This plenary session will focus on the positives of learner language, especially in terms of lexical and grammatical development by exploring the notion of learner competencies. As language teachers, it is often easier to see what learners get wrong at a particular stage of language learning rather than what they have gained when compared with a previous level. Errors are essentially easier to identify and, as teachers, we can address them pedagogically. Historically, the exploration of errors has informed syllabi through contrastive analysis of learners’ first language with the target language. Additionally, error analysis has improved our understanding of the concept of ‘interlanguage’. However, in this talk, I will attempt to show, using examples, that learners, at all levels, are moving along a developmental pathway. Errors are part of this development but in tandem with errors, there are many developing competencies. As part of the talk, some learner examples will be used from the 55-million-word Cambridge Learner Corpus (CLC) which comprises over 200,000 English Language exam scripts, from over 200 countries, from speakers of over 140 first languages. By looking more closely at learner competencies, it is hoped to bring focus to the positive side of language teaching, learning and development.