University of Education, Heidelberg, English Department, Prof. Dr. A. Müller-Hartmann
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Master Portfolio for students of English at the PH
Heidelberg
Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Introduction
What is the portfolio?
The significance of the portfolio
The portfolio as official component of your studies
The structure of the portfolio
Appendix: Suggestions for primary literary texts
1. Introduction
Three major developments inspired us to require students of
English as a Foreign Language (EFL) at the PH Heidelberg to
design portfolios:
1. Teacher education is now firmly grounded in reflective
practice. Students learn to become teachers by reflecting on
their individual learning biographies as well as by reflecting on
the various skills and knowledge they need to acquire to become
proficient EFL teachers.
2. Hand in hand with that development, there has been a major
change during the last few years in assessing knowledge and
skills as well as in evaluating learning processes. In many
fields, this has taken the form of a portfolio, for example, the
European Language Portfolio that has been introduced at school
level in many European countries.
3. In recent years, the number of EFL students at the PH
Heidelberg has risen constantly, and it has become increasingly
difficult not only to keep track of individual students, but also
to help them organize their studies efficiently. Students often
seem to be lost, asking questions, such as “What have I actually
learned during my studies?” “What kind of language competence do
I have?” “Which fields or topics should I focus on for the final
exams?”
These guidelines have been developed to help students find
answers to these questions and to help instructors to advise
students.
University of Education, Heidelberg, English Department, Prof. Dr. A. Müller-Hartmann
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2. What is a portfolio?
The portfolio is a collection of the relevant products a student
has selected to document his/her learning process during his/her
course of studies. The portfolio benefits the student, above all,
but also helps others assess the student’s development, for
example, when applying for a place at a university or for a job.
The idea is borrowed from art, where students present a
collection of their work to an institution before starting to
study art. While in art you collect drawings and sketches, for
example, in English as a Foreign Language, you collect selfwritten texts and other documents that represent your language
learning biography.
The main intention behind the portfolio is for the student to
intensely reflect upon his or her own learning process(es),
connecting knowledge from books (secondary and primary
literature) and practical knowledge (practical training, microteaching).
Over time, the student’s experiential knowledge will develop, and
he/she will be able to work efficiently in his/her future
professional field, i.e. the school context.
While there are other forms of evaluation (e.g. reading journal),
the portfolio seems to be very effective for student teachers,
since it provides them with a model of portfolio assessment from
the learner’s point of view. In many states, language teachers
are now required to have classes create a European Language
Portfolio; a portfolio for Primary School English is also
currently in preparation.
3. Why is the portfolio important for student teachers?
The portfolio helps students reflect intensively on all aspects
of their course of studies, and thus allows them to establish,
clarify, and possibly reformulate their objectives over time.
Consequently, the portfolio is an instrument of reflection, which
allows every student to successfully organize his/her studies. It
enables students to find out what they are able to do, what they
will be able to accomplish, and what they cannot yet do.
The portfolio offers the individual student the opportunity to
establish what he/she has accomplished at any point in time
during his/her studies. This not only makes students aware of
their obligations, but also gives structure to their course of
studies. Moreover, it generates a feeling of security for the
individual in a field that often seems complex and difficult to
understand, especially during the first two or three semesters.
At the same time, the portfolio helps students prepare for
advisory sessions with instructors prior to the final oral exam.
University of Education, Heidelberg, English Department, Prof. Dr. A. Müller-Hartmann
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4. The institutional role of the portfolio
The portfolio is a personal document, but it is not a private
one. You are supposed to show your portfolio to an instructor and
work on it during a course on at least three occasions during
your studies at the PH Heidelberg:
1. The portfolio will be introduced in the Introduction to
TEFL (Module 1). During this course, you will write your
language learning biography. You will need to work on other
portfolio entries outside class.
2. During the Advanced Writing course (Module 2), the
portfolio will be shown to the instructor, and you will work
on different texts, some of which will form part of the
portfolio. Presentation of the portfolio to the course
instructor is a requirement for the receipt of a signature
for the course.
3. The portfolio will again be presented and discussed as part
of the teaching practice (Fachpraktikum) and the methodology
course (Module 3). A discussion of your portfolio entries
reflecting on earlier teaching practices will form the
starting point of your Fachpraktikum. The final paper for
the Methodology course will be included in the portfolio.
4. Finally, you will identify potential exam topics, which you
should mark in your portfolio. You are required to bring
your portfolio to the office hours of the instructor you
choose for your oral exam topic in TEFL. Prepare to describe
the development of your TEFL topic based on your portfolio.
5. The structure of the portfolio
In the portfolio, students collect all those documents and texts
that relate to their studies as prospective English language
teachers. Based on the general structure outlined below, it is
advisable to use a large folder to which you can add texts during
the course of your studies at the PH Heidelberg.
Before you start designing your folder, we would like to point
out the aesthetic function of such a collection, since apart from
being a personal document and a reflective instrument of your
learning processes, it could also serve as a document to present
yourself to future employers. This also means that you keep your
observations and reflections on a theoretical level without
engaging in any teacher- or instructor-bashing (see below).
For each part, we will provide a number of prompts or questions
that will help you write your reflection. You are not supposed to
University of Education, Heidelberg, English Department, Prof. Dr. A. Müller-Hartmann
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work off one question/prompt after another. They are meant as
suggestions to get you started and to give you ideas of what to
include.
The portfolio should include the following parts:
I. General information leaflet (these pages)
II. Contents
III. Reflection of your English language learning biography
This text will be written in the Introduction to TEFL course
(module 1). The text outlines how you started to learn English
and how this competence developed over time. This also includes a
reflection on the kind of English teaching you have experienced
as a language learner. The following questions/prompts will help
you:
• Describe your experience learning English in different
institutional or natural settings, such as in school, in
higher education, courses at a language school, while
traveling, living or working abroad (e.g. as an au pair), or
in other language learning contexts.
• How did you experience English teaching and learning at
school?
• What positive/negative models of teaching methodology do you
recall?
• How did your English learning biography influence your
decision to become a language teacher?
IV. Reflection on each English course you participate in at the
PH
This includes courses you might have failed or dropped.
Reflecting on the reason for failure will help you when you
repeat courses. Each course reflection should include the
following points:
1. Select one or two secondary texts, from the course, that you
consider especially helpful or worthwhile, and present your own
evaluation of the text(s) (approx. half a page per text)
2. Depending on the course you took, try to consider the
following points (approx. one page for each course):
• 50% of your reflection should focus on course content
• 50% should focus on the methodology of the course
University of Education, Heidelberg, English Department, Prof. Dr. A. Müller-Hartmann
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• Students should not comment on the instructor, as such, but
may analyze/discuss methods of instruction (model teaching)
• Comment on the use (or lack) of media and/or technology
• Reflect on and share the notes you took on a specific day
• Describe your learning experiences within the course:
How did you feel about the course? What was easy, difficult,
motivating, or demanding for you?
• What was useful, complex, different in relation to other
courses you have taken?
• The most impressive/astounding piece of information was…
• Something I will use in my future career as a teacher is …
• What have you gained from participating in an
interdisciplinary, or even multilingual, course?
• How have classes taken in the "Fächerverbund" complemented
your coursework as a whole?
• What have you gained from acquiring the 'language' of film?
The main question will be: What did you learn in relation to your
future as an EFL teacher?
Your course instructors will inform you about specific portfoliorelated assignments in the Academic Writing course (module 2) and
the Methodology course (module 3). On a general level, the
Academic Writing course will focus on improving your written
English. This includes portfolio entries as well as book reviews
for the EFL public (see below, point VI). In the Methodology
course, your final paper will become part of the portfolio.
You can integrate examples of good practice from the respective
seminars in your portfolio.
V. Report on the “Teaching Practices” at school
Please write a reflection of at least one page about each
teaching practice at school. If you have not yet taught English,
analyse the experiences you have had in other subjects in terms
of dealing with methodology and the learners in the classroom.
The following questions/prompts will help you:
• What was the most valuable thing I learned about myself (as
a teacher) in this practicum?
University of Education, Heidelberg, English Department, Prof. Dr. A. Müller-Hartmann
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• What was the most valuable thing I learned, in general
(about children, about English, about life...) in this
practicum?
• What was the worst thing about this practicum?
• How did the pupils see me (as a stranger, a friend, a coach,
an instructor...)?
• If I had to give advice to another student starting the same
practicum in the same class, what advice would I give to
him/her?
• How was my relationship to the classroom teacher? Was the
teacher supportive?
• If so, how (be specific)?
• What kind of supervision or assistance did I most
appreciate? If I did not enjoy good supervision or
assistance, what was missing?
• What kinds of lessons did I teach (if any), and were they
successful? Why/not?
In all cases, be as specific as possible!
Use these reflections as a basis to write a one-page text (300
words or more) which you hand in to your instructor at the start
of the English teaching practice (Fachpraktikum) about your
interests, goals, hopes, and fears for this new practicum.
Consider questions such as:
• What am I most looking forward to in this practicum?
• What am I most worried about in this practicum?
• How do I feel about working with pupils of this age/skill
level?
• How do I feel about my level of English proficiency? How can
I tell if it is sufficient?
• Am I comfortable using English classroom phrases and
communicating simply and clearly in English?
• Am I certain that I can "feel" and "act" like a teacher?
University of Education, Heidelberg, English Department, Prof. Dr. A. Müller-Hartmann
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• How do I hope my relationship to the pupils will be (will I
try to be a coach, a manager, a lecturer/instructor ...)?
How will I achieve this?
• Do I want the pupils to see me as strict, friendly, funny,
confident?
• Which of my personal or professional strengths can I use to
improve the pupils' learning in this class?
• What specific plans do I have for confronting my
fears/weaknesses?
In all cases, be as specific as possible!
VI. A list of reflections on primary literary texts
During the course of your studies, we would like you to read as
extensively as possible. You will read a lot of secondary
literature in your seminars, but the number of literary texts
will be restricted. You can make up for this at home. For this
reason, we have specified a general frame for your reading of
literary texts. This includes texts since the 18th century with a
th
st
clear focus on texts of the 20 and 21 centuries. The other
focus is on books you might want to use in your future
classrooms, i.e. children’s books and literary texts for young
adults. These are reflected in the categories below.
Please write a short reflection (one page maximum) on every book
you read for English during the semesters and the semester
breaks. This must not be a summary of the book, but a short
reflection on your reading experience:
• Thoughts about the book. What did I like/did I not like
about the book?
• What about the form of the book? Did anything strike me?
• What about the choice and development of the characters, the
setting, or the time structure of the book?
• Could I imagine using this book in a future EFL class? Why?
Why not?
• What help is it to you as a future EFL teacher?
In the appendix, we have added a list of primary literary texts
with which you might wish to familiarize yourself. You can choose
the books from this list, but you can also choose your own
literary texts. This can also include plays and/or films.
University of Education, Heidelberg, English Department, Prof. Dr. A. Müller-Hartmann
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Overall, we expect you to read 30 to 40 texts during your
studies. They should be distributed in the following way:
• 2 to 3 texts for Category 1 (18
• 5 to 6 texts for Category 2 (19
th
th
• 10 to 15 texts for Category 3 (20
century and earlier)
century)
th
century and after)
• 15 to 20 texts for Category 4 (children’s books and young
adult books)
This amounts to about 5 to 7 titles per semester (including the
semester break).
So others profit from your reading experience, we ask you to post
some of your book reviews on our “Read a book” board. This will
generally be done through the Advanced Writing Skills courses,
but anybody can make his/her review available for the board.
Please contact one of the instructors of the Academic Writing
Skills course if you wish to put up a review. To inform other
potential readers, these posted reviews should be designed
attractively and be informative and interesting (try to make
other readers curious about the book). The review part should
include the following parts:
• A short summary (not more than 3 sentences)
• Thoughts on the book
• Could it be used in class?