ABSTRACT
I begin, as many case studies do, with a concrete example, a narrative description of a language learner named “Jim,” with short interspersed excerpts of his oral English language production at different stages in time. Details are provided about my original analysis of Jim’s L2 development and the rationale for that focus. Then, for the more general purposes of this book, a fuller description of Jim’s life and circumstances is provided, including his experiences learning English and his challenges in Canada as a government-assisted refugee, a new immigrant, and an English as a second language (ESL) student with a wife and young children to support.
