he gave the following account, which is just a small part of what he said:
A: I don't like grammar, perhaps, I don't like the way grammar is taught. It is my
experience, I don't know, I think that I don't like the way it is taught....I like to Ieam
playing. I do not like to be sitting in a classroom, formal learning, you know. I like to
Ieam by listening to native speakers and I would like to participate in their
conversation even if I make mistakes. I like matching, multiple choice, ticking
exercises. I don't like completion of full answer exercises. I don't like to write, I
prefer to draw lines, to do crosswords. I don't like to hold the pencil for a long time. I
would like to Ieam by going out for a picnic and chatting with other people.
Here, A is doing more than just answering a questionnaire. First, he is analysing the type
of exercises he likes from textbooks. He is also elaborating on what he does not like and
why ("I don't like to hold a pencil for a long time"). His statement " I don't like to be
sitting in a classroom, formal learning, you know" is a good synthesis of all his answers
to the questions about learning in class and with a teacher. This idea is reinforced by his
last comment, which is an example provided by him and not by the questionnaires. The
reference to grammar is a good instance of evaluation. Instead of just staying with the
fact that he doesn't like grammar he goes further and makes a judgement about the
teaching of grammar he has been exposed to.
For other students, working with the questionnaires gave them the opportunity to
analyse their own learning behaviour and realise the changes that they have undergone.
E, for instance, refers to the way she responded in a teaching situation and how this has
changed:
E: I am not self-directed at all, but, before I used to like to Ieam with a
teacher because I felt that I didn't know anything. Now that I am not a beginner
anymore, I don't like the teacher to tell me "Work with this. Do that". I don't like
the teacher to tell me what to do. Before I liked it. Well, it was not exactly that I
liked it, it was that I accepted it. But now, I like to choose a text and read it,
if I get interested in it I Ieam new vocabulary.
Ga, who also reflected very critically after answering the questionnaires, referred to her
awareness about her change as a language learner:
Ga: (To answer the questionnaires) was very interesting for me because I had
already worked with them before, some months after I started working in SAC.
I became aware of the way I have changed. Before I was more dependent.
Because I was not taking part in any formal course, I wanted to have a teacher.
Now I am more independent, although I still need the teacher, for some specific
grammar points, exact translations, you know. I am independent when it comes
to choosing material, according to my needs. I evaluate myself. One can
self-evaluate. Here I am wrong. You don't need someone to tell you. You can
compare with your own notes. I know what I need for myself. The teacher may
not know how I learn. He has so many students. He tends to generalise. I’d rather
study by myself