The Common European Framework and the European Language Portfolio (ELP): involving learners and their judgements in the assessment process The ELP team of Alpha Athens School District

The European Language Portfolio (ELP) and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) were first proposed at a Council of Europe (CoE) symposium in They were intended to complement each other and provide a way of teaching and assessing all languages in Europe. It is our personal folder or document that certifies the progress we have made in the language and the culture of one or more languages.

Language Passport  to show which languages they know  to show what they know and can do in Languages. Language Biography  to keep a record of their progress in learning languages.  to record how they learn languages Language Dossier  to keep some examples of work they've done in languages.

 The Pedagogical Function: to identify their learning aims, to make action plans, to reflect, monitor and modify the processes, and to evaluate the outcomes, through self-assessment and reflection. Thus, they become autonomous and responsible language learners, a pedagogical function, consistent with the CoE's interest in promoting autonomy and lifelong learning.  The Reporting Function: Provides a record of their language skills and cultural experiences by relating their communicative skills to the proficiency levels, according to the CEF.

C Level B Level A Level A1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 FIVE SKILLS:  READING  LISTENING  WRITING  SPEAKING  ORAL INTERACTION  (MEDIATION)

What are we learning? Why are we learning it? How are we learning it? With how much success? What are going to learn next?

To help students:  Self assess and reflect on their progress.  Become autonomous and life-long learners.  Provide a record of their language skills and cultural experiences.  Develop an assessment culture in language learning.

We recommend starting it from the third grade. One teaching session per week or two weeks is enough. We recommend using it during the whole school year. A new team for adapting and piloting the current version for 2 nd graders will be formed in October 2013.

Make the activities more communicative

You can download Dialang. DIALANG is a language diagnosis system developed by many European higher education institutions. It reports your level of skill against the Common European Framework (CEF) for language learning. DIALANG is not an exam. DIALANG does not issue certificates.

Before your students begin an activity, write a descriptor from the ELP on the board: For a writing activity “I can write a text that has a beginning, a course of actions/plot, and an ending and can use linking words like “first”, “after that”, “later”, and “because”. Focusing on the descriptor constitutes the first ELP-related practice in which the teacher aims to raise students’ awareness of the aim of the task and the strategies or structures they need to use to achieve it.

Make the activities more communicative. You can make a project and add it in the dossier section.

 There is a website for the ELP, developed by the piloting team:   You will get an invitation to join the website. Accept it and create a username and password to view the material.

Reflection is a process that begins with looking back on a situation, pondering over it, learning from it and then using the new knowledge to help you in future similar situations.