The European Language Portfolio (ELP) was designed as a tool that "supports reflective learning and fosters the development of learner autonomy" (Little 2009, "The European Language Portfolio: Where pedagogy and assessment meet". Strasbourg: Council of Europe. https://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=0900001680459fa5 (accessed 20 June 2016)); it thus facilitates students in exploring, creating and documenting their own learning paths. This article will investigate an action-oriented approach to learning and teaching in an undergraduate language degree course at the University of Padova, Italy, based on the pedagogical principles of the ELP (Council of Europe 2011, "European Language Portfolio (ELP): Principles and guidelines, with added explanatory notes". Strasbourg: Council of Europe. https://rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices/DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=09000016804586ba (accessed 20 June 2016)). Students who enroll on this degree course arrive with varying degrees of language ability and diverse language learning backgrounds; due to the disparate nature of their proficiency levels, fostering language learning awareness is crucial. Task-based activities are fundamental to this approach, enabling students to explore and develop their communicative language competences through authentic target language use, and to reflect on their progress through guided self- and peer assessment. In the article, we will showcase examples of tasks which demonstrate the approach adopted. We will first explore how peer assessment of audio recordings was used in a course where first-year students were aiming to develop their spoken production skills. We will then illustrate how second-year students engaged in self-assessment of their skills in activities designed to explore the language of interaction and production. Finally, we will focus on the use of the ELP Dossier as a pedagogical tool, with students compiling an Academic Dossier and reflecting on the choices of work to include in it.