What is the ELP?

The European Language Portfolio has two basic functions:

    • pedagogic
    • informative

  • Aims of the pedagogical function:
    • To promote a more reflective teaching and learning
    • To clarify and specify the learning aims in communicative terms
    • To favour self-assessment in the identification of acquired competences
    • To promote an educational change more focused on the pupils
  • Aims of the informative function:
    • To increase transparency and coherence among the language teaching and learning traditions in the different European countries.
    • To propose a common language for European teachers
    • To describe competences in the terms of the European Common Framework of Reference for Languages

 

THE PRIMARY PORTFOLIO

COMPONENTS

  • My Language Biography

The aim of this document is to make the learners to reflect on their identity as speakers and learners of languages.

The Biography is divided into five parts.

1. Colours for my languages

In this part the learner reflects on the languages of which s/he has a certain knowledge, either because it is spoken at home, studied at school or for some other reason, and chooses a colour for each language that s/he knows or is learning.

2. My language experiences

Here the learner records where s/he has learnt the vocabulary and expressions that s/he knows, who has taught her/him, and what activities that she performs in the languages that s/he knows or is learning.

3. What I learn in languages

The learner records what s/he can do in each language. This part focuses on the languages that are learnt at school, especially foreign languages, but it also includes first languages and languages spoken locally.

4. How I learn languages

In this part the learners reflect on the strategies they use to remember and learn new words and phrases and to communicate in conversations with others.

5. What I can do in languages

The learners reflect on what they can do and assess their progress in the foreign language(s) that they are learning at school. This part records the five language competences: listening, speaking, oral interaction, reading and writing.

The descriptors in this part correspond to the Level A1 of the European Framework. However, it also includes certain descriptors from Level A2 for those learners with a higher linguistic level.

  • My Dossier

The dossier is a collection of the documents in different formats that the learner selects in order to illustrate her/his language learning progress.

The learner decides which materials show the level attained in the different linguistic competences; s/he lists them in the Dossier and she classifies them and stores them in the box. It is important to emphasise that it is the learner who decides on the documents that best show her/his progress and thus the ones to be saved. This means that the learner has to decide on the criteria used to make the selection.

The stored documents must illustrate the different language competences so they must include sample of both speaking and writing.

In this section the learner also collects samples of authentic documents such as postcards, photos, tickets, etc., which illustrate the language being studied. It also includes comparisons of the major customs in the home country with those in the country or countries where the foreign language is spoken.

  • My Language Passport

The Passport provides the learner with a general view of her/his level in each of the five language competences at a particular time in the learning process. The Passport uses the levels of the Common European Framework.

The Passport also records the languages that are learnt at school and the language spoken at home as well as regular language experiences and those related to foreign travel, summer courses, stays abroad, etc.

  • The box

The Portfolio’s three components are stored in a blue cardboard box. It is here that the learner keeps the material listed in the Dossier.