Vocabulary attrition in the discourse comprehension module: the case of second-year efl students at the university of tlemcen

Abstract

Vocabulary attrition is the concern of the present investigation which tries to explore the main factors having an impact on the lexical attrition observed in second-year EFL students at the University of Tlemcen. The results reveal that the low proficiency level and inadequate use of vocabulary learning strategies have a direct impact on word attrition. However, disuse over summer vacation, positive attitude, higher motivation and vocabulary teaching methodology do not seem to be reliable factors influencing vocabulary forgetfulness. It can be drawn that attrition can be reduced if the learners exert enough efforts to adequately learn and use vocabulary learning strategies; in addition, being constantly exposed to the language can help in reducing attrition. It was also found out that productive vocabulary was more forgotten than the receptive, and that verbs were more affected by attrition than nouns and adjectives both receptively or productively.