What Does Good Language Learner (GLL) Say about Foreign Language Learning? A Story from an Indonesian Learner

Abstract

Learning a foreign language could either be problematic or simplistic. For those who have learnt a foreign language (e.g. English) for along period of time but no significant progress it might be discouraging. On the other hand, for the successful learner it might be just an ‘’affordable price’’ to get through. This paper draws on a successful foreign language learning experience by an Indonesian learner of English. Having no English background, along with the learner’s non-linear degree courses makes this success story unique. The data was taken through questionnaire sent through email and Facebook correspondence, in which the respondent answered the set of questions and the researcher clarified for further explanation if the answer was not clear enough. The result of the questionnaire seems to indicate that the respondent characterizes some characteristics of good language learners (Rubin, 1975). However, there are domains in which the respondent’s personal narratives do differ with the characteristics of good language learners as has been described in the former studies.