Chapter 49 - E-Portfolios to Assess Language Learning

Briseida Jiménez Velázquez

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47133/tegc_ch49  

ABSTRACT

Assessing language learners’ knowledge and skills can be challenging for teachers. Fortunately, quality assessment is achievable through electronic portfolios (e-portfolios), which are attractive for learners and accessible for teachers. An e-portfolio is a powerful tool that can engage and motivate learners, increase their language learning opportunities, and help them with developing communicative competence. This type of portfolio is characterized by constructive learning that enhances language learners’ reflection, autonomy, and communicative skills (Mazlan et al., 2015). Through e-portfolios, teachers obtain evidence about learners’ language development and about their progress toward achieving a school’s curricular goals. E-portfolios can help language learners identify their strengths and weaknesses and, by doing so, guide them toward reaching greater awareness of their own language learning progress. In this chapter, you will learn how to use e-portfolios to support learners’ growth and to assess their language learning. 

Keywords: e-portfolios, language learning, constructive learning, reflection, autonomy

How to cite this chapter: 

Jiménez Velázquez, B. (2023). E-Portfolios to Assess Language Learning. In V. Canese & S. Spezzini (Eds.), Teaching English in Global Contexts, Language, Learners and Learning (pp. 595-604). Editorial Facultad de Filosofía, UNA. https://doi.org/10.47133/tegc_ch49 

INTRODUCTION

Electronic-portfolios (e-portfolios) provide opportunities for students to show what they have learned and accomplished during a single semester or across an entire program. E-portfolios provide evidence of language learning outcomes and are, therefore, used by teachers to assess language development. The electronic nature of e-portfolios presupposes that technology and digital applications (apps) are required to create and upload content. When creating e-portfolios, students are usually creative with using apps and eager about displaying their self-produced audios and videos, something that is more difficult to do with traditional binder portfolios. By posting digital artifacts in their e-portfolios, students can track their own progress and reflect on their use of learning strategies. E-portfolios also facilitate formative assessment by establishing a venue for teachers to provide immediate and ongoing feedback from the beginning to the end of a term. By doing this, teachers monitor student progress and determine whether reinforcement is needed to support a single student, a group of students, or all students in the development of their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. This chapter examines how to use e-portfolios for assessing language learners’ knowledge and skills across time, explores how e-portfolios can positively influence learners’ academic performance, and addresses how e-portfolios can be further enhanced through technology.  

BACKGROUND

A learner’s ability to understand and communicate in a target language can be assessed by various means. Among these are traditional tests for serving diagnostic, placement, achievement, and proficiency purposes (Nurdiana, 2020). These types of tests are as follows:


In addition to these traditional tests, language can also be assessed through e-portfolios, which are digitalized collections of diverse authentic evidence representing the work performed by one or more individuals (Bahrani, 2011). When used by students to document their work, e-portfolios are “an engaging process of connection, integrating academic learning, life experience, and profound processes of personal growth” (Mazlan et al., 2015, p. 38). Supported by constantly emerging apps, e-portfolios are a low-cost, practical approach for students to learn while using their preferred learning styles (Muin et al., 2021). Because e-portfolios offer language learners the opportunity to explore, analyze, and self-reflect on their learning process, learners often become more thoughtful in their use of language learning strategies. 

Since the 1990s, technological advances have served to popularize e-portfolios for teaching, learning, and assessing English as a foreign language (EFL). E-portfolios are frequently used to assess EFL students’ language development, content achievement, and effort. However, for these technology-supported assessments to be valid and reliable, e-portfolios must necessarily contain authentic material such as artifacts of students performing real-world tasks (Bahrani, 2011). By doing these tasks and creating the corresponding artifacts, students develop critical thinking skills and problem-solving that can enhance their ability to communicate.

Based on its main purpose, a student portfolio can be classified as a working portfolio or a display portfolio (Danielson & Abrutyn, 1997). A working portfolio is for systematically documenting a student’s work in one class across time. A display portfolio is for gathering and displaying a student’s best work. Both types can serve as formative assessment by highlighting achievement throughout a semester (or year) and as summative assessment by demonstrating final competencies. Although this working versus display classification was initially used for binder portfolios, it is also useful for e-portfolios.

Language skills are used to produce portfolio artifacts. While paper artifacts usually represent literacy skills (reading and writing), digital artifacts can represent all four skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking), thus making e-portfolios extremely useful for teaching and assessing language development. Through their e-portfolio artifacts, English learners can be assessed on multiple tasks for their overall language competence. This contrasts sharply with multiple-choice exams and short-response questions through which learners can be assessed on just one or two skills. Because e-portfolios can assess all four language skills, they complement traditional language tests and, in some instances, can even replace them (Apple & Shimo, 2004). 

In a study on portfolio assessment in EFL classrooms, students perceived portfolios as both fun and demanding, reported spending more time on content because of how the portfolios were their own product, and described portfolios as a perfect tool to support their learning (Apple & Shimo, 2004). These same students perceived portfolios as beneficial for setting goals, self-assessing, and having their language assessed over extended time as well as for providing a greater sense of language achievement, more joy than taking tests, and more opportunities to learn cooperatively and to reflect on learning. In a study on e-portfolios to assess learning, students reported feeling motivated by actively participating in projects and viewed e-portfolios as positively influencing their learning (Muin et al., 2021). In other studies, e-portfolios were effective at developing student self-efficacy (López-Crespo et al., 2022) and facilitated the teaching-learning process by having students assume interactive roles, reflect on learning, and identify their own progress (Chere-Masopha & Mothetsi-Mothiba, 2022; Gallego et al., 2009). 

E-portfolios are highly effective at assessing student performance and language development because of intersecting components that entail theoretical and practical attributes (López-Crespo et al., 2022). E-portfolios are also effective because of a constructivist approach that promotes critical thinking, learner autonomy, and learner-centeredness as well as self-awareness of strengths and weaknesses (Mazlan et al., 2015). When creating their e-portfolios, language learners engage interactively, acquire knowledge constructively, and assume responsibility to meet learning objectives. When selecting tasks and artifacts based on their individual needs and interests, language learners also work towards meeting institutional goals.

MAJOR DIMENSIONS

To better navigate the constant variation and expansion of Englishes during your lifetime, take To maximize potential benefits from using e-portfolios, compare your individual beliefs with institutional expectations, enhance your students’ motivation by offering choices, and increase student buy-in by defining purpose.

Compare Individual Beliefs With Institutional Expectations

When beginning a new job, compare your individual beliefs with your institution’s expectations. To benefit your future students, remain open-minded to new ideas and shape your beliefs based on research findings. Be willing to adjust when your employer adopts new research-based policies. New policies might lead to a change in methods and teacher obligations and, as such, could even be related to e-portfolios. Some changes are imposed by school authorities, and others are determined by teacher committees. 

Before entering the teaching profession, some pre-service teachers might have their own beliefs about how students learn. At times, however, such beliefs are erroneous (Borg, 2006). In one study, some first-year teachers did not readily abandon their former beliefs, even when the teaching context was different from what they had initially anticipated (Farrell, 2012). In another study, eleven EFL teachers became frustrated when expected to teach and assess contrary to their beliefs (Phipps & Borg, 2009). To avoid this type of frustration, compare your individual beliefs about using e-portfolios to assess language development and your institution’s expectations. Then find a healthy balance between your beliefs and these institutional expectations.

Enhance Student Motivation by Offering Choices

As a future teacher, you will face challenges in the classroom related to student motivation and achievement. E-portfolios can motivate some students positively and others negatively. These opposite motivational responses are often related to the students’ learning styles and needs (Muin et al., 2021). Because students usually learn best through their preferred learning styles, enhance their motivation by offering portfolio choices regarding topic and technique. 

Increase Student Buy-in by Defining Purpose

When introducing e-portfolios to your class, define your purpose for using an e-portfolio based on content and learning expectations. Increase your students’ buy-in by explaining how this portfolio can meet their interests, needs, and competencies. Make sure your students understand what is being assessed (e.g., one skill or a group of skills) and how this assessment will take place. Before starting their e-portfolios, students must understand the portfolio structure and your expectations. This will allow them to successfully organize their portfolio, make it integrative, show knowledge acquired, and reflect on their own learning. 

In preparation for assigning an e-portfolio, determine whether you will be using it as formative assessment, summative assessment, or both. Decide how you will be giving feedback to ensure constructive input that supports student growth. When launching this portfolio, give students clear instructions and criteria about what and how each artifact will be assessed, including written tasks, oral production, reading comprehension, listening skills, and performance. 

Before students start to create their e-portfolios, give them an assessment rubric, such as the one in this chapter’s appendix. Explain to your students how they will be receiving feedback for each of their artifacts (e.g., discussions, written comments, dialogues) and how they can give feedback to classmates on their respective artifacts. Encourage students to seek clarification regarding the feedback that they receive before starting to implement suggestions and corresponding revisions. In this way, students can establish their own “give and take” feedback process through which they can then assume greater responsibility for their own learning.

PEDAGOGICAL APPLICATIONS

To help you be successful with using e-portfolios in your EFL classes, this section suggests ways to explain expectations, assess individual and group portfolios, and involve all students.

Explain Expectations 

If you are new to e-portfolios, you might feel confused and need help knowing what to do next. Similarly, if your students are new to e-portfolios, they also need help. As their teacher, explain everything, including the plan, objectives, guidelines, and expectations for this e-portfolio. Make sure that all students understand what to do. If expectations are not well explained at the very beginning, both you and your students can get lost along the way. In fact, if students are not fully informed about all aspects related to their e-portfolio, they will experience difficulty with meeting expectations. 

Assess Individual and Group Portfolios

As an EFL teacher, I personally know how time-consuming it can be to assess e-portfolios. In my eagerness to implement e-portfolios as extensively as possible, I initially had each student create an individual e-portfolio. When I assigned individual e-portfolios in four classes, each with about 37 students, that generated almost 150 portfolios for me to assess at the same time! After that overwhelming experience, I discovered other options that are more suitable to my teaching context. One option is for each student team to create a group portfolio through which group members explore their selected topic by using social skills and further developing their language skills. If you decide to use group portfolios, ask student teams to find solutions for an engaging problem and then encourage and support all team members to participate actively. 

Some teachers might think it is unfair to grade a group portfolio because some students might contribute more than others. Minimal contributions from one student can negatively impact the motivation of other students. Mitigate this potential problem by assigning a specific task to each team member at the very beginning of a group-based portfolio project. Assess the group portfolio based on aspects such as accomplishment, objectives, effort, group performance, individual performance, and productive language skills (speaking, writing). Use an assessment rubric with criteria for group performance (e.g., content and quality of the overall portfolio) and individual performance (e.g., each student’s productive language skills). Consider adapting the sample rubric provided in the Appendix or finding other examples on the internet.

Involve All Students

Some students might be reluctant to participate in certain activities (e.g., speaking) required in their group e-portfolio. Here is an example of how I involved all students in my intermediate EFL class who were working in groups of three to create a group e-portfolio. One of the portfolio tasks was to perform a talk show; however, many of these students struggled with speaking. To help students prepare for the talk show’s speaking component, I had each student do an internet search and find ten useful phrases to use in the talk show script. After each team member had gathered phrases, the team worked together to brainstorm ideas and then started writing their script. One student was charged with writing, another with proof-reading, and the third with doing phonetic transcriptions of unknown words. After collaboratively working on the script, the group members supported each other in practicing their respective speaking parts. Through their balanced participation, each group attained the main objective, that of performing the talk show. Although their performance was good, it could have been better if students would have had more time to prepare their talk show. Because time is often an issue with e-portfolios, teachers must plan by anticipating enough time for students to be able to do their best.

In this chapter, you learned about using e-portfolios in EFL classrooms. You learned that e-portfolios can motivate learners and foster active learning. You learned about identifying an e-portfolio’s purpose, balancing your individual beliefs with institutional expectations, and implementing pedagogical applications. You also learned how to use e-portfolios to assess language learning.

KEY CONCEPTS

Here are some points to remember when using e-portfolios to assess language development:

DISCUSSING

Given what you have learned about e-portfolios, answer these questions:

TAKING ACTION

By using what you have learned about e-portfolios, do the following:

EXPANDING FURTHER

To expand your knowledge about using e-portfolios for assessment, visit these websites:

SEE ALSO

Aspects related to e-portfolios and language assessment are also addressed in the following chapters in this book: 

Chapter 9 Empowering Adults for Autonomous Learning by M. Zalimben

Chapter 10 Building Language Awareness by H. Lalwani

Chapter 11 Using Social Media to Enhance Language Awareness by S. Terol and J. Amarilla

Chapter 17 Providing Feedback on Learners’ Language Output by C. Cristóful

Chapter 23 Integrating Technology in Language Classrooms by H. Hubbard, A. Foss, and C. Strawn

Chapter 24 Teaching in Virtual and Hybrid Classrooms by Y. Grevtseva and E. Zyrianova

Chapter 42 Strategies to Teach Writing by M. Harrison

Chapter 46 Introduction to Language Assessment by N. Kuhlman

Chapter 47 Authentic Assessment of, for, and as Learning by G. Díaz Maggioli

Chapter 48 International Frameworks to Assess Language Development by E. Nuñez 

REFERENCES

Apple, M., & Shimo, E. (2004). Learners to teacher: Portfolios, please! Perceptions of portfolio assessment in EFL classrooms. Proceedings of the 3rd annual JALT Pan-SIG Conference (pp. 53-58), Tokyo Keiza University Publisher. https://hosted.jalt.org/pansig/2004/HTML/AppleShimo.htm 

Bahrani, T. (2011). Technology as an assessment tool in language learning. International Journal of English Linguistics,1(2). https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v1n2p295

Borg, S. (2006). Teacher cognition and language education. Continuum.

Chere-Masopha, J., & Mothetsi-Mothiba, L. (2022). Teachers’ experiences of using a portfolio for teaching, learning, and assessment in Lesotho primary schools. Cogent Education, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2021.2023969 

Danielson, C., & Abrutyn, L. (1997). An introduction to using portfolios in the classroom. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 

Farrell, T. S. (2012). Novice-service language teacher development: Bridging the gap between preservice and in-service education and development, TESOL Quarterly, 46(3), 435-449. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.36

Gallego, D., Cacheiro, M. L., Martin, A. M., & Angel, W. (2009, November). El e-portfolio como estrategia de enseñanza y aprendizaje [E-portfolio as a teaching and learning strategy]. EDUTEC Revista Electrónica de Tecnología Educativa, 30, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.21556/edutec.2009.30.444 

López-Crespo, G., Blanco-Gandía, M. C., Valdivia-Salas, S., Fidalgo, C., & Sanchez-Perez, N. (2022). The educational e-portfolio: Preliminary evidence of its relationship with student’s self-efficacy and engagement. Education and Information Technology, 27, 5233–5248. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10827-2

Mazlan, K. S., Sui, L. K., & Jano, Z. (2015). Designing an e-portfolio conceptual framework to enhance written communication skills among undergraduate students. Asian Social Science, 11(17). https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v11n17p35 

Muin, C. F., Hafidah, H., & Daraini, A. M. (2021). Students' perceptions on the use of e-portfolio for learning assessment. AL-ISHLAH: Journal Pendidikan, 13(1), 497-503. https://doi.org/10.35445/alishlah.v13i1.485 

Nurdiana. (2020). Designing an online achievement test for general English classes. Journal of English Teaching as a Foreign Language, 6(2), 18-29. https://ejournal.uhn.ac.id/index.php/jetafl/article/view/99

Phipps, S., & Borg, S. (2009, September). Exploring tensions between teachers’ grammar teaching beliefs and practices. System, 37(3), 380-390. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2009.03.002

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Briseida Jiménez Velázquez holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in teaching EFL from the Universidad Veracruzana (UV) in Mexico. Briseida is a professor in UV’s Language Center and other UV divisions where she teaches basic and intermediate English. In 2019, she participated as a Spanish language assistant in Northern Ireland in a program co-sponsored by the British Council and Mexico’s Ministry of Public Education. In her research, Briseida examines student perspectives on alternative assessment and remote learning such as the instruction via Telesecundarias, which are middle school classes taught on television.

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9884-6631 

Email for correspondence regarding this chapter: brjimenez@uv.mx

Cover Photo by Christopher Gower on Unsplash

APPENDIX