ePOLANTan Electronic Portfolio for the Self-Assessment of Language Teachers’ Competences

Abstract

The Council of Europe has always considered language learning a pillar in the construction of Europe, for this reason, several instruments have been sponsored with the purpose of promoting and improving the quality of the learning and teaching of additional language. Some of those documents are used worldwide to establish and certify the levels of competence individuals have attained; however, that has not been the case of teaching competences. The instruments developed to contribute the homogenisation of language teacher education have not been so widely known or applied. One of them, The European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL) tool for the self-assessment of language teaching competences future teachers (student teachers) of languages are expected to develop. This doctoral dissertation analyses the EPOSTL in detail to understand its sources, objectives and features and reviews the literature on its uses and implementations. Once the utility of the EPOSTL for the promotion of critical thinking, reflective practice, among other skills, has been determined, an electronic tool for the self-assessment of language teaching competences, ePOLANT (electronic Portfolio for Language Teachers) has been designed incorporating the most relevant strengths of the EPSOTL whilst including new features which solve the shortcomings encountered in the EPOSTL. ePOLANT is a website specifically designed for student teachers to self-assess their level in the development of the competences. It also enables teacher educators to include the appropriate competences, chart their progress and provide feedback in a much easier way than the EPOSTL did. The results of the case study where ePOLANT has been implemented have been very positive, in terms of its usability, practicality and utility. Consequently, future developments and implementations of ePOLANT are proposed.