Chapter One Introduction 1
1.1 Research Background 1
1.2 Statement of the Problems 2
1.3 Purposes of the Research 3
1.4 Organization of This Book 4
Chapter Two Literature Review 6
2.1 Language Attrition Revealed through Intuition and Observation 6
2.2 Definition of Language Attrition 8
2.3 A Diachronic Review of Language Attrition Studies 13
2.3.1 The First Period(1980-1988) 13
2.3.2 The Second Period(1989-1999) 16
2.3.3 The Third Period(2000-2010) 17
2.4 The Nature of Language Attrition 23
2.4.1 Proficiency 23
2.4.2 Skills 25
2.4.3 Rate of Attrition 26
2.4.4 Order of Attrition 28
2.5 Factors Affecting Language Attrition 30
2.5.1 Contact 30
2.5.2 Teaching Methods 32
2.5.3 Age 33
2.5.4 Attitudes and Motivations 34
2.5.5 Literacy 37
2.5.6 Cultural Contexts 38
2.5.7 Linguistic Interference 40
2.6 Language Attrition Study in China 43
2.7 Concluding Remarks 43
Chapter Three Methodology 46
3.1 Research Questions 46
3.2 Design of the Research 48
3.2.1 Justifications for the Use of the Cross-Sectional Research Method 49
3.2.2 Skills to Be Tested 51
3.3 Instrument One:A Diagnostic English Test 52
3.3.1 Proficiency Levels to Be Tested 53
3.3.2 Composition of the Test 54
3.4 Instrument Two:An Attitude and Motivation Questionnaire 59
3.5 Validating of the Test 61
3.6 Pilot Study 63
3.7 Sampling 66
3.7.1 English Major Undergraduates 68
3.7.2 English Major Graduates 69
3.8 Procedures for Administration 71
3.9 Re-evaluation of the Test and the Questionnaire 73
3.9.1 Re-evaluation of the Test 73
3.9.2 Re-evaluation of the Questionnaire 90
Chapter Four Results and Findings 102
4.1 Profile of English Attrition 102
4.1.1 Actuality of Attrition 102
4.1.2 Degree of Attrition 106
4.1.3 Pattern of Attrition 108
4.2 Attrition of Different Language Skills 109
4.2.1 Actuality of Attrition of Different Skills 109
4.2.2 Degree of Attrition of Different Skills 112
4.2.3 Attrition Patterns of Different Skills 115
4.3 Order of Attrition 117
4.3.1 At the Level of Subtests 117
4.3.2 At the Level of Items with the Same Difficulty Level 122
4.4 Attrition and Language Attitudes/Motivations 125
4.4.1 Correlation between Total Test Score and Total Questionnaire Score 126
4.4.2 Correlation between Total Test Score and Score of Component Parts and Component Sections of Part Ⅱ in the Questionnaire 128
4.4.3 Correlation between Total Test Score and Score of Each Item of the Questionnaire 140
4.4.4 Correlation between Subtest Score and Total Questionnaire Score 147
Chapter Five Discussion 155
5.1 Actuality of English Attrition 155
5.1.1 Attrition of General Language Skills 156
5.1.2 Attrition of Different Language Skills 158
5.2 Degree of Attrition 159
5.2.1 Attrition of General Language Skills 159
5.2.2 Attrition of Different Language Skills 160
5.3 Patterns of English Attrition 161
5.3.1 Order of English Attrition 162
5.3.2 Patterns of Specific Language Skill Attrition 162
5.4 Relationship between Language Attitudes and Language Attrition 163
Chapter Six Conclusion 166
6.1 Summary of Major Findings 166
6.2 Implications 167
6.2.1 Implications for Graduates 167
6.2.2 Implications for Educational Institutions 168
6.3 Contributions of This Study 168
6.4 Limitations of This Study and Suggestions for Future Research 169
Appendices 172
Appendix 1 172
Appendix 2 189
Appendix 3 190
Appendix 4 194
Appendix 5 198
Appendix 6 199
Appendix 7 202
Appendix 8 203
Appendix 9 204
Appendix 10 206
References 208
Acknowledgements 260
List of Figures 11
Figure 1 Types of language attrition 11
Figure 2 Average facility value of items in terms of difficulty groups 66
Figure 3 Facility values of items in dictation subtest 76
Figure 4 Discrimination indices of items in dictation subtest 77
Figure 5 Facility values of very easy items in vocabulary subtest 78
Figure 6 Discrimination indices of very easy items in vocabulary subtest 79
Figure 7 Facility values of easy items in vocabulary subtest 79
Figure 8 Discrimination indices of easy items in vocabulary subtest 80
Figure 9 Facility values of difficult items in vocabulary subtest 80
Figure 10 Discrimination indices of difficult items in vocabulary subtest 81
Figure 11 Facility values of very difficult items in vocabulary subtest 82
Figure 12 Discrimination indices of very difficult items in vocabulary subtest 82
Figure 13 Facility values of very easy items in reading comprehension subtest 83
Figure 14 Discrimination indices of very easy items in reading comprehension subtest 84
Figure 15 Facility values of easy items in reading comprehension subtest 85
Figure 16 Discrimination indices of easy items in reading comprehension subtest 85
Figure 17 Facility values of difficult items in reading comprehension subtest 86
Figure 18 Discrimination indices of difficult items in reading comprehension subtest 86
Figure 19 Facility values of very difficult items in reading comprehension subtest 87
Figure 20 Discrimination indices of very difficult items in reading comprehension subtest 87
Figure 21 Average facility values of item groups with different levels of difficulty in vocabulary and reading comprehension subtests 89
Figure 22 Average discrimination indices of item groups with different difficulty levels in vocabulary and reading comprehension subtests 89
Figure 23 Mean scores of Groups C,D and E 103
Figure 24 Mean scores of Groups C,D and E(？±s) 104
Figure 25 Mean scores of Groups C,D and E(？±2s) 105
Figure 26 Mean scores of total scores of the five groups 107
Figure 27 Mean scores of total scores of Groups C,D and E 108
Figure 28 Mean scores of dictation subtest of the five groups 112
Figure 29 Mean scores of vocabulary subtest of the five groups(1) 113
Figure 30 Mean scores of vocabulary subtest of the five groups(2) 114
Figure 31 Mean scores of reading comprehension subtest of the five groups 115
Figure 32 Mean scores of subtests of Groups C,D and E 115
Figure 33 Mean scores of subtests of Groups C,D and E 116
Figure 34 Mean scores of items with different levels of difficulty in vocabulary and reading comprehension subtests 119
Figure 35 Mean scores of very easy items in vocabulary and reading comprehension subtests 123
Figure 36 Mean scores of easy items in vocabulary and reading comprehension subtests 124
Figure 37 Mean scores of difficult items in vocabulary and reading comprehension subtests 124
Figure 38 Mean scores of most difficult items in vocabulary and reading comprehension subtests 125
List of Tables 48
Table 1 Four Periods of the Research 48
Table 2 Range of Difficulty of Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension Subtests 54
Table 3 Five Groups of Participants 67
Table 4 Diversity of Educational Backgrounds of Participants in Groups A,B and C 69
Table 5 Diversity of Working Backgrounds of Participants in Groups D and E 70
Table 6 Diversity of Participants'Educational Backgrounds in Groups D and E 71
Table 7 Criteria for Evaluation of Items:Facility Value and Discrimination Index 74
Table 8 Criteria for Evaluation of a Test:Average Facility Value and Discrimination Index 74
Table 9 Criteria for Evaluation of a Test:Reliability Index 75
Table 10 Reliability of the Test,the Subtests and Item Groups of Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension Subtests 90
Table 11 Eigenvalues,Explained Variances and Cumulative Variances of Factors of the Questionnaire 91
Table 12 Loadings of Items in the Questionnaire 92
Table 13 Eigenvalues,Explained Variances and Cumulative Variances of Factors of Participants'Idea of English Language Learning and Use 94
Table 14 Loadings of Items of Participants'Idea of English Language Learning and Use 94
Table 15 Eigenvalues,Explained Variances and Cumulative Variances of Factors of Participants'Attitudes towards the English Language 95
Table 16 Loadings of Items of Participants'Attitudes towards the English Language 95
Table 17 Eigenvalues,Explained Variances and Cumulative Variances of Factors of Participants'Attitudes towards Other English Language Learners 97
Table 18 Loadings of Items of Participants'Attitudes towards Other English Language Learners 97
Table 19 Eigenvalues,Explained Variances and Cumulative Variances of Factors of Participants'Interest in the English Language 98
Table 20 Loadings of Items of Participants'Interest in the English Language 98
Table 21 Eigenvalues,Explained Variances and Cumulative Variances of Factors of Participants'Attitudes towards English Language Learning 99
Table 22 Loadings of Items of Participants'Attitudes towards English Language Learning 99
Table 23 Reliability Coefficients of the Questionnaire 101
Table 24 Descriptive Statistics:Mean Scores of Groups C,D and E 103
Table 25 One Way ANOVA:Differences of Scores of Groups C,D and E 105
Table 26 Post hoc Test:Multiple Comparisons of Differences of Mean Scores between Groups C,D and E 106
Table 27 Descriptive Statistics:Subtest Mean Scores of Groups C,D and E 110
Table 28 One Way ANOVA:Differences of Standard Scores of Three Subtests between Groups C,D and E 110
Table 29 Post hoc Test:Multiple Comparisons of Differences of Standard Scores of Three Subtests between Groups C,D and E 111
Table 30 Descriptive Statistics:Items with Different Levels of Difficulty in Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension Subtests 118
Table 31 One Way ANOVA:Differences of Scores of Items with Different Levels of Difficulty in Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension Subtests 120
Table 32 Post hoc Test:Multiple Comparisons of Differences of Scores of Items with Different Levels of Difficulty in Vocabulary and Reading Comprehension Subtests 120
Table 33 Descriptive Statistics:Groups D and E 126
Table 34 Correlation Analysis between Participants'Language Maintenance and Their Language Attitudes 126
Table 35 Results of the Regression Analysis:Participants'Language Maintenance and Their Language Attitudes 127
Table 36 One Way ANOVA for Regressions:Total Test Score and Total Questionnaire Score 128
Table 37 Correlation Analysis between Participants'Language Maintenance and Their Scores on Two Parts of the Questionnaire 129
Table 38 Results of the Multiple Regression Analysis:Language Maintenance and the Two Parts of the Questionnaire 129
Table 39 One Way ANOVA for Regressions:Total Test Score and the Two Parts of the Questionnaire 130
Table 40 Correlation Analysis between Participants'Language Maintenance and Their Idea of English Language Learning and Use 131
Table 41 Results of the Regression Analysis:Participants'Language Maintenance and Their Idea of English Language Learning and Use 131
Table 42 One Way ANOVA for Regressions:Participants'Total Test Score and Their Idea of English Language Learning and Use 132
Table 43 Correlation Analysis between Participants'Language Maintenance and Their Attitudes towards the English Language 133
Table 44 Results of the Regression Analysis:Participants'Language Maintenance and Their Attitudes towards the English Language 133
Table 45 One Way ANOVA for Regression:Participants'Language Maintenance and Their Attitudes towards the English Language 134
Table 46 Correlation Analysis between Participants'Language Maintenance and Their Attitudes towards Other English Language Learners 134
Table 47 Results of the Regression Analysis:Participants'Language Maintenance and Their Attitudes towards Other English Language Learners 135
Table 48 One Way ANOVA for Regressions:Participants'Language Maintenance and Their Attitudes towards Other English Language Learners 136
Table 49 Correlation Analysis between Participants'Language Maintenance and Their Interest in the English Language 136
Table 50 Results of the Regression Analysis:Participants'Language Maintenance and Their Interest in the English Language 137
Table 51 One Way ANOVA for Regressions:Participants'Language Maintenance and Their Interest in the English Language 138
Table 52 Correlation Analysis between Participants'Language Maintenance and Their Attitudes towards English Language Learning 138
Table 53 Results of the Regression Analysis:Participants'Language Maintenance and Their Attitudes towards English Language Learning 139
Table 54 One Way ANOVA for Regressions:Participants'Language Maintenance and Their Attitudes towards English Language Learning 140
Table 55 Correlation Analysis between Total Test Score and Each Item of the Questionnaire 140
Table 56 One Way ANOVA for Regressions:Total Test Score and Score of Fitted Item of the Questionnaire 142
Table 57 Results of the Regression Analysis:Language Maintenance and Fitted Item of Language Attitudes and Motivations of Graduate Participants 145
Table 58 Predicting Formulas of Language Maintenance 146
Table 59 Correlation Analysis between Dictation Subtest and the Questionnaire 147
Table 60 Results of the Regression Analysis:Listening Comprehension Skill Maintenance and Total Questionnaire Score 148
Table 61 One Way ANOVA for Regressions:Listening Comprehension Skills and Total Questionnaire Scores 149
Table 62 Correlation Analysis between Vocabulary Subtest and the Questionnaire 149
Table 63 Results of the Regression Analysis:Lexical Knowledge Maintenance and Total Questionnaire Score 150
Table 64 One Way ANOVA for Regressions:Lexical Knowledge and Total Questionnaire Scores 151
Table 65 Correlation Analysis between Reading Comprehension Subtest and the Questionnaire 151
Table 66 Results of the Regression Analysis:Reading Comprehension Skill Maintenance and Total Questionnaire Score 152
Table 67 One Way ANOVA for Regressions:Reading Comprehension Skills and Total Questionnaire Scores 153