Abstract
This study investigated the consistency with which 174 Japanese learners' responded to questions concerning their beliefs and opinions about language learning. The amount of agreement in learners' responses to 126 items concerning five major aspects of second language (L2) courses was compared over a period of two weeks, and again over a period of one year, in order to determine their viability as input for L2 course design. Although these learners' opinions were found to be a viable source of information about some of the aspects of L2 courses, they did not correlate well with hard data on their future language needs. It is therefore suggested that such knowledge might be used more productively in the classroom as a basis for dialogue between teachers and learners regarding the purpose and demands of courses rather than as input for their design.
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