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Between-language competition as a driving force in foreign language attrition
Anne Mickan1, James M McQueen2, Kristin Lemhöfer3
1Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Montessorilaan 3, 6525 HR Nijmegen, the Netherlands; International Max Planck Research School for Language Sciences, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Wundtlaan 1, 6525 XD Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Wundtlaan 1, 6525 XD Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Cognition
|March 7, 2020
Summary
Foreign language attrition, or forgetting, is driven by interference from other languages. Competition from recently used languages, particularly other foreign languages, significantly impacts foreign language (FL) vocabulary retention and recall.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Linguistics
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Forgetting is often attributed to memory interference and competition.
- Foreign language (FL) attrition research needs to explore if similar memory dynamics are involved.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if interference from translation equivalents in other languages causes retrieval failure in a third language (L3).
- To examine the impact of native language (L1) and second language (L2) interference on L3 vocabulary retention.
Main Methods:
- Experiment 1: Dutch native speakers learned Spanish (L3) words, then performed retrieval tasks in Dutch (L1) or English (L2) on half the words.
- Memory for all Spanish words was re-tested.
- Experiment 2: Replicated interference effects and explored the role of language use frequency.
Main Results:
- Spanish word recall was slower and less accurate after L1 or L2 interference compared to non-interfered words.
- Interference effects were more pronounced for L2 compared to L1.
- Interference from recently used languages, especially other foreign languages, is a key factor in FL attrition.
Conclusions:
- Competition from recently used languages, particularly other foreign languages, significantly drives foreign language attrition.
- Understanding language interference is crucial for developing strategies to combat forgetting in multilingual individuals.
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