written assignments

Homework

Written Assignments

While the options for written assignments are similar in remotely taught and F2F courses, the submission of handwritten homework — a necessity in some L2s — requires special consideration in remote teaching contexts.

Written homework is an integral component of L2 instruction at every level of proficiency:

The format for these assignments depends on how the instructor wants to give feedback: Hand-written notes on paper, highlighting in Word, comments in a Google Doc, notes on a PDF file using an Apple Pencil, or postings (text-based / audio / video) in Canvas.

The sole difference between written homework in F2F and remote classes lies in its submission. In the latter, students cannot physically hand instructors a piece of paper — and instructors cannot hand back that piece of paper with their comments or corrections.

This means that the assignment must be done in a format that allows for remote delivery:

The instructor, in turn, has multiple options for adding comments or corrections:

For languages that use a non-Roman writing system, this last option can be especially useful. Philip Zhakevich (HEB) organized all written assignments in HEB 102 by asking students to write out their work by hand on paper, take a picture of it on their phone, and send it to him as a PDF file.

Hannah Essien (ARA/TWI) had her students in Arabic type their assignments on a computer, using an adapted keyboard, and send them to her via email. Her procedure for feedback consisted of:

Having allowed students to choose among multiple formats for written work, Svetlana Korshunova (RUS) recommends deciding on just one, in order to avoid confusion, and plans to use shared Google Docs for future written assignments.

Whatever format is chosen, Ko & Rossen (pp. 75ff) remind us how important it is to provide clear and complete instructions for written assignments — length, format, file name, where to post them, deadlines — and some indication of when students can reasonably expect to get them back. For longer assignments, the instructions should include context, background, word count, and any other expectations the instructor needs to convey.

One final suggestion: Not all written assignments must be turned in. Luis Gonçalves (SPO), for example, had his students bring their written work to the (remote) class as a basis for interaction, rather than as an assignment to be submitted — a strategy that focused their efforts on communicating with peers rather than performing for the instructor.


Reference

Ko, S. and Rossen, S. (2017). The importance of assignment design (pp. 75ff). Teaching Online: A Practical Guide. New York & London: Routledge.