How to approach your assignments
Approaching your assignments
In your French course there is a written assignment at the end of every module, testing your listening, reading and writing skills, and in addition a speaking assignment at the end of Modules One, Three, Five and Six.
Please handwrite your written assignments in black ink, so that your tutor can easily read your work. We recommend that you complete your assignment in one sitting, but as your assignments are designed to continue your learning, you can refer to your coursebook and other sources and you do not have to time yourself.
For most of your speaking assignments, you will need to arrange a video call with your tutor. You will be reminded at the beginning of the module to arrange a date and time that suits both you and your tutor. Please give your tutor plenty of notice to allow a sufficient interval to arrange a mutually convenient time and let them know if you cannot attend as they will be waiting for you. The other speaking assignment requires you to record a presentation and submit it as an mp3 on Canvas.
Please treat turning up to these calls as serious commitments. Make sure you check with your parent/observer that they haven’t arranged something else you need to do! If you fail to attend the call you have arranged, you will be given one more chance. If you fail to attend the second time you will receive 0 for your speaking assignment.
The speaking assignment in Module Six (Assignment 6S) is different as this requires you to record a presentation and submit it on Canvas.
There are no assignments in this course that need to be taken under test conditions.
The cover sheet
Each assignment has a cover sheet. You need to fill in your details here and also complete the feedback section (except in Assignment One!). The feedback section encourages you to take ownership of the feedback your tutor has given you and to transfer your learning from one assignment to the next.
Assignment guidance
At the beginning of every assignment, we give you guidance on how to approach that particular assignment. We outline how to approach the assignment, how to submit it, and what resources you will need.
Speaking assignments
When preparing for speaking assignments, whether the video calls or the recording, we would suggest that you prepare and practise your answers aloud, focusing on your pronunciation. This will help you feel more confident when either recording yourself or speaking with your tutor.
Do use the structures and vocabulary that you have learnt in the module to help you answer the questions. Our assignments are linked closely to each module so you will find lots of help in your coursebook and coursework.
Make sure you check the number of marks allocated to each question before you start to prepare your speaking work. A five mark answer will require more than one sentence.
Although you won't use it in the call with your tutor, do have your preparation work to hand as your tutor may want to refer to it in the feedback section of the call.
It is natural to be nervous about a speaking assignment but remember that your tutor will be there to support and encourage you. If you get stuck, then do have your notes with you so you can refer to them (especially in your first assignment). This is not a test! And there is nothing more enjoyable than being able to hold a conversation in the language you are learning!
You can read more about the technical processes of submitting a recording on Canvas here.
Please do treat turning up to these calls as a serious commitment. If you fail to attend the call you have arranged you will be given one more chance. If you fail to attend the second time you will receive 0 for your speaking assignment.
Please note that as for welcome calls:
- If you are 13 or under, then your parent/guardian must be present during the call
- For children who are 14 and over, we strongly recommend that a parent/guardian is present during the call.
How long should I spend on my assignment?
There are a lot of skills to cover in a language course - you need to practise your listening, reading, writing and speaking! In the Year 8 French assignments you will visit and re-visit these different skills so that by the end of the course you have had chance to make progress with all of them. We feel speaking is a very important skill and that is why there are four speaking assignments in the course.
Students often ask how long they should spend on their assignments. This is hard to answer! We do not set prescribed times for the completion of the assignments as we want everyone to work to their own pace. Sometimes you might find you can work through a reading task quickly but need longer for a listening task. You might want to take short breaks between the different sections of an assignment if this helps you to maintain your concentration. In general, we think your written assignments will take you around 1-2 hours. A speaking assignment that involves a video call will take around 30 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes for the call.
If you need or want to take longer on your assignments, then please do so. If you are worried about the amount of time your assignments are taking, please talk to your tutor or SPM so that we can support you.
It is important to remember that the assignments are helping you to cover the four skills areas of language learning (writing, reading, listening, speaking) and are the formative backbone of your course.
Uploading your assignment and receiving feedback
You should upload your written assignments to Canvas, ideally as a single file (this means scanning in all the pages and saving them as a single PDF).
Within 3–5 working days, you will receive a notification to let you know that your assignment has been marked. When you look at your assignment feedback, make sure that you check the PDF (it may have been annotated by your tutor) as well as the general comments your tutor has given you (these may be written and/or an audio/video message).
Please do take time to reflect on your tutor’s feedback and take it on board in future assignments. This is a key part of the Wolsey Hall Oxford course as the feedback will be personal and tailored entirely to you. The feedback is designed to help you further both your knowledge and your skills in the subject and you will be asked to reflect on it in your next assignment.
For further instructions on the submission of speaking assignments please see here.
Can I send in several assignments at the same time?
We ask that you do not submit multiple assignments at the same time. It is very important that you reflect on your tutor’s feedback before beginning each new assignment, so that you can incorporate their tips for improvement into each new piece of work.
Can I resubmit an assignment if I feel I didn’t do very well?
We encourage you to work carefully on each assignment and submit it when you are happy with your finished piece of work. Do ensure that you read the assignment guidance carefully and follow the instructions given. Once your tutor has marked an assignment and added your grade to Canvas, that module is complete. If there is something that you feel you could improve on, that’s positive and all part of learning. Rather than going back to a completed assignment, we suggest that you take on board that feedback and put it into practice in your future assignments.