A research project may begin in a 'telling moment' in the language classroom. This article describes the phases of a research project as the author moves from classroom to library, from empirical data to theoretical framework and back again. The methodology includes a comparative dimension through the collection of data from learners in three countries and demonstrates the development of insights from these three sources to gain deeper understanding of learners in the classroom from which the research questions originated. The research process thus becomes the beginning of new processes and plans for the classroom.