Teach english new edition r

What if students don’t do homework?
We know that hom ework is good for students. After all, the more tim e they spend working 
with English, the better they get at it. Yet hom ework is often a dispiriting affair. Teachers 
sometimes give out hom ework tasks with no special enthusiasm, students don’t always do 
it and teachers don’t especially enjoy m arking it.
In some schools, systems have been developed to deal with this situation. Students all 
have a hom ework ‘diary’ in which they have to write their hom ework tasks, and whether 
or not they have done them. Their parents have to sign off their hom ework diaries at the 
end of the week so there is some hope that they will ensure that their sons and daughters 
do the required tasks.

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Chapter 
14
It is more difficult when students are older, however. Here we cannot rely on parents 
to help out.
Ask the students
We can ask the students what they think about hom ework and get their agreement about 
how m uch we should ask for. We can find out what their interests are, and try to ensure that 
we set homework tasks which are relevant to them (not only in terms of their interests, but 
also in terms of what they are studying).
Lesley Pointer recounted a situation in which she got her students to say what their 
ideas of useful and appropriate hom ework were. She then used the results to set hom ework 
assignments, and the outcome was that many m ore students did the homework tasks with 
something like enthusiasm - an enthusiasm she shared when correcting their work.
Make it fun
Some students think that hom ework will always be set by the teacher on a Friday afternoon, 
and it will always be the same kind of task (an exercise from a workbook, for example). 
Such students are much m ore likely to be engaged if the tasks are varied, and if the teacher 
tries to make them fun. We can give out hom ework tasks in envelopes or send them in 
emails. We can have students do some serious things, yes, but include some slightly crazy 
tasks too. Homework will then become something that students want to be involved in.
Respect homework
Some teachers have difficulty in working up any enthusiasm for setting and marking 
homework, and students sense this. It is especially inappropriate if they give hom ework in 
on time but the teacher keeps forgetting to m ark it and hand it back. Students need to know 
that the effort they make in doing the tasks will be reciprocated by the teacher.
Make post-homework productive
Students are unlikely to develop m uch respect for the teacher’s comments if, when marked 
hom ework is handed back, they are not encouraged to look at the feedback to see how 
they m ight make corrections. Left to their own devices, they may well just glance at the 
comments - or a grade they have been given - before putting the work into some folder, 
never to be looked at again.
We need to change this behaviour by ensuring not only that the feedback we give 
on hom ework is useful, but also that students are encouraged to correct their mistakes 
and learn from them before putting the returned hom ework away. We need to provide 
opportunities for them to react to suggestions we make on their hom ework or to discuss 
the task that was set in the light of our comments.
It is often a good idea to get students to correct each other’s homework, provided that 
this is done in a supportive and cooperative way.