European Language Passport, Biography and Portfolio

Basically this is an excellent idea. The European Union’s aim seems to be that everyone who participates can have a language passport showing their level of proficiency in the basic skills areas. This can be backed up by a biography showing how they arrived at these skill levels and by a portfolio (possibly multimedia) to demonstrate to any employer or place of further study that it really is true and can be proven.

The one weakness that I sense in the scheme is the confusion between ‘expert’ assessment and self certification. Of course I believe that self certification has a role to play in negotiating a language level but is a self certificate really worth having when not backed by the opinions of qualified experts?