Vorsprung durch Technik: developing an online version of the European Language Portfolio

In our paper, we introduce the concept of the European Language Portfolio (ELP). We then give a brief overview of the Language Online Portfolio (LOLIPOP) project (LOLIPOP website, 2007) which has as it main focus the development of a multilingual, interactive, online ELP, known as the LOLIPOP ELP. A selection of key elements and features of the LOLIPOP ELP are then presented and their potential impact on the language learner assessed

Using an e-portfolio to faciliate the self-assessment of both language and intercultural learning in higher education: A case-study approach

The focus of this paper is twofold: first, on the development of an electronic version of a European Language Portfolio (ELP), known as the LOLIPOP (Language On-line Portfolio Project) ELP, and second on its integration into an undergraduate module on Intercultural Communication in an institute of higher education in Ireland. The paper begins by looking at the European Language Portfolio in the wider context of portfolios in education. It then describes the development and key features of the LOLIPOP ELP, in particular the self-assessment of both linguistic and intercultural elements. It continues by explaining how the LOLIPOP ELP was integrated into the module in question. Finally, the paper presents the output from the participants in this study, focussing on their perceptions of the self-assessment process

Teaching controversial issues in the humanities and social sciences: using structured academic controversy to develop multi-perspectivity in the learner

Purpose: This study had two main objectives: The first was to explore the extent to which a group of University lecturers feel that they are prepared to deal with controversial issues in their classrooms. The second was to elicit their views on a didactic approach known as Structured Academic Controversy (SAC). SAC is a constructivist teaching strategy intended to aid the learner in developing their views on controversial issues and in understanding alternative views with the ultimate aim of locating a compromise position. Method: A qualitative intervention was designed to introduce six university academics from diverse specialisms to SAC by way of reflective engagement with it in the role of learners. Findings: The participants in this study deal with controversial issues frequently and several feel ill-prepared to do so. They identified several challenges associated with the use of SAC. These relate primarily to class size and curricular overload. However, despite the challenges, the participants all recognized the potential value of such approaches in developing multi-perspectivity, critical thinking, listening and negotiating skills in the learner. Future larger-scale, longitudinal studies in a variety of cultural contexts are needed to develop approaches which can facilitate those approaching controversial issues in their classrooms

From National Cultural Paradigms to European/Global Cultural Paradigms: A Copernican Revolution

- The polycrisis that the European Union is experiencing calls into question the very essence of the EU itself. - Dissemination of national-populist propaganda that feeds the myth of the restoration of national sovereignty, an illusion which is unable to respond to the current challenges. - Citizens’ disillusionment with the European Union, which has not met their expectations. - Unification can no longer be founded on market and economic criteria alone, rather a sense of belonging to Europe needs to be boosted to make it a point of reference for identity. - Shaping the European citizen, who must undertake a Copernican revolution in the paradigms used to interpret the contemporary world, and rethinking what a nation is

Teaching Controversial Topics in the Humanities and Social Sciences in Ireland: Using Structured Academic Controversy to Develop Multi-Perspectivity in the Learner

Purpose: This study had two main objectives: The first was to explore the extent to which a group of University lecturers feel that they are prepared to deal with controversial issues in their classrooms. The second was to elicit their views on a didactic approach known as Structured Academic Controversy (SAC). SAC is a constructivist teaching strategy intended to aid the learner in developing their views on controversial issues and in understanding alternative views with the ultimate aim of locating a compromise position. Method: A qualitative intervention was designed to introduce six university academics from diverse specialisms to SAC by way of reflective engagement with it in the role of learners. Findings: The participants in this study deal with controversial issues frequently and several feel ill-prepared to do so. They identified several challenges associated with the use of SAC. These relate primarily to class size and curricular overload. However, despite the challenges, the participants all recognized the potential value of such approaches in developing multi-perspectivity, critical thinking, listening and negotiating skills in the learner. Future larger-scale, longitudinal studies in a variety of cultural contexts are needed to develop approaches which can facilitate those approaching controversial issues in their classrooms