This article reports the results of an investigation into the issues encountered by undergraduate language students while engaging in "the Grammar Project"--a collaborative assessment task for the module Academic and Professional Skills for Language Learning--and shows how encouraging students to take ownership of their learning process with the support of a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) can increase their motivation and their understanding of the subject matter. It shows that students' beliefs may hinder their learning experience, while maintaining that an effective social-interactive environment can help them understand subject-specific concepts, particularly if this is supported by recording their reflections both within the VLE and in a portfolio. (Contains 3 figures.)