ABSTRACT: This essay illustrates the teaching experience on a specialist English laboratory course for first and second year students on a Degree course in Pedagogical Sciences at Verona University (2016–2017 academic year) and presents a digital tool (Padlet) that students used to set up their portfolio. The positive impacts on learning generated by self–assessment through the use of this tool encourage a wider use of narrative tools (Zanchin, 2013) to promote a perspective of one’s own learning outcomes (Pellerey, 2013). The essay briefly presents the state of the art in the field of self–assessment. It then illustrates the instrument used during the experience and the data collected. The self–assessing, periodic, but systematic process promoted awareness of learning outcomes well before the final exam, thus leading to targeted recovery strategies and maintaining motivation through the whole course (Dörnyei, 2007). On the basis of the above, it can be argued that Padlet (or a similar online resource) may be successfully used to promote self–assessment in any educational and training context.

KEYWORDS: self–assessment, portfolio, digital portfolio, motivation, ICT.1