PRACTICE QUESTIONS October

2.- What is the European Language Portfolio?

 Guideline:
- What European Language Portfolio is
- Origin
- principles
- elements
- uses, advantages and disavantages
- European Language Portfolio in Spain
- conclusion

This essay deals the analysis of the European Language Portfolio as an useful document in the foreign
learning language process. In order to carry out this analysis, I will study what European Language is, its
origin and its principles. Then, I will expose its elements, uses of this document and its implementation in
Spain.
The idea of language portfolio is not new and has been used for years as a part of formative assessment
because many teachers get students to keep portfolios of examples of their written work over a period of
time. These can be used for assessment, since judging different pieces of student work written over a period
of time is seen by many people to be fairer than final tests. However, using portfolios is somewhat
controversial alternative and not without its problems.
The European Language Portfolio is a document in which those who are learning or have learned a
language, whether at school or outside school, can record their language learning and cultural experiences.
It was proposed and elaborated by the Council of Europe's Modern Languages Division as a tool to support
the development of plurilingualism and pluriculturalism in order to:
- promote language learning as a lifelong meaningful process, to any level of profiency;
- to make the learning process more transparent and to develop the learner's ability to assess his/her own
competence;
- to facilitate mobility within Europe by providing a clear profile of the owner's language skills;
- and to contribute to mutual understanding within Europe with the ability to communicate in two or more
languages and intercultural learning.
It was launched throughout Europe during 2001, the European Year of Languages, following two main
principles:
-The European Language Portfolio is the property of the learner.
- It is linked to the Common European Framework of reference for Languages.
It document comprises:
- My Language Biography, which is a personalised learning diary making children aware of their
achievements as they learn. In this document students reflect on their language abilities using “can do”
statements. They can record if and why such abilities are important for them.
The language biography asks them to say what language experiences they have had, and reveals the fact
that a huge number of school students in various countries have rich varied language backgrounds.
- My Language Passport, an overview of the learner’s knowledge and experiences of different languages,
including cultural experiences. The overview is defined in terms of skills and the common reference levels
in the Common European Framework. It document records formal qualifications and describes language
competencies and significant language and intercultural learning experiences, including information on
partial and specific competence.
It allows for self-assessment, teacher assessment and assessment by educational institutions and
examinations boards. It requires that information entered in the Passport states on what basis, when and by
whom the assessment was carried out to facilitate European recognition and mobility a standard
presentation of a Passport Summary.
- My Dossier, where learners can file work and materials to illustrate the achievements recorded in the
Language Biography or Language Passport. The dossier offers the learner the opportunity to select materials to
document and illustrate achievements or experiences recorded in the Language Biography or Passport. In
the dossier all competence is valued, regardless whether gained inside or outside of formal education.
According to these principles and the notion of European Language Portfolio, this document has the
following uses:
- A record of language learning achievements and significant intercultural experiences, whether it takes
place inside or outside the educational system.
- Collection of evidence of their language skills.
- Help learners to become self-managing, showing what they can do in languages when they move from
one educational level or institution to another.
- Relating courses and certificates to the Council of Europe's common reference levels.
Taking into account these uses, it is possible to propose some advantages of this type of document: provide
evidence of student effort, and help student to become more autonomous. But, on the other hand it presents
some disadvantages, for instances: it is time consuming, teachers need training and some students may be
tempted to leave their portfolios until the end of the course.
In Spain was the first country of the European Community to develop a model of Portfolio for early ages
and here there are three models of Language portfolio were developed and approved in 2003.
Nowadays there are a number of school all over Spain piloting the experience of European Language
portfolio.
In short, The European Language Portfolio is a good attempt to provide a clear profile of the owner's
language skills in a Common European Framework, which facilitates mobility and mutual understanding
within Europe. Its use in class seems valuable because there are three types models, acording to the age,
and it promotes the students’ autonomy in their language learning process.