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To What Extent Can a Language Portfolio Support Foreign Language Learning? : A Field Study of German Language Students at Reitaku University
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Yanagita, Nancy |
| Copyright Year | 2017 |
| Abstract | Language portfolios were developed by the Council of Europe (CoE) as a tool to implement the principles of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) in foreign language learning . The CEFR aims for intercultural awareness and mutual understanding among the various cultures in Europe in order to foster a European identity. For this purpose the CEFR emphasizes an action-oriented and multilingual approach (Nagai et al. 2011 : 142). Language portfolios therefore set communicative actions as learning goals, aim at making the learning process more transparent, coherent, internationally comparable, acknowledge efforts of the learners inside and outside of the classroom, help to see progress in learning, and make it easier to set, evaluate and reflect on personal learning goals (CoE 2016). Japanese university students often seem to have only vague ideas about foreign countries and languages, especially in case of a third language like German, and no clear goals concerning what they want to learn, why and how. Thus many become demotivated with the increasing complexity of language tasks, and it gets harder to see the reasons why one should put effort into understanding those complex structures and the general goal of the language class. The author believes language portfolios can help to overcome those hurdles by dividing a complex task into smaller units, evaluating how well the learner can perform each one of those units and decide on ways to work on their goals. This approach stresses the responsibility of the learner for his/her learning progress and, in the long run, fosters learner autonomy. But in order to use language portfolios effectively the learning context, i.e. the curriculum and teaching materials, must support its basic principles, and teachers need to understand the principles of the CEFR to be able to make their students understand the value of the language portfolio. Time is needed to get used to this method and, of course, the language portfolio has to fit the syllabus and has to be easily understood by learners (Schärer 2000, Schärer 2004, Little et al. 2011). Therefore one cannot simply apply one of the European Language Portfolios (ELPs) or one of the Japanese portfolio versions. It would be best to create a new one matching the needs of learners and the policy of the educational institution. There has been no attempt to use a language portfolio at Reitaku University so far, so the author created a new prototype and tested the possibilities it proposes over the period of one semester, April to July 2016. This article describes the thoughts underlying the creation of the new portfolio, explains its implementation and research results and how both the implementation and the design of the portfolio can be developed further. |
| Starting Page | 91 |
| Ending Page | 100 |
| Page Count | 10 |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Volume Number | 100 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://reitaku.repo.nii.ac.jp/index.php?action=pages_view_main&active_action=repository_action_common_download&attribute_id=22&block_id=29&file_no=1&item_id=912&item_no=1&page_id=13 |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
