[Grammar] Present Perfect Simple / Present Perfect Continuous

[Walt Whitman]

English teacher

A: What job do you do?
B: I teach Medieval history at Oxford University.
A: Do you? Then you must be well-informed about the latest studies.
B: Well, yes. I have studied / I have been studying Medieval history for 20 years now.
A: I’m personally interested in the latest studies about William the Conqueror’s invasion of England.
B: Oh, that’s just my field of research.
[…]

If I were B I would certainly say “I have been studying…”
I ask: would “I have studied…” be ok in this context? I think it’s quite clear that B is still reading history - it’s his/her job, after all.
Thanks a lot.
WW

 

[MikeNewYork]

English teacher

A: What job do you do?
B: I teach Medieval history at Oxford University.
A: Do you? Then you must be well-informed about the latest studies.
B: Well, yes. I have studied / I have been studying Medieval history for 20 years now.
A: I’m personally interested in the latest studies about William the Conqueror’s invasion of England.
B: Oh, that’s just my field of research.
[…]

If I were B I would certainly say “I have been studying…”
I ask: would “I have studied…” be ok in this context? I think it’s quite clear that B is still reading history - it’s his/her job, after all.
Thanks a lot.
WW

This all depends on what B has been doing lately.

 

[Walt Whitman]

Thank you, Mike.
So, if I said "I have studied..." it wouldn't be clear that I'm still reading books on Medieval history.
Should one always use "I have been studying..." to convey the idea of an ongoing action?
WW

 

[emsr2d2]

Should one always use "I have been studying..." to convey the idea of an ongoing action?

Generally, yes.

 

[Walt Whitman]

Thank you, emsr2d2.
Could someone give an example (with surrounding context) of present perfect simple + time marker (say, for 5 years / since 2003), which expresses an action still ongoing?
WW