This paper explores the role of metacognition and imagination in language learning. It does this by reporting on a three-year research project which investigated the learning experiences of Japanese first-year university students who were working to improve their English language proficiency in a self-directed learning course. The course was based on a pedagogical model which blended self-access language learning with classroom-based instruction. The inquiry employed a mixed methods approach and gathered a variety of data, including learners’ language learning histories, a language beliefs questionnaire, a course evaluation questionnaire, interview transcripts, and learners’ portfolios. A preliminary thematic analysis of the qualitative data pointed to several affordances within the learning environment which together served to enhance the learners’ metacognitive development. Extending this analysis to include imagination, this paper suggests these affordances also facilitated the role played by imagination in the students’ learning, and that the processes of imagination and metacognition were mutually supportive. In order to illustrate these points, the paper takes an in-depth look at the experiences of one participant. Before recounting this learner’s story, the paper presents a discussion of the theoretical constructs which guide the analysis, a description of the learning environment and an outline the study.
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