Most second language acquisition (SLA) research has documented the processes involved in learning second/foreign languages, with few studies focusing on the durability of attained second language (L2) skills once instructed learners/users are no longer receiving formal instruction. The current study examines the effects of continued exposure and peak instructional attainment on the long‐term evolution of advanced, instructed L2 learners’ skills following a longitudinal mixed‐methods research design. Participants (n = 28) completed an oral proficiency test, an oral interview, and a vocabulary knowledge test at multiple times over an 8‐year period, 6 years of which were postinstruction. Results showed that continued exposure contributes to long‐term retention (and some further development) of oral proficiency and fluency and that peak attainment at the end of formal instruction is also an important variable for some areas of L2 performance. Additionally, even the participants with limited exposure demonstrated little attrition over time.

中文翻译：

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教学结束后第二语言的流失是不可避免的吗？高级指导第二语言用户的探索性纵向研究


大多数第二语言习得（SLA）研究都记录了学习第二语言/外语的过程，很少有研究关注一旦指导学习者/用户不再接受正式指导后所获得的第二语言（L2）技能的持久性。目前的研究采用纵向混合方法研究设计，探讨了持续接触和最高教学成就对高级、受指导的第二语言学习者技能的长期发展的影响。参加者（ n = 28）在 8 年的时间里多次完成了口语能力测试、口语面试和词汇知识测试，其中 6 年是在教学后完成的。结果表明，持续接触有助于口语熟练程度和流利程度的长期保持（以及进一步发展），并且在正式教学结束时达到的峰值也是第二语言表现某些领域的一个重要变量。此外，即使是接触有限的参与者，随着时间的推移，也表现出很少的流失。