The Stage 1 French e-Portfolio Project. Meeting students' linguistic needs/expectations

whilst fostering employability awareness.

Newcastle University,Ms Jos Harrison (Careers Service)

Dr JC Penet (SML)

Background From Career Service perspective

From SML perspectiveFRE 1071 (post A-Level, 114

students) = Encourage independent work / foster autonomy

FRE1071 Portfolio All weekly written tasks completed; 6 mistakes analyses of work seen by

tutor;+ Fortnightly e-Portfolio tasks – aim to

raise careers awareness + employability

University’s e-Portfolio

Brief overview here

FRE1071 e-Portfolio Tasks- Developed in collaboration with the

University’s Careers Service and the Learning and Teaching Unit (QuILT);

- Linked with module’s activities or School-wide events but always careers/employability related;

- In French (encourage ‘code-switching’)

Examples of tasks Task 1 – Summarise presentation given by

Careers officer and e-Portfolio officer;

Task 2 – Presenting in a professional context

Task 3 – Linked to Careers Talk 1

Task 4 – Value Exercise

Aims and objectives of project“By the end of this projects, FRE1071 students will have:- Become aware of the need for them to

engage with their learning of French in an autonomous and personal way (relevant to them);

- Become familiar with the University’s e-Portfolio and with its Careers Service;

- Increased their overall careers awareness.”

Project evaluation 2 questionnaires - S1 questionnaire - 78% response rate; - S2 questionnaire - 70% response rate (7/10 questions similar to S1 questionnaire).

Some surprising findings…

Technical issues

PercentageYes 60%No 38%No Answer 2%

S1 - Question 1Have you encountered technical problems with the e-Portfolio? If so, could you please explain what it was (what happened / did not happen)?

PercentageSharing 68%Uploading 13%Other 19%

Technical problems mentioned by those who answered ‘yes’:

Technical issues

PercentageYes 51%No 44%Maybe 5%

S1 - Question 2Would you benefit from a hands-on training session within a computer cluster?

e-Portfolio relevant?

Number Percentage It worked well (easier + better organised)

43

48%

Reason Number Percentage It was not so good

44

49%

Prefer paper hand-in 30 68%Not enough follow up 4 9%Confusing 7 16%Waste of time 3 7%

No answer 2 2%

S1 Question 3 + S2 Question 1How do you feel about using the e-Portfolio as a place to upload the Independent Tasks required for FRE1071?

  Number PercentageIt worked well (easier + better organised)

 28

 42%

Mixed feelings (OK but complicated)

 14

 21%

It was not so good(Reason: Confusing / Difficult to use for 100%) 

 25

 37%

Engagement with e-Portfolio?

PercentageYes 16%Yes, a little 8%No 68%No but I intend to do so when I have time

6%

Other 2%

S1 question 4 + S2 question 2Has using the e-Portfolio as part of a requirement for FRE1071 encouraged you to explore your e-Portfolio and what it has to offer you?

  Number PercentageYes 20 30%No 43 54%No but I would if –I had time (x1);I used it in other modules (x2)

3 4%

No reply 1 1%

Careers Talks and e-Portfolio

PercentageYes 59%No 21%No Answer 17%Other 3%

S1 question 6Did you find the 1st Careers Talk interesting? What would you suggest to improve it?

PercentageYes 75%No 11%No Answer 6%Other 8%

S1 question 7Do you think such talks can motivate you to think – differently, maybe - about how you envisage your own career development

S2 question 4

Do you think such talks can motivate you to think – differently, maybe – about how you envisage your own career development   Number Percentage

Yes 50 75%Potentially… 10 15%… Depends on speaker

5 7%

No… 6 9%… As I aleady know what I want to do

3 4.5%

No answer 1 1%

e-Portfolio tasks and seminar content

PercentageVery useful 19.1%Useful 70.2%Not very useful 11.9%A waste of time 1.2%Other (no answer) 2.4%

S1 question 8 + S2 question 5Would you say that being asked to think of the link between the work done during your seminars (e.g. presentations for Dans l’oeil du Dragon) and what it means in terms of your own development (What’s a good professional presentation) is [circle the appropriate answer]:

  Number PercentageVery useful 12 18%Useful 45 67%

85% “very useful or useful”Not very useful

4 6%

A waste of time

2 3%

Other (no answer)

4 6%

Linguistic Benefit?

PercentageVery useful 32.5%Useful 64%Not very useful 1.2%A waste of time 0%Other (no answer) 2.4%

S1 question 9 + S2 question 6From a linguistic point of view, do you see the opportunity to ‘code switch’ (going from completely French input to completely French output) in some of those tasks (talks) as a skill which is [circle the appropriate answer]:

  Number PercentageVery useful 25 37%Useful 34 51%

88% “very useful or useful”Not very useful

4 6%

A waste of time

0 0%

Other (no answer)

4 6%

Generally positive?

PercentagePositive 78Negative 2No answer 10Other 10

S1 question 10 + S2 question 8Globally, do you see the opportunity to write in French and think about careers-related issues (opportunities, soft skills etc.) as part of your independent work rather as a positive or a negative development for FRE1071. Please say why in a few words.

  Number PercentagePositive 53 79%Indifferent 1 1%Negative… 9 13… as I would prefer ‘more traditional’ exercises (grammar, voc. etc.)

4 6%

No answer 4 6%

Why positive?

‘… the skills learned can be

used in everyday life.’

‘… pushes me out of my comfort zone [language-wise].’

‘… it makes you think about the

future while using your French.’

‘It get us thinking about life beyond our

degree from day one.’

‘We explore proper issues

rather than topics.’

‘… because we are able to express

our own news and opinions in French

and we have plenty of scope to

do so.’

2 key words in feedback

“Relevant”

“Useful”

What have we learned? Students not entirely convinced about

relevance of e-Portfolio itself;

Objectives 1 and 3 have been partly achieved

Reason: confusion between ‘autonomy’ and ‘independence’ in semester 2

ConsequencesIssues brought to the fore by S1 and S2 questionnaires:1. Most students found it difficult to come

to terms with the e-Portfolio and/or to see the point in using it at all;

2. Students found it easier to see the linguistic interest of tasks than their potential re careers awareness;

3. Some students lost motivation in S2

So what?!Looking ahead – e-Portfolio as social

network?

- Introduce element of peer-assessment by asking final-year students to review students’ e-Portfolio tasks

- Benefits:1. More feedback (linguistic and content-wise);2. e-Portfolio as social network (becomes more

‘relevant’)

First step towards introduction of ‘Employability Ambassadors in School of Modern Languages!

Thanks for your attention!

Any questions?

References Klenowski, V. ‘Portfolios for learning, assessment

and professional development in higher education,’ Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 31:3, 267-286

Lynch, B and Shaw, P. ‘Portfolios, power and ethics.’ TESOL Quaterly 39, 2, 263-297

Nereo, F. ‘Rethinking the employability Agenda through Technology.’ LLAS e-Learning Symposium 2012

Ushioda, E. ‘Why automomy? Insights from motivation theory and research.’ Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 5:2, 221-232