As a student, I have a love/hate relationship with homework. When all of my classes decided that I need to read 50 pages or solve 50 problems or write a 10 page paper for the next day, it all feels completely pointless. However, I can see and understand the benefits.
In terms of foreign language teaching, homework can be helpful, though never appreciated. There just aren't enough hours in the school day to do all of the practice and learning at school. Students have maybe 2 hours a day of their FL then go on to other classes about other subjects and finally go home for the day or weekend. I know from experience that once they go home, if they don't have to think about school, they aren't going to. That one worksheet of verb conjugation or the crossword puzzle of vocabulary and definitions, in theory, will help keep the student thinking about and practicing what they learned in class, if only for 20 minutes or so. Homework, in essence, is a way of extending the learning beyond the classroom, though mostly it is used just for repetition.
While I may understand the reasoning behind homework, there are sometimes when it is just a half-hearted assignment because everyone has to have homework, and the students can tell when an assignment is just a time-waster. I believe that if a specific topic or skill or grammar point can be better learned with bit of extra repetition or practice, then it is useful to assign homework. There is limit to the amount of homework that should be assigned: if it's too much, student's won't really think about what it is they are working on. Instead, they'll just do it to get it done.
As for homework assigned before a lesson is taught, I feel that in most cases it can cause more frustration than increased learning. Perhaps if the assignment was to read a small passage or story that will be discussed later in the classroom, it can be prep work. But assigning a student to do a worksheet on a part of grammar that they haven't been taught yet is to set the students up for failure.
I think the video is rather amusing way to show different studying techniques to students. It is set up like it could be a boring instructional video from the 50s, but the acting is extremely amusing.
I agree about the heavy homework loads and little time to do them in. It can be stressful, discouraging, and overwhelming to the student. Also, the teacher has to keep in mind that the student is taking other classes at the same time. If every teacher were to assume that the student can get immense workloads completed in one night, the poor kid will be bogged down, doing homework till the wee hours of the morning every night.
ReplyDeleteI agree that most teachers use homework to full up time or because they are "supposed" to assign it. I believe that If I teach a lesson and its simple and there is no homework for it thats ok. If all the students can show that they really have grasped the concept then homework would be a waste of time. I also agree with the fact that homework should NEVER be assigned before the lesson is taught.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you phrased that, "Homework, in essence, is a way of extending the learning experience beyond the classroom..." This is what homework should be, an extension of the lesson taught in class. Though, I know that for many students homework is not seen in this way. Homework can be seen as burdensome, unnecessary and a waste of the few hours of free time that students have outside of work and school. Having a limit on the amount of homework that is assigned is a good idea, students should be able to do their homework without just wanting to "get it done." Homework, especially with language classes, is a good way to continue using the language outside of the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that some parts of language learning like grammar can be mastered better with repetition, and if the amount of homework exceeds the limit, as my experience, it turns into a mechanical process without thinking, and it is a waste of time.
ReplyDeleteI agree that busy work or large workloads do seem to be ineffective towards the student's learning and at some point the grammar drills simply become mindless. But I do think that some homework should be assigned for language classes everyday whether it is reading or practicing just to make sure that the students are reminded to some extent of what the lesson was. This of course can be done witha small amount of work.
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