An active area of study and debate in Second Language Acquisition is 'learner contribution' which is what a learner can bring to the learning process e.g. his or her experience of prior (language) learning, expectancies about the learning process, knowledge of language and of learning and expectations of effectiveness of instruction. Plus their own personal and social characteristics i.e. age, gender, status, role, group membership, affiliations etc - all these factors are presumed to impact favourably or unfavourably on language learning in particular environments.  What the learner contributes is therefore central to the language learning process. This book presents a uniquely comprehensive account of learners' personal attributes, their thinking, their feelings, and their actions that have been shown to have an impact upon language learning.