In MFL, Authentic assessment could be defined as an assessment of the way that the language is used, spoken or written, in a 'real' situation. For example, in September, when the students return from the holidays, I may ask them to write a letter of complaint to the hotel manager - they can relate to this as being 'genuine' or 'authentic' because some of them will have wanted to complain anyway, and the others will all be aware of times when a complaint could have been made.

Another authentic assessment would be a conversation with a native speaker of the target language; if the student and the 'subject' can both communicate effectively, then a real assessment can be made of the ability  of the student, and good, clear feedback given.

The use of E-Portfolios

Introduction:

E-portfolios are a good way to provide supporting evidence of a practitioner’s ability and progression. They are increasingly used in all fields of work, from education to medical practice, but a few points need to be emphasised about the use of e-portfolios.

1.   Validation:

Is a scanned and uploaded document REALLY proof that an event has occurred or that an individual has acted? Surely, the ‘sign able’ PDF would be a more secure option, since before it could be uploaded it would have to be physically validated by the originator.

Validation of e-portfolios in general is difficult, because all that can be done initially is to accept the documents at face value; so the issue comes down to trust, unless validation can be carried out as suggested above.

2.   Organisation:

An e-portfolio needs to be organised, with sub-folders for different areas or competencies. If all of the PDF’s and documents are simply stored together in a file labelled ‘e-portfolio’ then an assessor will not be able to quickly determine the relevance of a specific item. The file can be organised by subject (competency) or by date (week 1, week 2, etc.) but is virtually unusable by an assessor without one or the other.

3.   Assessment:

How do I assess an e-portfolio? By asking questions that the practitioner should be asking themselves, such as;

• Does this document show MY involvement?
  • Yes, Ok
  • No, add a note explaining.
• Does this document actually demonstrate an ability?
  • Yes, Ok
  • No, why is it here.
• If I was READING this, would it impress me as good work?
  • Yes, Ok
  • No, improve it until it would.

4.   Value:

Some documents will carry more weight than others, provided they have been validated. Which of course brings us neatly back to the first point – un-validated documents are not worth a thing – if it isn’t clearly stamped or signed by a higher authority it is meaningless