EAP learners exploring their own language learning lives through exploratory practice

“Why do I always speak English in wrong grammar although I know how to use grammar?” “Why does team 3 (which is near the door) always speak in Chinese?” These questions (among others) were posed by a group of 16 international postgraduate students during an intensive, high-stakes English for Academic Purposes (EAP) courseI taught. They were raised in response to my question: what puzzles you about your language learning lives?” The questions spearheaded an eight-week investigative process using the Exploratory Practice (EP) framework (Allwright, 2003, 2005): a form of inclusive practitioner research.This chapter recounts the experiences of two groups of students in the class as they formulated puzzles to investigate, collected and analysed data to understand those puzzles, and then presented them to other students and staff. I concluded the process by giving my perspective on their work. The chapter switches between the separate first-person voices of me, Susan (as teacher), and Phappim and Kan (as two collaborating learner-practitioners).