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Diante always did his work. He studied hard for exams, always corrected the points of language marked in red pen on his writing, and practiced for oral exams. In fact, he had always done well with languages. As he improved his proficiency, he started realizing he was making the same mistakes over and over again and, in retrospect, hadn’t really thought much about it. In talking with his instructor, he realized he knew much more about language then he originally thought. Many students are in the same place as Diante. Intentional reflection as part of the learning process can help improve this scenario and can add depth and meaning to the learning process. Reflection can, and should, be part of daily classroom work.  This can be done in a number of ways.  For example:

1. Ask learners to self-evaluate their abilities on classroom learning targets at the beginning and at the end of each class session. As this process becomes systematized, they can then start to deepen their reflection to include how well they are meeting each objective.
2. Use a portfolio to collect evidence of student work and engage learners in the reflective process as part of that process (see lfonetwork.uoregon.edu for additional resources related to reflection and portfolio work). Assessment on the reflection process should include more then a completion score and, instead, require learners to address key features of their own process.
3. Use peer discussion as a means to reflect on patterns, quality, proficiency levels, and context.

Regardless of the format one takes, intentioned integration of learner self-reflection can deepen learning, improve learning outcomes, and transform the learner experience.