Development and validation process of a european language portfolio model for young learners

The European Language Portfolio (ELP) was developed and piloted by the Language Policy Division of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, from 1998 to 2000. It was launched on a pan-European level during the European Year of Languages as a tool to support the development of plurilingualism and pluriculturalism (http://www.coe.int/T/DG4/Portfolio/?L=E&M=/main_pages/welcome.html). The ELP is a concrete attempt to harmonise foreign language teaching activities within the European context and to improve the quality of communication amongst European people, who have different languages and cultural backgrounds. The ELP is based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which provides a common basis for the elaboration of language syllabuses, curriculum guidelines, examinations, textbooks, etc. across Europe (Council of Europe 1998; 2001). The CEFR describes foreign language proficiency levels as A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2. Each level has verbal descriptors in the form of can-do statements relating to five language skill areas; listening, reading, spoken interaction, spoken production and writing (Mirici 2000; North 2000; Little 2005).

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