Language attrition refers to the phenomenon where individuals lose proficiency in their native language, often observed in migrants like Ella, who lost her Dutch fluency after moving away. This occurs due to competition between languages, with factors such as innate talent and social interactions influencing fluency retention. While some adults may completely lose their native language, it is generally a natural process associated with adaptation to new linguistic environments.

1. When you lose your native language skills
Have you ever listened about language attrition?

2. Vocabulary Phenomenon /fɪˈnɑːməˌnɑːn/
a fact or situation that is seen to exist or
happen, especially one whose cause is
not well understood
Attrition /əˈtrɪʃn/
the process of making a person or thing
weaker or less effective through constant
attack or pressure
Vulnerable /ˈvʌlnərəbl/
exposed to the possibility of being
harmed, attacked, etc.

3. Vocabulary Prone /prəʊn/
likely to experience, suffer from, etc.
something unpleasant or negative
Innate /ɪˈneɪt/
that one has been born with
Consistent /kənˈsɪstənt/
in agreement with something or
compatible with it

5. Losing Native Fluency: What Is Language Attrition?
Ella was born in the Netherlands to a Dutch father and an Irish mother. She spent the first few years of
her life in the Netherlands, speaking only Dutch. After her parents separated, her father moved to
Spain, and her mother took Ella to Ireland.
Today, Ella can speak English and Spanish — but not Dutch.
"It's strange that I can't speak in my mother tongue," she tells us.
It might seem strange, but it's certainly possible for people to get worse at speaking their native
language — and sometimes lose it altogether.
This phenomenon is known as "language attrition," and it's often observed in migrants who spend
years away from their home country.
It might be easier to understand this in children, like Ella — research has found that children are quick
to pick up new languages, but their language skills are also more vulnerable to change.

6. Losing Native Fluency: What Is Language Attrition?
However, language attrition is also observed in adults.
"The minute you start learning another language, the two systems start to compete with each other," Monika Schmid, a
linguist at the University of York, told the BBC.
While there have been cases of adults losing their native language altogether, more often fluency in the native languages
simply decreases, and the speaker becomes more prone to mixing languages.
The degree to which fluency decreases depends on different things, Schmid said. If a person has an innate talent for
languages, they're less likely to lose fluency, for example.
Interestingly, migrants who spend time with others who speak both of their languages could be more prone to losing
fluency in their native language — because they put less effort into keeping those languages separate in their minds,
since both are understood.
Things like negative memories of their home country might even encourage someone to lose their connection to the
language they used there.
But Laura Dominguez from the University of Southampton told the BBC that language attrition isn't a bad thing — it's a
natural process, since people make changes to their language that are consistent with their new realities.

7. Discussion
1. What were your reasons for wanting to learn English?
2. What have you found most challenging about learning English?
3. In your opinion, what are the main benefits of being bilingual?
4. If you could become instantly fluent in any language, which would you
choose?
5. Do you think learning a new language can change the way you see the world?