ABSTRACT
Watch “the habits of the moon” and record what you see in a journal: this was Eleanor Duckworth’s (1986) out-of-the-ordinary assignment to her university students. She wanted to engage them with a phenomenon, something of interest to observe that would provide the foundation for discussions about the nature of learning and teaching. The students, who were also teachers, reacted to the assignment as any class would: some found it puzzling, others found it irritating, others became quickly engrossed in it. Those who at first resisted it often had a change of attitude later, as this journal entry shows:
Observing the second language (L2) learner is far more engaging than observing the moon, of course. L2 learners are participants in your own classroom, and you have a personal interest in any changes in their behavior and learning. Like moon watching, though, watching L2 learners may raise more questions than it answers: How do changes in language competence occur? Why does the child look competent in one setting and not another? How can I match my teaching pace with his learning? How much English
does he use outside of school? We may ask some of these questions about all students, but L2 learners present a special challenge because they have less knowledge than their classmates of the primary tool for learning in classrooms in this country: the English language.
