First Language Lexical Attrition in a First Language Setting: A Multi-Measure Approach Testing Teachers of English

First Language Lexical Attrition in a First Language Setting: A Multi-Measure Approach Testing Teachers of English

Research on first language (L1) attrition typically focuses on immigrant populations in their second language (L2) environment, yet we know comparably little about L1 attrition in the L1 setting. This study used two lexical tasks to test L1 attrition, a time-sensitive word decision task and a video...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of psycholinguistic research Vol. 53; no. 2; p. 23
Main Authors: Ma, Yueqingzhou, Vanek, Norbert
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: New York Springer US 01-04-2024
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:
Accuracy
Asian People
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Bilingualism
China
Chinese languages
Cognitive Psychology
Comprehension
Education
Emigrants and Immigrants
English teachers
Frequency of occurrence
Humans
Immigrants
Language
Language acquisition
Language attrition
Linguistics
Mental lexicon
Native language
Psycholinguistics
Psychology
Reaction Time
Second language teachers
Secondary schools
System theory
Teaching methods
Verbal tasks
China
Lexical diversity
Accuracy
Video description
Lexical comprehension
Word recognition
Language production
Chinese teachers of English
Density
First language attrition
Sophistication
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Research on first language (L1) attrition typically focuses on immigrant populations in their second language (L2) environment, yet we know comparably little about L1 attrition in the L1 setting. This study used two lexical tasks to test L1 attrition, a time-sensitive word decision task and a video retelling. Chinese teachers of English vs. Chinese teachers of other subjects ( N  = 25/group) were recruited at a secondary school in China. The aim was to provide an exploratory basis of the L2 influence on L1 lexical attrition in the L1 environment, both on the level of lexical comprehension and production. Mixed-effects models were used to analyse multiple measures including response accuracy and reaction times in comprehension, and lexical diversity, density, sophistication, and accuracy in production. The results showed Chinese teachers’ L1 lexical attrition in the form of longer response times to high-frequency Chinese words compared to non-English Chinese teachers, and the use of significantly fewer sophisticated words in their retellings. Also, teachers of English were faster and more accurate in decisions about Chinese borrowings from English, suggesting L2-driven influence on their mental lexicon. Considering participants’ background information, analyses showed that increased L2 exposure and frequency of use can predict L1 lexical attrition.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:0090-6905
1573-6555
DOI:10.1007/s10936-024-10068-7