Like intellectual processes, affective processes are embedded in the educational milieu, and the two are not only parallel but interdependent: intelligence provides the structure for actions, and feelings express the value given to these actions. Without understanding their interaction, we may not be able to formulate ideas as to why each learner brings to the learning process a unique set of attributes even when provided with very similar learning experiences. One approach to understand this interrelationship is through the exploration of the harmonious coexistence of intellectual and affective processes. The present study is an attempt to gain insights into the affective world of the learners, to explore their affective responses and needs, and to view the affective dimension of language learning at the Bilkent University School of English Language from the perspective of the learners. This study employed the diary study technique to collect data over a period of seven weeks. The subjects of the study were ten students who were keeping diaries of their own language learning experiences on a voluntary basis. Qualitative data collected through learner diaries were analyzed through the technique of coding. The themes which emerged from the diary entries were classified into ten major groups as follows: Attitude toward the components of EFL at BUSEL, feelings of anxiety, accommodation problems, personal reactions to change, failure/repeated failure-oriented feelings, language learning activities, motivational factors, perceived language needs, perceptions of teacher, and relationships. These findings suggest that the language learning process at BUSEL involves a variety of affective variables ranging between the personal variables and sociocultural variables. The learners affected by these variables experience positive or negative feelings throughout their study. In brief, this longitudinal study revealed that learner diaries as an ethnographic technique in classroom research enable the researchers and teachers to view the learning process from the 'inside' , plus to explore the concept of affect which has an elusive, therefore, complex nature.