These student pages help you to learn more about the European Language Portfolio and Europass and the project students’ experiences with them.
At the Student Experiences pages you see and listen to students telling about their experiences. The Learner Handbook gives practical advice and ideas for your language studies and we hope that it will inspire you. In the Material Bank you can find student portfolios of our project pilot groups and activities e.g. for self-study.
Student Experiences
Student experiences on language learning
Surveys on students’ language learning practices and opinions on the ELP,CEFR and Europass were given in the beginning of the project,after Pilot 1 and after Pilot 2a. The last survey had 262 respondents representing 22 % of the students in Pilot 2a with 50 % native speakers of Finnish,the second largest group were the Lithuanians and other native languages were Dutch,Swedish,English,German,and Polish.
The student questionnaires (I,II,III) comprised questions on language learning,CERF,the ELP and Europass. The aim of the questionnaires was to collect qualitative data.
The students were asked to describe a good language course and a good language learner. The students characterized a good language course in various ways. The descriptions can again be divided into four categories according to 1) the skills of the teacher,2) learning activities and practice of various skills,3) materials and contents and 4) other basis.
Firstly,the students’ conceptions of a good course may be connected with the teacher’s skills. A skilled teacher for example allows students to learn at their own pace,plans course contents that are suitable for all the learners,is motivated,and plans a good combination of learning activities with practice and homework.
Versatile teacher who is enthusiastic about the language she teaches.
Good and helpful teacher who makes language learning enjoyable.
Diverse teaching methods.
Secondly,the learning activities and practice of various skills can be in focus when describing a good course. A balanced combination of different activities including speaking,writing,listening and reading activities,and vocabulary work was emphasised in many replies. The exercises given should be practical and authentic. Interaction,discussion,pair and group work were also mentioned very often. Students seem to appreciate spoken interaction a lot.
Development of four key areas:reading,writing,listening and speaking..
A lot of speaking and listening and writing.
Enough new vocabulary and grammar exercises and a lot of talking and writing.
Thirdly,a good course can be described by commenting on the learning materials and contents. Examples on the materials and contents mentioned were good and interesting materials and exercises,clear course goals and logical structure,interesting subjects and vocabulary, practical and real-life exercises and up-to-date materials and topics.
Lastly,there were some other ways of describing a good course. Good atmosphere,enjoyable and fun lessons were mentioned several times. Students seem to put a great deal of emphasis on the atmosphere.
Good teacher,nice atmosphere
Interesting exercises,good atmosphere.
Students’ study motivation is characterized by future needs and desire to get to know different cultures and be able to communicate with different people. Communication skills were mentioned in many of the answers. Also,languages are studied to improve opportunities for working placement and many wished to work abroad in the future.
The students describe a good language learner with adjectives such as motivated,diligent,patient,social,helpful,active,hardworking,ambitious,independent (learner),smart,motivated,courageous,and stubborn. A good learner is interested in the subject,not afraid to use the language and make mistakes,willing to try to speak,is open to new things and one that has good memory. The behaviour and actions of good learners are e.g. take charge of the learning and organize time for studies,identify strengths and weaknesses,complete the course,reflect on their own performance,do their best,use the target language regularly,repeat and rehearse,and listen.
The students learn foreign languages through different activities such as speaking with foreigners,reading,listening and writing which can be regarded as non-formal learning. They also learn via active participation in language courses,tests and exams,homework,doing exercises,studying words and repetition all of which represent formal learning. Also,studying with friends and teaching each other were mentioned.
Environments for learning mentioned can also be divided into non-formal and formal learning. Non-formal environments mentioned were at work and through spare time activities and the media (reading,TV,radio,movies,music,the Internet,computer games,when travelling abroad,in work placement). The formal learning environments mentioned were at school or university,in various courses and when studying independently.
The students were also given a list of skills needed in language studies. Skills mentioned were:reading,listening,speaking,writing,interacting,learning,planning,communicating,social skills,cultural skills and professional skills. The skills students valued the most were:reading,listening,speaking,writing and communicating.
In the beginning of the project,however,quite many students replied that they do not have the skills,can do it very well,only sometimes do it and for some it was difficult to say if they are able to plan it,monitor and evaluate their skills. At the end,as much as 91,05% mentioned that they are able to plan,monitor and evaluate their learning. So,planning,evaluating and monitoring learning had during the project become mostly familiar to the students. The students who answered “no”,gave explanations as:
We study according to the study plan and teacher evaluate.
I cant plan.
It’s difficult,it hasn’t been taught.
I’m lazy
Then again,quite many of the students,who answered yes,mentioned that they plan their schedule and a timetable for example homework. They look at their courses and other activities and try to plan when to study. Quite many students mentioned the grade they get from a course as the way they evaluate their leaning. They also mentioned natural situations where they have to use the language as a way to evaluate. If you can manage well in a situation,you have learned the language. The following ways were mentioned when asked about the ways they evaluate their own learning.
According to my grades and I see if I can speak with my friends.
Have I learned something new? what?.
By seeing if you reached your own goals.
Very few students mentioned goals in this question,i.e. if they set any goals and then compare their learning to the goals. Evaluating seems to be focused on the formal learning situations (exams and grades) and everyday situations (TV,newspapers,Internet).
Student experiences on ELPiPL pilot courses
The students felt that compiling ELPs made their skills and goals visible,and enabled them to document their learning. The ELP work increased feelings of responsibility and autonomy gave positive learning experiences. Social and collaborative activities and linking the goals to work life needs motivated them to study. Negative feedback was given on the amount of reflection and the ELPs were not valued by all students.
In the end of Pilot 2a 48 % of the respondents claimed to knew the CEFR and that the levels helped them assess and compare their skills and to describe language skills in job applications. 90 % liked to work with the ELP,especially to collect their achievements into the dossier. 10 % did not like the ELP work mostly because it was time consuming. However,the students with positive comments also mentioned it being time consuming but rewarding. Some students had plans to update their portfolios and thought they could use them in future studies and in job search but some did not yet know how to use them. Most students were familiar with Europass CV and Language Passport and planned to use them in job search and Erasmus student mobility.
Reflections on students’ blogs
The following comments were collected in Bytom,in seminar 4 in June 2010.Reflections on students blogs,Ning communications;
Students are not used to reflect,teachers´ reflections on the students´ reflections are not very positive. In HH the computer class in the middle of the course gave many entrances to Ning. Students were asked to comment at least one blog and they found it interesting. In some groups students were frightened at first;their language skills were not good enough. In some groups there were no Ning communications at all.
Students’ reflections on ELP;
In some groups half of the students liked it,half of them didn´t. Some liked knowing where they were in their language skills and where they were going to (aims and objectives). Students need support in learning reflections and expressing themselves in the language they study. Some teachers started with the questions and found that students understood the importance of documentation better.
When questioned about the benefits of the CEFR after the pilot courses the students gave answers that can mostly be divided in three. Most of the students mentioned benefits like self evaluation and common framework for comparing language levels of different people. A few students mentioned also the benefit of filling out the CV for future job hunting.
Self-evaluating is easier.
Using CEFR you can find out how well do you know language and in which parts you need to improve.
There is a common scale and people from different countries can interpret it well.
It could help me making a proper job application.
The students were also asked what they think about the portfolio work. About 90% of the students liked the portfolio work. They seemed to like the idea of having a lot of their work in the same place.
It was interesting to put all my skills on paper and think about them.
I think it is a good experience in language learning. Particulary for writing and speeking. My portfolio consist of many papers,and all I did with my pleasure.
I think that portfolio is very usefull,becouse you can find there CV and motyvation letter,language biografy,these can help us when we want to go to work or study abroad.
The students who didn’t like the portfolio work mostly commented on the workload. They felt it was too much work for the credits they get from the course and they didn’t see the usefulness in the future.
What is interesting is the fact that students who regarded the portfolio work positive also mentioned it being quite time-consuming,but they still felt it was worth doing. The best thins is portfolio work were self-evaluation and the Europass CV,different writing tasks,goal setting,language biography and cover letter were also mentioned. Only very few students mentioned oral exercises in this context,maybe that would be the next step in developing the portfolio work.
The students were asked how they were going to update their portfolio in the future. About half of the students answered that they will put in new work and exercises from their courses to come. They also mentioned they can update it when they apply for a job. The other half didn’t have any plans to update or didn’t know yet what they will do. I think these answers quite clearly showed that one course is not enough for the students to get familiar with the portfolio work and therefore it should be implemented in all language studies so that it becomes a natural way for the students to learn languages.
Finally the students would recommend the portfolio work to other students or to all people who are interested in working abroad or want to evaluate their language skills.
