MANAGING LIFE LONG LEARNING WITH ePEL

Abstract

Teaching and learning portfolios have experienced a remarkable growth in their use because of the need that teachers found to enhance learners' autonomy through reflection on their learning process. The different harmonization processess that are currently taking place in Europe have encouraged the use of porfolios as tools for evaluation and autonomy enhancement throughout the whole education system: the European Higher Education Area, the European Credit Transfer System and, more specifically regarding language teaching and learning, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL). In this article, we present ePEL: a portfolio model for the management of life long learning. The European Language Portfolio in electronic format, designed and developed by the authors of this article in the OAPEE, Agency under the Ministry of Education, follows the guidelines of the CEFRL for promoting autonomy, reflection, multilingualism and mobility in order to enhance learning throughout life. Unlike other evaluation portfolio systems, in which the initiative comes from teachers on a personal basis or integrated into an institutional programme, in the ePEL the user is the sole owner and manager of the system. The article will show its functionality, explaining the model of autonomous learning we propose, along with the social and pedagogical implications arising from their use.