Insights into the European portfolio for student teachers of languages (EPOSTL)
2007 saw the publication of the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL) by the Council of Europe, the result of a project carried out under the auspices of the European Centre for Modern Languages. The central aim of this project was to produce a document which would contribute to the harmonisation of teacher education in Europe. The EPOSTL is a portfolio intended for students undergoing their initial teacher education which encourages them to reflect on the didactic knowledge and skills necessary to teach languages, helps them to self-assess their own didactic competences and enables them to monitor their progress and to record their experiences of teaching during the course of their teacher education. At its heart are 195 "I can" descriptors of didactic competences, which teachers strive to attain. The EPOSTL has since been translated into 13 languages and is used widely across Europe and beyond. The main aim of Insights into the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL) is to explore important theoretical issues, an understanding of which is necessary to support the use of the EPOSTL in teacher education programmes. The first part of the book provides discussions of relevant theoretical areas: the role of reflection, learner autonomy and intercultural awareness. In the second part, the focus is on the relationship between the EPOSTL and other European publications, such as the Common European Framework of Reference and the European Profile for Language Teacher Education. Suggestions are made as to how they can be used together in teacher education. The final section provides case studies on the use of the EPOSTL in three European countries. Whether users of the EPOSTL or not, both teacher educators and their students will find that the discussions of this book provide important insights into key aspects of teacher education.
A Digital European Self-Assessment Tool for Student Teachers of Foreign Languages: The EPOSTL.
The acronym “EPOSTL” stands for the “European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages”, which is a digital self-assessment tool for students in foreign language teacher training programs across Europe. It builds on insights from the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) and the European Language Portfolio (ELP) as well as the European Profile for Language Teacher Education. It also helps student teachers of foreign languages to monitor and reflect on their experiences, performance and progress in the course of teacher education in a purposeful way. This study discussed and put forward some practical suggestions on the functions and the effectiveness of the EPOSTL in English Language Teaching (ELT) and German Language Teaching (GLT) departments in a state university in Turkey. The results of the study revealed that the use of the EPOSTL is helpful in developing student teachers’ metacognitive strategies as autonomous learners, which is a key factor in becoming teachers of foreign languages adopting the CEFR and the ELP principles in their classes.
Teaching and learning with telematics: an overview of the literature
A review of telematics (information and communication technologies) in teaching and learning with particular reference to developments in higher education in the United Kingdom (UK) is presented. Five themes are developed: the context of teaching and learning, the measurement of learning, the development of core curricula, the design of courseware and emergent educational frameworks; themes and issues are established in each. It is suggested that the current educational paradigm in which telematics operates, which is influenced by both behaviourist and constructivist theories of learning, is problematic in a field which is both complex and chaotic.