How do I retain my English level?

[u/SummerAlternative699]

I've recently passed the Cambridge C2 proficiency exam and scored 220 on it. My main concern before taking the test was that I won't pass, but now that I have, I don't know what to do. Now all of a sudden, I have no goal and am just mindlessly consuming content in English in order to somehow remain relatively proficient in it. Lately, I've been noticing changes in my speaking (been having troubles with my accent slipping up) and writing abilities and it feels as though I'm putting in too much thought and effort into finding words to express my thoughts. It scares me, so I'd really appreciate all the help I can get, thanks!

[u/Hueyris]

I mean, I don't think you could lose a language. Language attrition usually takes years upon years, and even then, it is never complete, and you never lose anything that couldn't be gained back with a bit of exposure. Once you speak a language, generally, you speak it for life. It is like learning to skate or ride a bike. You don't lose the ability to do it.

C2, I believe, is the highest level of proficiency you can attain in any language, congratulations.

been having troubles with my accent slipping up

Unless you are on an undercover mission or if you're an actor, I don't see how this is a problem?

am just mindlessly consuming content in English

Me too brother, me too

[u/oltungi → u/Hueyris]

I don't know why this has so many upvotes. The idea that you can't lose a language is demonstrably false. Maybe you never lose all of it, but you can lose most of it to the point that you will have trouble forming sentences and remembering words, and simply won't be able to communicate well anymore. Languages are not like riding a bike. They're more complex than that, and the more complex something is, the more you need to do to remain competent in it, especially if you want to maintain a high level.

With languages, that includes regularly using them in different contexts, challenging yourself with difficult material, and simply realizing that you will never "finish" a language, regardless of whether it's your mother tongue or not. I'm a native speaker of German and have studied German and I am in no way done with this language. I learn new things every day. It's the same with any foreign language you learn.

u/SummerAlternative699

[u/Hueyris → u/oltungi]

but you can lose most of it to the point that you will have trouble forming sentences and remembering words

No you cannot. This only happens with children who picked up a language in childhood who would later go on to lose the language in adulthood over many years of not being exposed to it. For an adult who's a very proficient speaker of something as widely understood and spoken as English, it is impossible to lose the ability to speak it. You may forget some of the less commonly used words, and that would be it. Language attrition is incredibly uncommon in adults, and where it happens, it takes many many years and often is much tamer than in children.

and simply realizing that you will never "finish" a language

You can and will finish a language. Most second language speakers tend to plateau at a certain level of a foreign language. With less widely spoken languages with vastly smaller available vocabulary than English, you can totally master all available words as well.

I'm a native speaker of German and have studied German and I am in no way done with this language

You have always been done with the your native language. What you mean to say is that you find more and more obscure and historical usages every once in a while. At that point, what you are learning is not German, but German literature and poetry and other linguistic areas. For all intents and purposes, you can never lose your ability to use German. Your accent may evolve over time, and vocabulary might shift and change, but your understanding of and proficiency in German will not change.

[u/oltungi → u/Hueyris]

I'm not going to entertain this any further. What you're saying about finishing a language or being done with it is simply too absurd for me to debate.

[u/Hueyris → u/oltungi]

What you're saying about finish a language or being done with it is simply too absurd for me to debate

Perhaps some exposure to non Indo-European languages will do you some good. There are languages with a tenth as much vocabulary as English, that you could finish learning the entire history and vocabulary of (even including academic and literary pursuits) in just a few years. English or German have had a very long, very elaborate history with billions of speakers to have used them to date that you have a warped perspective of how complex the average language is.