With my advanced Spanish classes, I have them work on a year-long writing project. Throughout the school year we go to the computer labs to think, create, and compose completely in Spanish. The down-loadable instructions show how the 350-point project is organized, offers creative suggestions for students, and provides a detailed rubric.
This is also a fantastic SUBSTITUTE lesson plan! The students know what the expected outcome is and have a full year to make the best product possible. It's one of the better lessons I've ever created, and allows for some serious input and output from the students.
Although this example is in Spanish, it could also work well with an English class, ESL course, or with any other foreign language. Just edit it to meet your needs.