Running head: case studies of successful language learners 1 Connecting Experience to Beliefs

Human Subject Protection 
The researcher will obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board before 
beginning the data collections process. This approval guarantees the ethical enactment of 

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CASE STUDIES OF SUCCESSFUL LANGUAGE LEARNERS 12 
research, which includes maintaining at all times confidentiality of the personal information of 
the participants. 
Limitations 
One of the primary and most widely-recognized limitations of case-study research is the 
lack of generalizability of results. However, it has been acknowledged that it is not the purpose 
of case studies to make generalizations about populations (Tsui, 2003). Rather, one application 
of case study methodology is to contribute to rich descriptions of social phenomenon (Yin, 
2003), and it is this task that is undertaken through the current research. 
Also of concern are potential threats to the validity of the results. Obtaining valid answers 
to the proposed research questions will depend largely upon the honesty and accuracy of 
responses that are provided by participants for the duration of the research project. Certainly, it 
must be acknowledged that because participants’ responses on questionnaire and interview items 
may be influenced or even compromised by factors such as the participants’ concern with the 
privacy of their responses, or attempts to answer in a manner deemed desirable to the researcher 
or course instructors, the validity of the results could be threatened. However, as this is a risk 
inherent in both case study research designs as well as research methods that elicit participant 
beliefs, perceptions or opinions, the researcher does not deem this risk a valid reason for not 
conducting the study. 
Conclusion 
The beliefs about language learning and teaching held by successful learners of a second 
or foreign language should be of interest to learners, teachers, and researchers alike. Through 
results obtained from the proposed study, the researcher hopes to contribute to existing literature 
about beliefs by connecting the language learning and teaching beliefs of two successful foreign 

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CASE STUDIES OF SUCCESSFUL LANGUAGE LEARNERS 13 
language learners to their past experiences with language learning. It is assumed that the detailed 
descriptive information resulting from this study will not only further illuminate the complex 
interactions between learners’ personal language learning experiences, their beliefs about 
language learning and teaching, and their language learning success, but that it will also highlight 
the inter-learner variability of beliefs that lead to language learning success. 

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CASE STUDIES OF SUCCESSFUL LANGUAGE LEARNERS 14 
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CASE STUDIES OF SUCCESSFUL LANGUAGE LEARNERS 18 
Appendix A 
Asynchronous Questionnaire 
Thank you for participating in this study!
 
Please respond to the following items within this 
document using Microsoft Word. You may provide as much or as little information for each item 
as you wish. The estimated time it will take to complete this questionnaire is 1-2 hours. You do 
not need to complete all items on the questionnaire at one time. After you have responded to the 
items, please return the document to the researcher via email.