Skip Navigation


ELT Journal Advance Access originally published online on November 10, 2008
ELT Journal 2009 63(4):373-382; doi:10.1093/elt/ccn059
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
63/4/373    most recent
ccn059v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by González, J. A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved.

Promoting student autonomy through the use of the European Language Portfolio

Jesús Ángel González

Jesús Ángel González is a teacher of English at the University of Cantabria and at the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas, Santander, Spain. He holds an MA in Spanish from the Pennsylvania State University and a PhD in English from the University of Salamanca, Spain. He has published La Narrativa Popular de Dashiell Hammett: Pulps, Cine y Cómics (2002 Valencia University Press) as well as a number of articles on Applied Linguistics and American Literature. He has been coordinating trials of the ELP for adults in Cantabria, Spain

Email: gonzalezja{at}unican.es


  Abstract

The European Language Portfolio (ELP) is a document launched by the Council of Europe in 2001 which consists of three sections: the Passport, the Language Biography, and the Dossier. It has two complementary functions: a pedagogic function (helping students to reflect on their learning and objectives) and a reporting function (providing a record of their language skills in terms of the levels of the Common European Framework of Reference). The author has coordinated trials of the ELP in two adult language schools in northern Spain. Following a preparatory training period, the project was carried out for a year. A number of problems were detected and solutions for them were found mainly through the use of IT: a web-based resource centre was created, where over 50 ELP-oriented activities and a list of FAQs was uploaded. In addition, students were encouraged to use e-Portfolios and ‘Europass’ as well as the online ‘Dialang’ test to help them in the self-assessment process. With the help of IT resources, the ELP has proved to be extremely useful as a pedagogical rather than a reporting tool. It has raised student awareness about the language learning process and its implications and has promoted learner autonomy to a very high degree.

Final revised version received July 2008


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.