A brief "language learning experience" (LLE) in Thai was integrated into a second language development course as part of postgraduate TESOL study at an Australian university. Sixty primary and secondary teachers from a range of schools evaluated the impact of the LLE by means of a questionnaire; the teachers proved highly affirming of its value, nominating awareness of experiential learning and affective factors as the most salient outcomes. An additional and unexpected outcome was its impact upon the lecturer himself, who also served as the language instructor. This dual role of lecturer-instructor resulted in the creation of a different tenor of relationships with teachers; in the lecturer's deeper understanding of the constraints of teaching a language other than one's own; and, most directly, in his enhanced capacity to present key concepts in the field of second language development.