This section offers the learner the opportunity to select materials to document and illustrate achievements or experiences recorded in the Language Biography or Passport.

It requires a system for keeping a record of what has been selected. It should be adapted to the needs and specificity of the target learner group. It should be open for the full range of skills and experience.

Some developers have found it helpful to distinguish between a “display dossier” (a selection of work that demonstrates the user’s learning achievement) and a “process dossier” (work in progress).

The process dossier can be said to provide a picture of the learner’s progress. It can be used for a variety of purposes including formative assessment, reflection on the learning process as well as a place to keep work in progress.

The display dossier can be said to provide evidence for the learner’s self-assessment. A display dossier can be tailored for a particular purpose, for example an application for a job or for a course of study. It should contain examples of the learner’s “best work” (evidence of what he or she can do in one or more languages) as well as certificates and attestations.
 

When designing the Dossier developers should also consider the following questions:

  • What sort of filing and indexing system are you going to have? (Some developers choose to design an indexing system that lists contents language by language, others prefer to structure the Dossier so that all the learner’s languages are recorded in a single index.)
  • How much information about each item that the learner chooses for the Dossier should be recorded, for example:
    • the language that it is in or relates to
    • the date it was selected
    • the type of material it is (something the learner has produced or something he or she has seen, read or heard? something that demonstrates proficiency or something that stimulated reflection? a piece of work or a certificate or report?)
    • the reason for selecting it for the Dossier or any other commentary about it
  • How are you going to allow for regular updating, in particular for the deletion or substitution of items?
  • How and where are learners going to store the actual contents of the Dossier?