Yes, but does it count? Understanding and fostering greater engagement with formative tasks

“Yes, but does it count for credit?” is the question students ask us
as English for Academic Purposes (EAP) tutors when we introduce
formative developmental e-portfolio tasks on the University of Bristol’s
International Foundation Programme (IFP). In this article I will share
the successes and failures over the years 2020–2023 that we have
experienced in encouraging students to submit formative tasks across
the year for the students’ final summative assessments. The article will
present the challenges and barriers faced in helping students to draw
connections with summative assessments and engage with curation
of their formative developmental e-portfolios. Finally, solutions for
encouraging greater engagement with formative tasks for this year’s
IFP delivery will be introduced