To Do or Not to Do: EFL Learners’ Perception on and Practice of Homework Assignment

Abstract

Homework assignments have been explored from several different perspectives over the past few years. Learners' views and their practice of homework have been explored in different disciplines. This study attempted to explore English language learners' perception on and their practice of homework throughout a term of study. To this end, 110 adult male and female EFL learners agreed to participate in this study. Questionnaires and subsequent semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data. SPSS Software was used to analyze the questionnaire data and content analysis was used for the interviews using content analysis. The results showed that students had a positive perception towards homework assignments. Moreover, the results also revealed that learners had certain difficulties in doing homework assignments. They stated that mostly the difficulties are due to some specific reasons namely not learning the required concept, not knowing the instruction, not enjoying the homework, not paying attention, not understanding homework instruction, anxiety and stress of homework. The results offer a number of pedagogical implications for teachers, curriculum developers, and managers of language institutions.

Research on Homework in ELT: A Systematic Review

“…Furthermore, it is widely assumed that homework is an essential part of English language teaching and that it plays a significant part in reinforcing and consolidating what children learned at school, as well as in increasing their skills. However, four studies were classified as "neutral," suggesting that traditional paper and pen homework had no substantial or modest impact in these trials [39], [60], [61], [66].…”

“…In the study by Khonamri et al [60], learners indicated that most of their difficulties were caused by specific factors, such as not learning the required concept, not recognizing the instruction, not enjoying the homework, not being interested, not understanding the homework instruction, anxiety, and homework stress. In Moorhouse's [61] study, participants rated eight skills to practice or develop in homework, ranked from most common (1) to least common (8).…”

“…Studies Traditional concept type homework [30], [44]- [46], [51], [60]- [62], [64]-[66] Online concept type homework Online vs traditional concept type homework [27]- [29], [31], [32], [34]- [37], [39]- [43], [50], [52], [53], [55], [56], [58], [59], [63], [69] Table 6: Homework conceptual types As a result, both online homework and pen-and-paper assignment completion are realistic choices for traditional classrooms, hybrid classrooms, and online environments. To save money, minimize expenditures for the university, boost "efficiency," and somewhat counterbalance onerous workloads and other obligations allocated to faculty, homework is regularly assigned online.…”