Evidence suggests that short-term study abroad experiences can help advance various dimensions of second language (L2) learners’ linguistic competence. However, the extent to which gains following a brief sojourn are durable and maintained after immersion remains an open question. The present study examined both the immediate and sustained learning outcomes following a short-term study abroad program by considering L2 Spanish learners’ (a) linguistic gains in global proficiency, oral production, and L2 knowledge, and (b) nonlinguistic gains in perceived psychobehavioral flexibility, a trait that remains underresearched despite its broad relevance to study abroad contexts. Data were collected at the onset and end of a summer study abroad program in Spain, as well as 5 weeks post-sojourn, after students’ reimmersion in the first language environment. Mixed-effects models revealed that gains in global proficiency and some aspects of oral production and L2 knowledge, as well as increases in perceived psychobehavioral flexibility, were noticeable at the end of the program and were maintained for several weeks post-sojourn in the absence of further L2 instruction. Findings provide a first look into the potential of short-term study abroad for promoting durable developmental changes across linguistic and nonlinguistic domains.

中文翻译：

---

简短但强大？短期出国留学后持续的二语学习和感知的心理行为益处

有证据表明，短期出国留学经历有助于提高第二语言 (L2) 学习者语言能力的各个方面。然而，短暂停留后的收获在多大程度上能够持久并在沉浸后保持仍然是一个悬而未决的问题。本研究通过考虑 L2 西班牙语学习者的 (a) 在全球熟练程度、口语表达和 L2 知识方面的语言收益，以及 (b) 在感知心理行为方面的非语言收益，检验了短期出国留学计划后的直接和持续学习成果灵活性，尽管它与出国留学背景有广泛的相关性，但仍未得到充分研究。数据是在西班牙暑期留学项目开始和结束时收集的，以及在学生重新融入第一语言环境后的 5 周后收集的数据。混合效应模型显示，在项目结束时，全球熟练度、口语表达和 L2 知识的某些方面以及感知的心理行为灵活性的提高是显着的，并且在没有进一步的 L2 指令。调查结果提供了对短期出国留学促进跨语言和非语言领域的持久发展变化的潜力的初步了解。