C. DISCUSSION SESSIONS (DS)

Fig. 5.1 Type and content of sessions

The other two types of sessions, individual∕group (I∕GS) and discussion (DS)
sessions, were mainly designed with the objective of getting to know the participants and
working with them in a more individual basis. These sessions were also relevant for the
amount of output I got from the participants. In the DS the main idea was to discuss
several issues related to education and language learning. In general, my participation in
these was very scarce. The I∕GS were organised according to different formats.
Sometimes I worked with the group divided into two (a noon and an evening session),
others, I worked with twos or threes, and most of the time I worked on a one-to-one basis
(see Appendix 3). With regards to content, the purpose of most of the I∕GS was for the
learners to talk retrospectively about their current learning of a FL and/or relate it to
some aspects of the previous IS. Some I∕GS were aimed at talking about the participants'
histories as foreign language learners and some had the objective to make them reflect on
specific aspects of their learning processes. On the whole, participants partook in eleven
individual I∕GS, two pair I∕GS, seven group I∕GS, seven DS and seven IS in a period of
8 weeks during July, August and September, 1997.

The kind of data I got from the project was gathered in different forms. All the
sessions were tape-recorded and I also asked the participants to keep a diary and write a
biography concerning their experiences as foreign language learners. Besides, I took
some notes when I considered it to be pertinent. Basically these notes recorded the
ongoing decisions I made during the project, some problems and unexpected situations I
came across and my reaction to them and the new ideas that arose from the experience I
was undergoing. Moreover, I asked the participants to answer some questionnaires

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