The Effect of European Language Portfolio On Second Language Writing Skills

Writing is accepted as one of the most significant skills of language and communication. However the development, teaching and assessment of writing is also rather difficult for learners and teachers. The present study aims to investigate the effect of European Language Portfolio (ELP), which the Council of Europe put forward as an alternative language learning and assessment tool, on second language writing skills. The study was conducted with two hundred participants in a process oriented writing class in a private language school both quantitatively and qualitatively. During the study the ELP was used as the methodological framework of the study. According to the aim of the study, the program that the participants would cover during the study was firstly determined and the ELP was used in English lesson without disrupting the program. Throughout the study, the students’ use of the ELP in the lessons, their attitudes towards the method, their participation to the lessons were observed and a questionnaire, field notes, students’ portfolios and interviews were used as data collection tool. In addition, focus group interview provided data for the qualitative investigation of the research questions. According to the analysis of the data, it was found out that the ELP was effective in improving writing skills of second language learners. İmplications for pedagogy have been suggested for learners and teachers. This study is expected to shed light on further studies which can benefit from various research methods and designs. * This study is based on the researcher’s MA thesis. ** Asst. Prof. Dr., Atatürk University, El-mek:barin@atauni.edu.tr Instr., Atatürk University, El-mek: ayselcatal@atauni.edu.tr 142 Muzaffer BARIN Aysel EYERCİ Turkish Studies Volume 13/20, Summer 2018 STRUCTURED ABSTRACT The present study aims to investigate the effect of European Language Portfolio (ELP), which the Council of Europe put forward as an alternative language learning and assessment tool, on second language writing skills. 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, Mirici, 2008). The study was conducted with two hundred participants in a process oriented writing class in a private language school both quantitatively and qualitatively. Throughout this study, it was revealed whether learners improved their writing skills in the target language when they used the ELP at their writing classes. Furthermore, the study also aimed to understand the attitudes and beliefs of learners towards portfolio assessment and keeping portfolio as an alternative way of assessment. It also provided an insight about the perceptions of EFL students towards the use of portfolios. Therefore, the aim of this study was to find answers to the following research questions: Is European Language Portfolio an effective instrument on teaching writing skills in foreign language classrooms? And is there any significant improvement in students in terms of writing skills after implementing ELP? During the study the ELP was used as the methodological framework of the study. According to the aim of the study, the program that the participants would cover during the study was firstly determined and the ELP was used in English lesson without disrupting the program. Throughout the study, the students’ use of the ELP in the lessons, their attitudes towards the method, their participation to the lessons were observed and a questionnaire, field notes, students’ portfolios and interviews were used as data collection tool. In addition, focus group interview provided data for the qualitative investigation of the research questions. The other main data collection tools we used in this study were the students’ portfolios, namely, the European Language Portfolio, which include the full of the learners’ own studies, checklists, and reflections. In this study, we also used a standardized open-ended focus group interview so as to find answers to the research questions (See Appendix V). The interview was conducted to ten participants chosen by randomly among the whole class (200 students) in which the ELP was implemented. We hoped to have an insight about the participants’ understanding of writing portfolio technique, and to learn the participants’ opinions in terms of the use of writing portfolio and its effect on their writing skills. When it comes to the conclusions of the current study it can be said that in relation to the first research question worded as ‘Is European Language Portfolio an effective instrument on teaching writing skills in foreign language classrooms?’ the questionnaire revealed that at the end of the study, 77 % of the participants gave positive responses to the questions, while 8,5% of them gave negative responses by putting x in ‘never’ option and 18,5% of them claimed their responses a ‘sometimes’ for the item, which verified that those participants were not confident of The Effect of European Language Portfolio On Second Language Writing Skills 143 Turkish Studies Volume 13/20, Summer 2018 themselves in total.‘ Is there any significant improvement in students in terms of writing skills after implementing ELP?’ the study showed that writing portfolio was a very effective tool for improving writing skills based on the statistically significant results. This result was consistent with the result of some studies mentioned in the literature (Sağlam, 2005). In addition; the effect of writing portfolio on the participants’ writing skills was qualitatively documented by means of dossier work of them, and focus group interview. The participants stated that writing portfolio enabled them to improve their writing skills such as language use (grammar, sentence structure and written expression), vocabulary and organizing ideas. The study showed that most of the participants developed positive opinions regarding the use of writing portfolios for improving writing skills. They realized the usefulness and necessity of writing portfolios for improving writing skills and reported that keeping a writing portfolio was a must for improving writing skills. Writing portfolio gave the teacher-researcher the opportunity to learn about her students’ knowledge, skills, interests, emotions and opinions as it is stated by Nunes (2004). Through portfolio, instruction and assessment were combined, as it is maintained by Paulson et al. (1991). In terms of English language teaching practice, the study has the following implications: keeping portfolio is a very effective technique in teaching writing, especially for an EFL context like Turkey and it is hoped that this study will inspire researchers to do more research on the possible effects of language class portfolios as a tool on writing skills and the other skills and dynamics of language learning.