Rethinking the Guideline for the Course Portfolio Based on the Western English Teachers’ Perceptions

As one requirement for teaching English classes offered to engineering and computer science students at a Korean university, native English-speaking teachers are obligated to make a portfolio per each class taught. Through semi-structured interviews, the perceptions of some of these teachers toward compiling the course portfolio were explored. In the present paper, problems associated with the portfolio requirement are identified, and suggestions are thereafter made in the hope that the existing procedure for creating portfolios may be refined. Suggestions made in this paper can help improve the way the teachers select, use and assemble various teaching materials and activities for their portfolios, by providing grounds for restructuring the way the guideline is laid out. Study findings provide the basis for coming up with clear guidelines which detail the purpose, format, intended use, and storage of the portfolio, guidelines which are more in line with the teachers’ expectations and pedagogical practices than before. In essence, such guidelines can make it clear for the teachers why and how the portfolio should be put together. The findings also present an opportunity for faculty members and administrators at other postsecondary institutions in Korea to review and revise their own portfolio requirement and possibly other administrative procedures, a situation which can alleviate the teachers’ burdens with respect to teaching-related administrative duties and help them focus on their primary task, i.e., EFL education.