Málfríður - 15.09.2002, Page 4

The European Language Portfolio
and learner autonomy
4
What is the European Language
Portfolio?
The European Language Portfolio (ELP)
has three obligatory components: a lan-
guage passport, a language biography, and
a dossier. The language passport gives a
summary overview of the owner’s Hnguis-
tic identity and language learning experi-
ence and achievement; it also includes the
owner’s assessment of his/her second/for-
eign language proficiency. The language
biography is used to track the learning
process; it allows the owner to set learning
goals, review progress, record significant
language learning and intercultural expe-
riences, and reflect on various aspects of
language learning and use. The dossier
gathers together samples of the owner’s
work in second/foreign languages.
Different versions of the ELP have two
things in common. First, they conform to
Principles and Guidelines laid down by the
Council of Europe (these may be down-
loaded fforn the Council of Europe’s ELP
website: <culture.coe.int/portfoHo>); and
secondly, the self-assessment grid in the
language passport and other statements of
proficiency (e.g., self-assessment checkHsts
that may be included in the language
biography) foHow the common reference
levels of the Common European
Framework (Council of Europe 2001).
There are six of these levels: A1 break-
through,A2 waystage,B1 threshold,
B2 VANTAGE, C1 EFFECTIVE OPERATIONAL
PROFICIENCY, and C2 MASTERY. At each
level positive “can do” statements are used
to define proficiency in relation to five
communicative skiUs: LISTENING, READ-
ING, SPOKEN INTERACTION, SPOKEN PRO-
duction, and writing. For example, the
self-assessment grid in the language pass-
port defines A2 SPOKEN interaction as:
I can communicate in simple and routine tasks
requiring a simple and direct exchange of infor-
mation onfamiliar topics and activities. I can
handle very short social exchanges, even though
I can’t usually understand enough to keep the
conversation going myself
The ELP has a reporting and a peda-
gogical function. In its reporting function
it presents information about the owner’s
experience of learning and using sec-
ond/foreign languages and concrete evi-
dence of language learning achievement;
in this way it supplements formal lan-
guage qualifications. In its pedagogical
function the ELP helps to make the lan-
guage learning process more transparent
to learners, developing their capacity for
reflection and self-assessment, and thus
enabhng them graduaHy to assume more
and more responsibHity for their own
learning; in this way it serves as a tool for
promoting the development of learner
autonomy.
Learner autonomy and the ELP
In the relevant literature (e.g., Holec
1981, Little 1991) autonomous learners
are defined as those who
understand the purpose of their
learning programme;
explicitly accept responsibility for
their learning;
share in the setting of learning goals;
take initiatives in planning and exe-
cuting learning activities;
regularly review learning and evaluate
its effectiveness.
Autonomy is a general educational goal.
For example, Douglas Barnes has written:
“We educate chHdren in order to change
their behaviour by changing their view of
the world. We want to change the way
they perceive the world they Hve in, not so
that they wiU carry out our purposes, but
so that they can formulate their own pur-
poses, and estimate their value” (1976,
p.80). As these words make clear, a devel-
oping capacity for reflection lies at the
heart of learner autonomy. Because
autonomy depends on a complex of pro-