ABSTRACT
Solicited learner diaries are a powerful research tool as they allow for the creation of rich and detailed understandings about learning experiences through the collection of micro-level data over periods of time. This chapter draws on a research project which investigated the situated English language learning of international students studying at an Australian university. In this multi-method project, data were constructed through semi-structured interviews, learner diaries and interview conversations about the diaries. The chapter outlines how interval-based, semi-structured learner diaries were used as a detailed and reliable account of the English language lives of the international students and allowed for the creation of data not possible through other Fmethods due to its ‘forgettable’, routine and everyday nature. The chapter discusses the benefits of utilising the diary method as well as the challenges experienced in implementing a diary study, namely participant fatigue and the quality of data collected. Suggestions are offered as to how the method can be successfully used with other groups of research participants in the field of higher education and more broadly, in the social sciences.
