What does the European Language Portfolio consist of?

All Language Portfolios consist of three sections: the Language Passport, the Language Biography and the Dossier. 

 

The Language Passport gives an overview of learners knowledge and experience of languages and cultures as well as of relevant certificates and attestations.
	The Language Biography documents learners contact with languages, their personal reflections on language learning and their cultural experiences. It contains checklists for the self-assessment of language skills, helps learners’ to set goals and encourages them to think about their own language learning.
The Dossier is a collection of pieces of personal work to illustrate how learners use and learn their languages. It can be used to document learning progress or to present learning achievements to others.

All European Language Portfolios refer to levels A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2 of the Common European Framework of Reference to describe and assess language skills. In order to make finer distinctions, Switzerland developed the additional levels A1.1, A1.2, B1.1 and B1.2.

What's Good About PowerPoint?

1. PowerPoint is fun to watch and fun to make.

2. Used correctly, PowerPoint can accommodate all learners' needs.

3. It has a spell-check function! Something our black boards and overheads lack.

4. It motivates students when used in moderation.

5. It motivates staff.

6. PowerPoint allows you to reflect on your lesson and correct any needed changes. Finally, you can create the perfect lesson!

7. Imagine to be able to print out what you did in class for students that were absent. Better yet, turn the accountability on to students and post your presentations on-line.

8. PowerPoint is not hard to learn. Our technology staff rates it a "B+" for ease of use. It should take about one hour to learn the basics.

What's Bad About PowerPoint?

1. Content can sometimes take a back seat to flash. Watch-out for triple "P."

2. Computers crash, networks go down, viruses can plague computers! Always have a back-up plan!

3. Overuse can bore learners and diminish PowerPoint's effectiveness.

4. Classrooms need large monitors or projectors to display presentations. Make sure your technology plan furnishes this. With simple TV-out cards or VGA-TV converters, this can be easily accomplished.

5. A successful presentation can take several hours to develop.

A virtual learning environment (VLE) is a set of teaching and learning tools designed to enhance a student's learning experience by including computers and the Internet in the learning process. The principal components of a VLE package include curriculum mapping (breaking curriculum into sections that can be assigned and assessed), student tracking, online support for both teacher and student, electronic communication (e-mail, threaded discussions, chat, Web publishing), and Internet links to outside curriculum resources. In general, VLE users are assigned either a teacher ID or a student ID. The teacher sees what a students sees, but the teacher has additional user rights to create or modify curriculum content and track student performance. There are a number of commercial VLE software packages available, including Blackboard, WebCT, Lotus LearningSpace, and COSE.

The terms virtual learning environment (VLE) and managed learning environment (MLE) are often interchanged.