After Studying a Foreign Language, My Chinese Fell Apart323

For years, I've been studying foreign languages. I've studied Spanish, French, German, and Japanese. And while I've made progress in all of these languages, I've noticed a strange side effect: my Chinese has started to deteriorate.

At first, I didn't think much of it. I figured it was just a temporary thing, and that my Chinese would eventually come back to me. But as time went on, I realized that my Chinese was getting worse, not better. I started to have trouble understanding simple conversations. I would mix up words and phrases. And I would often find myself struggling to express myself in Chinese.

I was puzzled. How could studying foreign languages be causing my Chinese to get worse? I had always thought that learning new languages would help me to improve my Chinese. But now it seemed like the opposite was happening.

I decided to do some research, and I found that I was not alone. There are many people who have reported similar experiences. In fact, there is even a term for this phenomenon: "foreign language attrition."

Foreign language attrition is the loss of a previously acquired language. It can happen for a variety of reasons, including:

Lack of use
Interference from other languages
Changes in the brain

In my case, it is likely that a combination of factors is contributing to my foreign language attrition. I don't use Chinese as much as I used to, and I am constantly exposed to other languages. This is causing my brain to prioritize these other languages over Chinese.

I am still trying to figure out how to stop my Chinese from deteriorating. I have started to use it more often, and I am trying to avoid exposing myself to other languages as much as possible. I know that it will take time, but I am hopeful that I will eventually be able to regain my fluency in Chinese.

In the meantime, I am trying to be patient with myself. I know that learning a new language is a difficult process, and that there will be setbacks along the way. But I am determined to keep learning, and I am confident that I will eventually be able to master both Chinese and my other target languages.

2024-11-10

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