An Investigation into the Effects of English Study Portfolios with Consistent Goals in Terms of Japanese Students' English Proficiency and Motivation

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This study was conducted to investigate if English study portfolios related to the Common Framework of Reference for Languages are effective for goal setting and in enhancing Japanese students' English proficiency and motivation from elementary to university level. The materials used for this study were modified portfolios based on the European Language Portfolio, Cambridge English examinations and questionnaires regarding students' motivation in regard to English and the use of portfolios.Data from 869 subjects who participated in the three-year follow-up survey was scrutinized. The results indicated that the subjects with high appreciation of the portfolios corresponded with higher scores in motivation of learning English and in the intergroup approach tendency with people from different cultures compared to the subjects with low appreciation. At the same time, the study found that a systematic environment has to be established to achieve the best results from the portfolios.