第二語言耗失

第二語言耗失dai6 ji6 jyu5 jin4 hou3 sat1（英文：second language attrition）係指一個人學咗隻 L2 之後用得唔夠，然後慢慢噉喪失用嗰隻 L2 嘅能力^[1][2]。

背景

内文：第二語言習得

睇埋：記憶同遺忘

認知心理學上嘅研究表明咗，記憶係需要持續噉用先至會維持得到嘅：如果有一件記憶，個人唔會定時噉攞嚟用，佢通常就會慢慢噉遺忘呢件記憶，呢個諗頭就係所謂嘅記憶衰變理論。SLA 必然會涉及記憶—人要學 L2 就需要記住隻 L2 嘅文法規則同埋生字^[3]，呢啲記憶理應都會隨時間而「衰變」，用得唔夠就會開始被遺忘。喺實證研究上，語言學家已經觀察到噉嘅現象，觀察啲學生隨時間嘅變化，發現啲學生如果唔持續噉用 L2（尤其係會同時要求收訊同傳訊嘅現實對話），時間一耐就會開始唔記得有關 L2 嘅知識^{[註 1]}。第二語言耗失就係指

「

停止使用 L2 一排之後，開始喪失使用 L2 嘅能力

」

嘅現象。

研究

有好多 SLA 同語言教育工作者都致力研究第二語言耗失呢種現象，想知有咩因素會影響耗失嘅發生率，同埋係有啲咩方法可以阻止耗失。

順帶一提，呢系列研究亦都帶出咗「某啲語言知識比較難遺忘」嘅諗頭—研究指，整體嘅 L2 知識衰退到咁上下就唔會再衰退，而呢啲淨低嘅知識可以維持成廿幾年咁耐^{[註 2]}，而且仲有多份研究反映，生字（同文法比較嚟）比較容易出現耗失嘅情況^[1][4]。

睇埋

• 語言耗失

註釋

1. 「唔記得咗」嘅知識唔會完全消失：事實表明，學「之前學過但唔記得咗」嘅知識明顯快過學「真係完全未接觸過」嘅知識。
2. 可以睇吓遺忘曲線「跌到咁上下條線就橫咗唔再跌」嘅情況，或者睇吓指數衰減。

攷

1. Bardovi-Harlig, K., & Burghardt, B. (2020). Preventing Attrition and Promoting Retention. Language Teaching Research Quarterly, 19, 66-81，當中 p. 68-69 有講到呢方面嘅研究嘅一啲重要發現：
   

   • Production (speaking and writing) is more vulnerable than listening and reading.
     
   • Attrition is often signaled by reduced fluency.
     
   • Literacy impedes attrition (and supports retention); i.e., readers are better off than nonreaders.
     
   • The lexicon is more likely to show effects of attrition than grammar (on the other hand, there is no grammar without vocabulary).
     
   • Motivation is implicated in both learning and attrition.
     
   • Lower level learners are more likely to attrite than higher level learners.
     

   篇文亦有講到有咩活動可以鼓勵學生持續噉接觸嗰隻語言。
2. Schmid, M. S. (2023). The final frontier? Why we have been ignoring second language attrition, and why it is time we stopped. Language Teaching, 56(1), 73-93，有講到某啲語言知識學咗就好難唔記得："... the remainder is immune to further losses for at least a quarter of a century, and much of that content survives for fifty years or longer."
3. Morgan-Short, K., Faretta-Stutenberg, M., Brill-Schuetz, K. A., Carpenter, H., & Wong, P. C. (2014). Declarative and procedural memory as individual differences in second language acquisition. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 17(1), 56-72.
4. 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, 397.