reineke wrote:In lieu of a "bump".
"I would note that we found lower levels of proficiency eroded permanently and to revive language that had not been assessed at least at Level 3 usually meant that study had to begin anew."
"Lesson 4. Time on task and the intensity of the learning experience appear crucial.
Learning a language also cannot be done in a short time...FSI has tried to shorten programs, and it has not worked...
Having made this investment, it is crucial to determine what can be done to maintain the language skills that the graduates have achieved or, preferably, to improve them. Language maintenance at post may not simply be a matter of giving the speakers a set of strategies to use there, but more one of attaining a “critical mass” of language proficiency. Informally, we have observed in the languages that we have worked with that an individual departing for post following training with a borderline professional proficiency (or lower) is very likely to experience attrition. An individual with a strong professional proficiency (S-3 or S-3) will maintain or improve proficiency, and with advanced professional proficiency (S3 or S-4) will almost certainly continue to improve. "
These findings, and the rest referred to in Reineke's post, are fascinating.
But how well to they apply to those learning languages for a hobby, as opposed to certain narrow professional uses?
There is clearly a degree to which a well learned language is hardwired into the brain.
But these studies don't obviously account for how the linguists might uses, and thereby keep up, their languages.
Presumably a top-notch linguist is far more likely to read novels, make deep friendships, keep up with the news, and so on, than a mediocre one. There must be plenty mediocre embassy staff around the world who try as far as possible to live in a little bubble of their own native language and culture. Certainly when I used to live near a bunch of embassies, that was the impression! The best linguists have less reason to do that. They might keep up the interest in another culture years later.
That has quite a big impact on how we translate these results for the use of those learning for pleasure - what level we need to reach, how much in the way of upkeep is required, and so on.
