A case study investigated the linguistic and social contexts of an adult Indonesian learner of English as a second language (ESL) in Australia, and how these factors affected his language learning progress. The learner, raised in Indonesia, was a young adult of Chinese descent. The discrepancy between the learner's perceptions of his own language proficiency and his teachers' perceptions and expectations was compounded by his inadequate command of his first language, which was caused by interference from his parents' Chinese and from other languages and dialects spoken within his social network. The learner's language learning strategies were examined through interviews and classroom observation over a six-month period. His preferred modes of learning were determined, and field dependence/independence as a learning factor was investigated. Appropriate teacher interventions and teacher-learner compatibility were addressed. The study concludes with a discussion of the extent to which this learner's problems are representative of learners with similar ethnic and social backgrounds, and of the teacher qualities and teaching styles best suited to this kind of learner. (Author/MSE)