The intercultural dimension of the language on-line project (LOLIPOP)
Résumé
This paper describes an original approach to intercultural training and education, through the development of an online version of the ELP (European Language Portfolio) with an enhanced intercultural dimension. This development is being carried out by an EU funded partnership called Language On-Line Project, or LOLIPOP and involves 12 European institutions, from Austria, Germany, Ireland, France, Latvia, Norway, Poland and Spain. LOLIPOP's goal is to produce a multilingual, interactive, on-line version of the ELP, to be offered as freeware, and the second prototype is currently being developed. This online portfolio aims to provide learners with an opportunity to produce a life-long record of their language and intercultural experiences, Along with a tool for self-assessment of Language and Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC). The main focus of our presentation will be on the intercultural dimension, an area which remains underdeveloped, both in foreign language teaching materials and in existing language portfolios. We will then provide examples of the difficulties involved in the assessment of the affective aspects of ICC, before describing our conceptual model, which is based on Byram and Zarate's "savoirs" and the positive elements of Bennett's ethnocentrism/ethnorelativism scale. Finally, we will provide an opportunity for participants to use our tool to assess their own ICC.