Investigating the Rate of Foreign Language Lexicon and Grammar Attrition among Young Adult Iranian EFL Learners

Abstract

The present study was carried out to investigate the rate of attrition in EFL components in terms of lexicon and grammar. The second aim of this study was to find out and compare language attrition rate in different levels and sections of young adult Iranian EFL learners in each component while continuing their studies. To this end, six achievement tests (three vocab and three grammar multiple choice tests) were utilized as the instruments in this study. Each test included forty items and four parts. 116 EFL learners were selected from the highest levels of the three sections of Run, Race and Reach: 39 participants from Run4 level (20 males and 19 females), 39 participants from Race4 level (19 males and 20 females), and 38 participants from Reach4 level (18 males and 20 females). The results of the repeated measure ANOVA revealed that lexicon was more vulnerable to attrition than grammar in the Run and Race levels. The results also indicated that the rate of attrition in grammar was more than lexicon in the Reach levels. The findings also showed that the degrees of attrition in Run levels (lexicon attrition), Race levels (lexicon attrition), and Reach levels (grammar attrition) were not different.