What does a "good" language learner look like?

According to this article, : A good language learner:

1.  knows and uses effective learning strategies.

2. has a strong drive to communicate and uses cognates, synonyms, circumlocution, spelling, and 
   gestures when needed to help meaning be understood.
3. Is a language "USER" as well as a learner. (uses the language for real purposes)

4. paraphrases.

5. actively listens.

6. is not inhibited or afraid to look foolish.

7. is willing to make mistakes and learns from mistakes.

8. tolerates ambiguity or vagueness.

9. attends to form.

10. looks for patterns, analyzes, categorizes, synthesizes.  

11. attempts to determine what is relevant.

12. practices frequently (planned, intentional learning that is frequent and consistent).

13. seeks out opportunities to practice outside of class.

14. initiates conversations with teacher, other students, and native speakers.

15. is willing to repeat.

16. monitors his own speech and the speech of others.

17. self-evaluates frequently and makes changes where needed.

18.attends to meaning rather than just words.

19. knows that meaning can change based on context. 

20. finds ways to make learning personal and meaningful (incorporates into interests).

A good language learner takes responsibility for their own learning. If we can use these characteristics as a model and develop them in our own learning process, we can also become a good language learner. We must remember that learning a second language is an  "process" which takes time, therefore evaluation should focus on progress made rather than how much we know. The various pages on this website will be focused on the various aspects of learning a second language.