Abstract:

“Fossilization” was first put forward by Selinker. It refers to a phenomenon which Second Language Learners tend to cease to make improvements or even fall behind when they reach a certain level in the process of learning second language. In order to explore fossilization among Non-English majors in China, this paper chooses                     Non-English majors in University as subjects. By analyzing 22 English abstracts written by Non-English majors, this paper tries to expound Chinese non-English major graduates’ fossilization and put forward several strategies in acquiring second language.

Key words: language fossilization; Non-English majors; abstract writing 
                   
摘要:

“语言石化”最早由Selinker提出，它是指在二语习得过程中，当学习者达到一定阶段后出现的第二语言水平止步不前甚至有所下降的现象。为探索中国非英语专业大学生英语石化现象，本论文选择大学生为研究对象，通过分析由大学生所写的22篇英文以揭示非英语专业大学生语言石化并且提出规避策略，以切实帮助非英语专业大学生习得第二语言。

关键词：语言石化；非英语专业；摘要写作

1.    Introduction
   It is quite common for Chinese college students to come across the situation at one time or another in the process of learning second language that they cease to make progress when they reach a certain level even after more than ten years’ learning . The phenomenon is referred to as “ fossilization” which was first introduced by Larry Selinker in his book interlanguage in 1972. For decades, linguists and researchers, both at home and abroad, have showed great interest in it and have made in-depth studies on fossilization.
Focus of the research on fossilization used to lie in its definition and causal factors. Study methods include theoretical study and empirical study. Foreign linguists and researchers started exploring fossilization at an earlier stage. Selinker (1972) first introduced fossilization into Second Language Acquisition Field (SLA). It refers to a person’s inaccurate language form about target language during the process of acquiring Second Language. Selinker not only proposed the concept but also argued five factors resulting in fossilization: (1) Language transfer, (2) Overgeneralization, (3) Transfer of training, (4) Inappropriate Second Language Learning strategies, (5) Inappropriate Second Language communication strategies. Over four decades, many foreign linguists and researchers have also put forward their own explanations of causes of fossilization, among which there are three well-known models: (1) interactional model by Vigil & Oller (1976), (2) biological model by Selinker & Lamendrlla (1978) , (3) acculturation model by Schumann (1978); the multiple effects principle and Krashen's input hypothesis (1985) exert great influence on future study and research.