The European Language Portfolio is a personal document of a learner. In this document learners of all ages can record their language learning and cultural experiences at school or outside school.
A learner using the ELP takes over ownership of his/her learning process. He develops strategies to plan, monitor and evaluate his/her own learning. Thus learning is becoming more efficient and effective – and very motivating.
Using the ELP: Benefits for the learner
The ELP helps making the language learning process more transparent by involving the learner in the decision making, the goal-setting and the evaluation of learning achievements. In this way the ELP
- Helps to develop language learning and intercultural skills
- Facilitates mobility
- Encourages lifelong learning of languages
Using the ELP in the classroom: benefits for the teacher
The ELP promotes autonomous learning. Autonomous learners are motivated and reflective learners.
Teachers can benefit from using the ELP in the classroom with their students by building on two functions of the tool:
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• The pedagogic function: the ELP is designed to make the language learning process more transparent to learners and to foster the development of learner autonomy; that is why it assigns a central role to reflection and self-assesment. The ELP is engaging learners to share responsibility for the learning process, to think critically when they plan, monitor and evaluate their learning and to develop appropriate target language use.
• The reporting function: the ELP provides practical evidence of second/foreign language communicative proficiency and intercultural experience. This helps reporting language learning achievement in an internationally transparent manner.
Using the ELP in teacher education: benefits for the teacher trainer
In programmes of teacher education and development (pre-service and in-service) the ELP can be used to promote awareness of the common levels of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and to encourage reflective, lerner-centered approaches to language teaching.
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This website is offering a dedicated section for teacher training. Using the ELP in schools across different levels and language subjects: benefits for head teachers and heads of schools. The ELP is designed to promote plurilingualism and intercultural learning. Encouraging and supporting the use of the ELP across different levels and language subjects is a concrete step towards valuing all language and cultures. This website is offering a dedicated section on whole school policies and use of the ELP.
Using the ELP as a tool for educational reform: benefits for policy and decision-makers
Linguistic and cultural diversity in classrooms, schools and societies is a reality and is growing – this should not be viewed merely as an obstacle and a problem to be solved but more as an asset and a potential benefit.
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ELP is a concrete tool supporting all stakeholders with an interest in good quality education to use and further develop linguistic and cultural competences of pupils, students and adults for the benefit of the whole society. Adequate support for the development of learners’ language capacity takes into account, makes use of, and builds further all language competences of learners and seeks to develop those required for their educational success in a given context. Also, the ELP can be key in promoting democratic citizenship in Europe. More about policy aspects of introducing the ELP can be found here.