An intensive case study in learning a second foreign language, which is part of an applied linguistics course for teachers/teacher trainees offered at the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa) is described. Attention is directed to: case study rationale and objectives; student orientation and preparation; and areas of focus and the courses offered, including content, administration, and methodology. Additionally, student reactions to the case study are discussed. One of the major aims of the case study is to enable students to see how the various theoretical aspects of the course become integrated in their application to the language learning process. The case study is compulsory and has the following objectives: to enable students to rediscover what it is like to be a learner in a classroom situation; to promote understanding of the linguistic, psychological, and sociocultural processes at work in language learning; and to help students gain insights into their own learning and communication strategies. The languages offered in the 1980 case study were Zulu and French. Students were required to write a psychologically-oriented report on their observations of the learning process. Among the content areas of the case study are interest, perception and information processing, attention, learning strategies, syntax, semantics, phonology, home and school backgrounds, and pedagogical concerns (e.g., transfer of training). (SW)