ABSTRACT
This chapter is to take a close look at a learner behaviour which, surprisingly, has received little, if any, attention so far. It is what the chapter would like to call the SWITCH-OFF strategy. However, unlike 'time sharing', which is a way of getting detached from the learning process, SWITCH-OFF is employed with the aim of facilitating learning and making it more effective. The chapter was using a text in the target language with the aim of developing my learners' reading skills. Once teachers have adopted a more tolerant attitude to their learners' strategies in general, and the SWITCH-OFF strategy in particular, they might be able to get more effective feedback on the learners' perceptions of the suitability of the 'imposed' learning opportunities. Foreign language teachers, as well as teachers in other subjects, have often complained about their learners not paying attention to their instructions and/or not participating actively in the classroom activities.
