

Dragoy, O., Virfel, E., Yurchenko, A., & Bastiaanse, R. (2019). Aspect and tense attrition in Russian-German bilingual speakers. International Journal of Bilingualism, 23(1), 275–295. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006917728388

Ecke, P., & Hall, C. (2012). Tracking tip-of-the-tongue states in a multilingual speaker: Evidence of attrition or instability in lexical systems? International Journal of Bilingualism, 17(6), 734–751. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006912454623

Flores, C. (2010). The effect of age on language attrition: Evidence from bilingual returnees. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 13(4), 533–546. https://doi.org/10.1017/s136672890999054x

Gitterman, M. R., & Tse, L. (2002). “Why Don’t They Learn English?”: Separating Fact from Fallacy in the U.S. Language Debate. TESOL Quarterly, 36(4), 638. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588248

Hashemi, A., & Daneshfar, S. (2018). A review of the IELTS Test: Focus on validity, reliability, and washback. IJELTAL (Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics), 3(1), 39. https://doi.org/10.21093/ijeltal.v3i1.123

Hwang, Y.-H. (2021). The change and prospect of L2 attrition research. Japanese Language Association of Korea, 69, 147–171. https://doi.org/10.14817/jlak.2021.69.147

Izumi, S. (2009). Language attrition and retention in Japanese returnee students. In H. Taura, Language Attrition and Retention in Japanese Returnee Students. Akashi Shoten. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 31(1). https://doi.org/10.1017/s0272263109090202

Jacobson, E. (2001). Linguistic genocide in education – or worldwide diversity and human rights? Tove skutnabb-kangas. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2000. pp. 785. Applied Psycholinguistics, 22(3), 473–477. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0142716401223091

Jessner, U., & Oberhofer, K. (2021). The attrition of school-learned foreign languages: A multilingual perspective. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 43(1), 19–50. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716420000557

Köpke, B., & Genevska-Hanke, D. (2018). First language attrition and dominance: same same or different? Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01963

Kupske, F. F. (2019). The impact of language attrition on language teaching: The dynamics of linguistic knowledge retention and maintenance in multilingualism. Ilha do Desterro, 72(3), 311–329. https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2019v72n3p311

Larson-Hall, J. (2017). L2 lexical attrition and vocabulary re-learning in three L1 English L2 Japanese children. Vocabulary Learning and Instruction, 6(2), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.7820/vli.v06.2.larson-hall

Leusink, J. W. (2017). The influence of linguistic distance on foreign language attrition. Faculteit der Letteren, Master Taalwetenschappen/Linguistics. Retrieved from https://theses.ubn.ru.nl/handle/123456789/4936​``【oaicite:1】``​​``【oaicite:0】``​.

Lubińska, D. (2018). A small-scale study on the relationship between first language attrition and language attitudes in Polish speakers in Sweden. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 6765. https://doi.org/10.1080/00806765.2018.1525313

Maharani, A., & Sudarwati, E. (2021). ‘Publish or perish’: Javanese language maintenance on Javanese-English code switching song. Lire Journal (Journal of Linguistics and Literature), 5(2), 150–167. https://doi.org/10.33019/lire.v5i2.118

Mehotcheva, T. H., & Köpke, B. (2019). Introduction to L2 attrition. In The Oxford Handbook of Language Attrition (pp. 329–348). Oxford University Press.

Mickan, A., Mcqueen, J. M., & Lemhöfer, K. (2020). Between-language competition as a driving force in foreign language attrition. Cognition, 198(March), 104218. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104218

Mickan, A., McQueen, J. M., & Lemhöfer, K. (2019). Bridging the gap between second language acquisition research and memory Science: The case of Foreign Language attrition. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00397

Murtagh, L., & Van Der Slik, F. (2004). Retention of Irish skills: A longitudinal study of a school-acquired second language. International Journal of Bilingualism, 8(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/13670069040080030701

Ni, C. (2009). An empirical study on the factors affecting foreign language attrition. Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 41(3), 179–185. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/85712962?accountid=13042

Ni, C., & Jin, X. (2020). Will emotional effects modulate L2 lexical attrition as they do in L2 acquisition? Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 49(4), 583–605. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-020-09702-x

Ventureyra, V. A., Pallier, C., & Yoo, H. (2004). The loss of first language phonetic perception in adopted Koreans. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 17(1), 79–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0911-6044(03)00053-8

Park, E. S. (2018). Language attrition. The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0843

Revis, M. (2019). A Bourdieusian perspective on child agency in family language policy. International Journal on Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 22(2), 177–191, https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2016.1239691

Schmid, M. S. (2004). Language attrition: The next phase. First Language Attrition; Interdisciplinary perspectives on methodological issues. https://doi.org/10.1075/sibil.28.02kop

Schmid, M. S., & Mehotcheva, T. (2012). Foreign language attrition. Dutch Journal of Applied Linguistics, 1(1), 102–124. https://doi.org/10.1075/dujal.1.1.08sch

Semana, I. L. (2018). Brain damage and language production: A study on the neurological aspect of language. Journal of Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan Missio, 1–12. Retrieved from http://unikastpaulus.ac.id/jurnal/index.php/jpkm/article/view/50

Steinhauer, K., & Kasparian, K. (2020). Brain plasticity in adulthood—ERP evidence for L1-attrition in lexicon and morphosyntax after predominant L2 use. Language Learning, 70, 171–193. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12391

Valizadeh, M. (2021). Attrition of oral communicative ability among English language graduates in Turkey. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, No. c.

Vari, J., & Tamburelli, M. (2021). Accepting a ‘new’ standard variety: Comparing explicit attitudes in Luxembourg and Belgium. Languages, 6(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/languages6030134

Wilang, J. D., & Duy, T. V. (2021). Relationships of language learning variables in the acquisition of third languages in a multilingual context. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education, 10(4), 1117–1124. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v10i4.21594

Włosowicz, T. M. (2017). English language attrition in teachers: Questions of language proficiency, language maintenance, and language attitudes. Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition, 3(1), 75–100.

Yu, B., & Hsia, S. (2019). Inclusion of heritage language learners on the autism spectrum: Lessons from second-generation parents. International Journal of Applied Linguistics (United Kingdom), 29(3), 356–369. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12233

Zareian, G., & Jodaei, H. (2015). Motivation in second language acquisition: A state of the art article. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 5(2), 295–308.

Zinyuk, S., & Waiti, J. M. (2021). English language attrition amidst Covid-19 pandemic: What happens when schools close? International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 11(8), 108–114. https://doi.org/10.29322/IJSRP.11.08.2021.p11615

Downloads

Published

2024-04-01

How to Cite

Uswatun Khasanah, Y., Widiati, U., Tresnadewi, S., & Nunuk Wulyani, A. (2024). English Language Attrition Levels and Language Maintenance Efforts among Indonesian Non-English Department Students. Register Journal, 17(1), 73–99. https://doi.org/10.18326/register.v17i1.73-99

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 1 (2024): REGISTER JOURNAL

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2024 Utami Widiati, Yunita Uswatun Khasanah, Sintha Tresnadewi, Anik Nunuk Wulyani

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

REGISTER JOURNAL: https://ejournal.uinsalatiga.ac.id/index.php/register/index is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Copyright Notice
  
An author who publishes in  REGISTER JOURNAL agrees to the following terms:

  • The author retains the copyright and grants the journal the right of first publication of the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal
  • The author can enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book) with the acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
  • The author is permitted and encouraged to post his/her work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) before and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of the published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

Read more about the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/.
Privacy Statement
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal. They will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

Most read articles by the same author(s)