Why LinguaFolio Online?
As a student participating in a STARTALK program, you will be asked to create an e-portfolio, called LinguaFolio Online, to showcase the your learning. You will be able to see what you have learned, identify the areas you want to learn more about, and set goals for continuing your language learning.
What Does LinguaFolio Online Include?
There are three main sections of LinguaFolio Online:
- Biography: In this section, you will share your previous language learning experiences. For example, perhaps your grandmother speaks German or you traveled to Mexico with your family two summers ago. Record these experiences here. You will also be able to explore how you learn best, which we refer to as your learning style.
- Passport: The Passport is a snapshot of you as a student. It summarizes the information in your biography and quickly displays your language learning progress. From the Passport, you will be able to track your learning progress on Can-Do Statements. Your STARTALK instructor and program director have already selected Can-Do Statements that you will be working on. You will be able to showcase your work on those statements by uploading evidence.
- Interculturality: Interculturality refers to your ability to experience the culture of another person and to be open-minded, interested, and curious about that person and culture. In this section, you can evaluate your own feelings, thoughts, perceptions, and reactions with another culture.
What is Evidence?
LinguaFolio Online helps document what you can do with another language and what you hope to be able to do. Part of showcasing what you can do in another language is providing examples, or evidence, of your work.
Evidence is the proof you supply that supports your work on the Can-Do Statements your STARTALK program has selected. You will upload evidence into LinguaFolio Online to showcase that you have accomplished.
The following are samples of evidence that you can upload into LinguaFolio Online:
- Writing samples, such as typed paragraphs of an essay or an email
- Audio samples, such as a recording of you introducing yourself or talking about your recent family vacation
- Visual files, such as a video clip of you performing a skit during a final performance or a media presentation
- Digital photos, such as a graphic you created about a food dish typical in the culture you are studying or a picture of a poster you created
Beyond Your STARTALK Program
Language learning is an ongoing process. The LinguaFolio Online portfolio you created belongs to you. As you continue learning languages, you are welcome to revise and update your LinguaFolio Online account.
You can set new goals, both personal and future career goals, and document your language performance and language achievement on your own – even if that learning happens outside of a traditional classroom setting. You can also share it with others, such as your teachers or parents, to show what you can do with the language and what you have set as goals for yourself.