Prospects of Using the European Language Portfolio as Pedagogical and Assessment Tool in Greek Schools

Abstract

This paper focuses on the implementation of the European Language Portfolio (ELP), a document that plays a central role in the Council of Europe’s language policy. More specifically, this paper investigates if the systematic use of the Greek version of the ELP, in the foreign language classroom could benefit the learners from a pedagogical point of view and at the same time serve as an assessment tool for the EFL teacher. A small scale study was conducted using questionnaires and interviews to explore the attitudes of Greek foreign language teachers and students. The paper discusses the benefits that the ELP has to offer to both teachers and learners and the steps that need to be followed to put the ELP into practice and to disseminate its use. The paper concludes that the introduction of the ELP in the Greek educational system could bring radical changes to the way students are taught and evaluated.

Keywords

• European Language Portfolio (ELP)
• Self-assessment
• Lifelong learning
• Learning how to learn
• Learner autonomy