The starting point for curriculum planning for second language instruction is the learner, and a curriculum can claim to be learner-centered only if key factors about the learner are made the basis for curriculum design at all stages in the planning and development of learning activities and materials and in the sequencing of learning experiences. These factors include general biographical data; previous learning experience (general and language, formal and informal); experiential knowledge of the world and of the way language works; the learner's stage of linguistic development; the learner's sociocultural knowledge and environment; and his or her stage of cognitive development. Each of these factors makes a unique contribution to curriculum planning and development. Each point is related to a second language learner named Jangala, an Australian aboriginal youth. (MSE)