On being a learner again: An experiment in role reversal

This paper has an immediate aim and two ulterior objectives. Its immediate aim is to discuss some of the factors which operate in language learning, with specific reference to TAFL. In pursuing this aim, the author mainly relies on an analysis of his diary as a teacher of Arabic turned learner of German. In setting out the various elements of his diary, he draws on the results of other language diarists, in an attempt to extrapolate the "theoretical" principles which underpin the commonality of experiences they exhibit. Further, an analysis of the diaries of six TAFL students whom the author taught is carried out to establish the extent to which the experiences they articulate tally with his own. Its ulterior objectives are (a) to help focus the attention of TAFL researchers on the learner in her or his capacity as the most important element in the language teaching/learning process, and (b) to encourage researchers in our field to utilize introspective reports as valuable data about, not of, the language learning process and the environments in which language learning is transacted.