Dear readers,
As you know, I’m a teacher. During some of my classes I have to speak in English, depending on the subject. In my experience, this is not a very easy task with a class of 25 different persons, and each of them with a different level of linguistic competences. I’ve thought a lot about how I could optimize my classes and so, preparing my materials, I read about the ELP (European Language Portfolio). Maybe you’ve never heard about it or maybe you did. For those that haven´t heard about it I’ll give you a brief explanation.
The ELP is a paper that gives you information about your linguistic competences and at the same time it may motivate you and encourage you to improve foreign languages. It’s a document of personal experiences of language learning and experiences with other cultures. This portfolio needs an active participation in learning and as you may notice it is very personal. There are three parts in an ELP: the language passport, the language biography and the language dossier.
While I was gathering information about the ELP, I was thinking about possible advantages. Well, I’ve noticed that it may help students to recognize their different learning styles. That’s how they can detect problems and discrepancies between the different ways of learning a language. On the other hand, it encourage the pupils to set their own learning goals, so the progress is more formative rather than summative. It encourage the students to improve their autonomy and their reflection and self-assessment. As you know, self or pear-assessment are the most effective ways of learning!
I’ve noticed that there are quiet a lot of pedagogical functions and advantages about the ELP. But looking to the practical way, are there also some practical functions? Well, in an ELP you can complete the academical information provides by official diplomas. For example, if you have ever presented yourself for official exams of a foreign language, you can introduce the grade of your exam in your ELP. On the other hand, it may also facilitate mobility between countries. If you’ve ever thought about going abroad, it could be interesting to prepare your ELP, so the school, university or company where you will stay can have a better idea of your language competences.
In conclusion, if you’re a teacher and you’ve ever thought about using the ELP, don’t hesitate! It improves so many abilities in your students that it can only be very positive. It also can give you an other perspective of getting to know your students in an other way. They will have to be very creative and start to reflect about their own experiences. You may get to know them better in a personal and academical way!
Good Luck!
