Discussion #2: Role of Homework
When (if ever) is homework appropriate for a foreign language class? How should it be used? Do you feel it is ever improperly used? Should homework be given before or after the lesson is taught? Exchange ideas with your peers and be sure to use examples to support your opinions.
When I was in eighth grade, I had a history teacher who announced proudly on the first day of school that there would be no homework for his class. My eighth grade self was overjoyed at the news - no outside reading or writing, no lists of dates and names to memorize. All we had to do was show up and participate and we would get a good grade. He told us that he felt that homework was a waste of time and a distraction from more important things like family life and leisure time spent outside of school. He cited a book he had read called "The Death of Homework" as his reason for adopting this policy. At the time all of that didn't matter to me. My fourteen year old self reveled in the extra time his policy afforded me playing drums and hanging out with friends.
Language learning, however, is different from history. There is vocabulary to memorize and rules to learn about conjugation, declension, and adjective agreement. There is also the matter of staying engaged with the new language by practicing your skills every day. From a teaching perspective, assigning nightly homework is an easy strategy to turn to in order to force your students into a daily practice routine. We all know that disengagement is the ultimate recipe for distaster for the language learner, and when self-motivation is not enough homework is an easy solution.
Since daily pratice is essential to language learning, the language teacher would be hard-pressed to do away with assigning work outside of class completely, but there are many approaches one can take to make sure that this type of work is worth the students time and effort. There is one French instructor here on the UNH campus that is currently experiementing with an inverted classroom in which new grammar points and lessons are completed at home by the students using short instructional videos prepared by the instructor. This way, the entire class period can be dedicated to practicing the target language as a group. The instructor uses Minimal classroom time explaining the rules for forming something like the passé compose. Instead students can use the time together to practice using the passé compose with one another. This flipped classroom technique is something that I would love to experiment with in the future when I am teaching on my own.
I am actually really intrigued by your history teacher´s point of view on homework. I would love to hear a detailed explanation or read the book you mentioned. Obviously I also agree that this would not work in a language classroom but it is interesting to see something that is so common be challenged. I would also like to learn more about that french class and see how the students do. In theory it does sound more beneficial since the professor could correct any errors during practice, but I could see how it could be a very confusing way to teach too.
ReplyDeleteWait, yeah, I'm curious - how did that 8th grade history class work out for you as a student? I've never had a class with no homework.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm really getting curious about the role of homework. Does it really have some impact on the learning outcome? Who actually can benefit from it? I've heard that some teachers make it optional. Some students actually can still do well in school without having to do homework. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree with Lina- some students will do well learning subject matter without homework, whereas others need additional reinforcement to really grasp a subject. I think that "optional" homework works will in an advanced learning environment, like a college, where students are more "in charge" of their own learning and can decide whether or not they would benefit from some additional guidance. "Optional" assignments are not usually effective in a obligatory learning environment, like an elementary or high school, because students are required to learn certain things, and it is up to the teachers/administration to ensure that they are learning, not to the students themselves.
ReplyDeleteGood point, Chloe - I agree that optional homework would be more appropriate in a college setting, mostly because students at that point should be aware of their learning process and know whether they need more practice. Given the option, I have to admit I would probably still do the homework, although maybe less thoroughly. However, come to think of it, in a seminar class, for instance, if the students didn't do the reading, that would affect the quality of the discussion in class. So perhaps there are some advanced learning situations where optional homework would not be appropriate, either.
ReplyDeleteI asked one of the French teachers at Exeter High School how he does homework, and he said that the majority of his homework assignments were "optional". He gives the students the option to take their homework home to do it, or he provides them with some class time to finish it. I don't know how I feel about losing class time to do homework, but he justified it by saying that when homework wasn't optional, students wouldn't do any of it. He says that it works for him and his classes, but I would be interested to see how others would implement a similar way to assign homework.
ReplyDeleteJess, I know some HS schools allow students to start their homework in class and then finish it at home. In general, they use the last 5-10 minutes for homework and make sure that students know how to do it correctly. This is probably more for high school kids than collage students.
DeleteThe idea of not assigning homework is very interesting, but I do think that it could lead to the majority of students becoming somewhat disengaged from the material. As graduate students and older undergraduates, I think that the majority of us would say that we know how to study and understand how to best manage our time. This being said, I do not necessarily think that the majority of underclassmen could say this, let along high school and middle school students. Especially in language classes and other courses that have very few students, doing one's homework is essential to being able to participate in class. As grad students and upperclassmen we already know how to prepare for our language or seminar classes, but the majority of the students in my Spanish 401 course, for example, do not. If I did not assign homework, or let students prepare themselves for class, I'm not sure what I would be able to get done on a day to day basis.
ReplyDeletei agree with all of your points
ReplyDeletejess your point about optional homework is intriguing. it would be cool to learn more about his point of view
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