“The Best and the Worst”: An Exercise to Tap Perceptions of Language‐Learning Experiences and Strategies

Thiy article presents an exercise useful for rapping perceptions of participants' hest und worst lunguage‐learning experiences and the strulegies these individuals used in such experiences. Inforrnal results across six training sessions are presented. Positive language‐learning situations stimulated the use of a wide range of learning strategies, while negative situations stunted strategy use, restricting it mainly to strategies that helped learners cope with their day‐to‐day struggle with the dysfunctional environment. Possible juture uses of “The Best and the Worst” exercise with students, as well as for teacher training, are discussed.