LAILA - Linguistic Awareness in Language Attriters

Anyone who has ever learnt a language and not used it over a period of time will be familiar with the phenomenon of language attrition. Skills which are not used become `rusty`; language users cannot use their language with the same fluency and accuracy they once had. Traditional models of first/second language acquisition have mainly worked with linear language growth models, and rarely accounted for negative or inverted growth. In their dynamic model of multilingualism (DMM) Herdina and Jessner (2002) see the multilingual language system as a complex dynamic system which consists of other smaller, nested sub-systems (i.e. the different languages spoken by an individual). Attrition is considered an integral and normal part of language development itself. The development and maintenance of any language system(s) requires effort. This language maintenance effort is particularly relevant in multilingual speakers, where multiple subsystems compete for both time and cognitive resources. Since it requires a disproportionally larger effort to maintain two or more language systems, multilinguals can be considered as particularly vulnerable to language attrition. On the other hand, multilinguals are believed to develop additional (cognitive) abilities that are not found in monolinguals, or even in bilinguals. Referred to collectively as the M(ultilingualism) factor, these emergent properties may include heightened metalinguistic awareness, (procedural) language learning strategies and enhanced monitoring functions. It is possible that this M-factor may actually inhibit or slow language attrition, or help language users compensate for it more effectively. The proposed research project, headed by Ao. Prof. Dr. Ulrike Jessner at the University of Innsbruck, will examine the development of metalinguistic abilities and foreign language skills - both in the first foreign language (English; L2) and the second (Italian or French; L3) in multilingual users after formal language learning ceases. Attrition is particularly likely in the L3, as there is often little opportunity for use after formal education ceases. The LAILA team will test last-year pupils in Austrian high schools on metalinguistic ability and language proficiency/oral production shortly before their school-leaving exam (Matura), and then re-test them after a 12-month interval. The project will be embedded in a large network of international research, in particular on dynamic systems theory in applied linguistics. The aim of this project is to forge a stronger connection between research on language attrition, third language acquisition/ multilingualism, and metalinguistic ability. We hope to understand how productive skills in a school-acquired third language change over a period of reduced or non-use, and whether metalinguistic awareness changes with it. This will be the first study on the dynamic aspects of multilingual development focusing on third language attrition, and will in addition incorporate the development/attrition of two foreign languages, rather than just one. It is also the first attrition study which incorporates metalinguistic awareness as an emergent property of multilingual systems.

In the course of the LAILA (Linguistic awareness in language attrition) project, carried out at 17 schools of higher education in Tyrol (Austria), the development of metalinguistic awareness and foreign language knowledge in the first foreign language English (L2) and second foreign language Italian or French (L3), as well as all the other foreign languages was explored in 436 multilingual students shortly before and about 18 months after the end of their school career. In particular in the second (and all other subsequent) foreign languages linguistic attrition is very likely to set in after school classes as opportunities for language use become scarce or totally disappear. In contrast to traditional language attrition studies, which deal with attrition processes of one language, in LAILA all foreign languages and their development were investigated. Furthermore, LAILA presents the first international multilingual attrition study, which also takes into consideration metalinguistic awareness as an emergent property of multilingual systems. This cognitive skill or ability forms the key variable of the M(ultilingualism)-factor, next to (procedural) language learning strategies and stronger monitoring functions. The research hypotheses focus on the question whether multilingual awareness can counteract the effects of linguistic attrition by slowing down or assisting the speakers in compensating for the effects. The aim of the project, which is situated in an international scientific research network concerned with dynamic systems and complexity theory in applied linguistics, is to shed light on the changes caused by reduced or non-use in production of a language learnt at school and how the role of metalinguistic awareness can be investigated under the circumstances. A questionnaire concerning language biography and attitudes towards learning foreign languages was followed by language assessment in all of the learnt languages as well as metalinguistic awareness tasks. The biggest challenge came in form of the second testing, as it was very time-consuming to contact the students after leaving school and motivate them to participate in the second testing. The 50 Euros we offered did not turn out to be convincing so that finally only by the help of personal telephone contacting and the use of social media we were successful in engaging 189 participants in the testing. The study proves that a high level of metalinguistic awareness significantly influences language acquisition, which means that the level of language proficiency is directly related to the level of metalinguistic awareness and thus counteracts linguistic attrition. It came as a surprise that in the second testing round the participants showed a significantly higher level of proficiency in English whereas in French and Italian language attrition had started but not significantly. This can be related to a higher level of metalinguistic awareness found in the second testing round in all participants. Furthermore, the results show that all students who had learnt Latin significantly outperformed those without Latin knowledge. All these results are of importance for the planning of language teaching as they emphasize the importance of the development of metalinguistic awareness in language learning.