A Neglected but Very Important Research Area

【Abstract】This paper discusses the importance of homework， some principles of homework setting， major types of homework and how to develop students ability of learning independently.

【Key words】English teaching； homework setting； Learning independently； basic skills

I. Introduction

Its true that homework is a remote area which people dont pay attention to. Students often do homework in a careless or ineffective way， or they even do not do it at all. Some teachers often set homework at random， and also there have been so little real thoughts that have been devoted to homework. For example， there is little writing or research on the problem of homework.

But as a matter of fact， homework plays a very important role in English teaching. I intend to draw peoples attention to this neglected area. Im going to discuss some general principles of homework setting， to make a survey of several major types of homework， and also to discuss how to develop students ability of learning independently and the basic skills of English through carefully planned homework.

II. Importance of Homework

A. Homework helps to develop students ability of learning independently. We are living in a fast changing world， with all kinds of information being gathered at a fantastic speed. So it is important for students to absorb in school what they need in the future. If we want to prepare them for society in which conditions are changing rapidly， we must teach them， besides particular skills and knowledge， how to find， gather， process information， in short， how to learn independently. What to learn and how to learn are two sides of the same coin. What to learn forms the basis of how to learn. A student who has a good mastery of all four basic skills of English will also be capable of learning on his own… On the other hand， when one knows how to learn， he is sure to learn better. Doing homework is the process of cultivating the students ability to study on their own.

B. Homework gives students the chances to review and preview. By doing further practice after class， students can review what they have just learned in the classroom. Students can also be required to do some preparing work for the next period of class， which ensures them to have a better understanding when they take up new lessons. From my experience of teaching， I have drawn a conclusion that those who do homework earnestly usually have better mastery of English than those who do it carelessly or even do not do it at all.

C. Homework is a necessary replenishment to the teaching activities in class. There are usually four English classes each week， which are not enough for the students to learn English well. Setting some homework makes it possible to extend the limited time available in school so that students can extend school work by further practice after class.

III. General Principles for Setting Homework

A. Design homework carefully beforehand.

Teachers should avoid picking something out of the textbook at random at the end of class. Spend time on homework planning. Too difficult homework should be changed or be replaced with a little bit easier one. The types of homework should be varied so that students receive experience of different sort of homework. Homework must be designed according to what students have just learned， and also according to students ability of doing exercises by themselves. Homework should be neither too easy nor too difficult. We should also avoid setting substantial pieces of written work for all of the students at once， for the teachers interest have to be taken account. If you require all of your students of three classes to do the same written work at the same time， it will be too much for you to mark all the work done by the students.

B. Set homework at the main part of the lesson or several minutes before the end of the class.

Some teachers have the habit of setting homework as the bell goes at the end of lesson. This is not a good habit， because almost nobody listens to the teachers instructions in such circumstances. We should set homework in the main part of the lesson， or at least five minutes before the end， making sure that all the students are listening to what you say.

C. Set a little homework rather than too much.

Some teachers think that the more exercises the students do， the better mastery of English they will have. So they set as much homework as possible. The point is that if a teacher starts by setting more homework than students can reasonably do， the students soon learn not to take seriously the instructions given by the teacher. At first they ask others （their classmates） for help， then they may even copy others homework， and in the end they would give it up completely.

D. Check homework carefully and give students rapid feedback.

Some teachers dont pay enough attention to the check and feedback. The only job they do is to give instructions. They dont think more about whether the students have done it or how they have done it. Teachers should collect homework promptly after it is done， check homework carefully and find out what problems are still in the homework， make a clear record of work and of defaulters， and then hand back homework and give further explanation in the next period of class. This sort of efficiency helps students to form a good learning habit and also it is a considerable aid to class control.

IV. Types of Homework

A. Listening： a skill that cant be neglected

The listening skill has in fact always been neglected in most English classes in China. It has never received amount of attention or time that it deserves. Almost all of the listening activities students have are in the classroom. Students have rarely been given planned training in listening comprehension out of class. We can develop students listening skill through setting homework. An overall plan should be carefully made and some suitable listening materials should be selected for the students. We should encourage and instruct the students to do listening exercises out of class.

B. Speaking： a way to fluent communication

Some survey shows that only a small percentage of class time is devoted to speaking activities. Students seldom have chances to talk with each other in English. Most of the teachers think it both unrealistic to teach speaking in class， because in most cases there are over 50 students in one class. How can they manage to give chances of practice to every student of such a big class？ This is really a big problem. I think this situation can be remedied by setting homework. Students should be encouraged to speak English as more often as possible out of classroom.

C. Reading： a skill which will stay with students longer than any other skill Numerous facts have proved that middle school graduates dont know how to read. They may have learned all the basic structures in English and acquired a considerable number of vocabulary during their six years of education， yet when they read， they read word by word， sentence by sentence， making analysis of sentence structure， referring to the dictionary constantly， and doing translation all the time.

It is easy to get students to start reading， but its difficult to keep them reading. Teachers should try to motivate them by telling them that extensive reading is actually the real kind of reading and it advances their knowledge of the world as well as develops their reading ability. They should not be distracted by any unfamiliar words or structures. The important thing is to get the idea and content of the materials.

D. Writing： a means to accurate English

The role of writing is to reinforce other language skills. There are some reasons for this. First， students are more impressed by exercises that are written and handed in than by those that are practiced orally. Secondly， writing helps to consolidate the students grasp of vocabulary and sentence structures， and complements the other language skills. By checking their written exercises， teachers can evaluate the students progress in learning and determine their true comprehension of structures being learned， thus gaining a clearer view of what they have mastered and what they have not. Thirdly， written work is often taken seriously by students as well as by teachers for the simple reason that almost all of examinations and tests are designed in written form.

E. Previewing： a process of learning things on students own

In current practice， more and more teachers set such kind of homework. Its a very good teaching method in developing students habit of doing work independently. Students are required to preview what they will learn in the next class. Every student should have a notebook so as to make on it notes of the points which are either important to be mastered or difficult to understand. This is a real process for the students to do things on their own， using the knowledge they have already learned to deal with the problems they havent met before. It helps to foster the students ability of analyzing and solving problems independently.

V. Conclusion

Some ideas of this article may be controversial because it attempts to establish principles in an area of teaching activity which by now has attracted little attention. But it is certain that homework plays a very important role in our English teaching and cannot be neglected. We should pay enough attention to it， give some real thoughts to it and do some research on it. If something like that happens at all levels of the system， well get the most effective ways of developing students skills and abilities all-sidedly through homework.

作者簡介：王秋鳳（1962-），女，山西太原人，山西職業技術學院副教授。