An Investigation And Research On The Assignment Of English After-school Homework In Junior Middle Schools

English after-school homework is an effective extension of classroom teaching,a consolidation,development and deepening of English learning,and an important means for students to learn English outside of class.However,related studies have shown that there are many problems with English after-school homework,such as the lack of effectiveness in the design of English homework,the poor quality of homework content and the unreasonable structure of homework.In the context of the“Double Reduction” policy and the core literacy of the subject,it is imperative to explore English homework in middle schools that is suitable for the “Double Reduction” context.In July 2021,the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council issued the“Opinions on Further Reducing the Burden of Homework and Off-Campus Training on Students in Compulsory Education”(hereinafter referred to as “Double Reduction”),proposing to“omprehensively reduce the total amount and length of homework,and reduce the excessive homework burden on students”.Under the background of “Double Reduction”,many primary and secondary schools have carried out practical exploration of homework improvement,but how to change the current situation of excessive quantity,low quality and alienated functions of students’ homework in some schools,effectively reduce the excessive homework burden of students and effectively play the function of homework education,is still the focus of current research.In this context,the author expects to gain an in-depth and comprehensive understanding of the current situation of after-school English homework assignments in junior middle school from the perspectives of teachers and students,to identify and analyze problems,and to propose suggestions for improvement.Therefore,this research intends to answer the following three questions:(1).What are the English after-school homework assignments that middle school teachers and students are expecting?(2).What is the current status of the actual after-school English homework assignments in junior middle schools?(3).How to address the gap between the English homework assignments expected by teachers and students and the actual English homework assignments?In this research,a total of 450 students and 9 English teachers from three classes in each of three grades in a middle school in Jingzhou City were chosen as the research participants.A combination of quantitative and qualitative research was used to collect and organize relevant data through questionnaires and interviews to conduct an in-depth investigation and analysis of the current situation of English after-school homework assignment in middle school.The SPSS as well as Excel were used to analyze the data from the students’ questionnaires,and the qualitative analysis method was used for the data from the interview with the teachers.The student questionnaire focused on the time taken by students to complete the homework,the form of homework,the selection of homework content,the difficulty of the homework and students’ expectations of the homework.The questionnaire was used to understand the current status of the after-school homework arrangement of English in junior middle school by comparing the expected homework assignment of students with the realistic homework assignment.The teacher interviews focused on the types of homework,the selection of homework content,the difficulty of the homework and the objectives of the homework.The results of the research indicate that the current after-school English homework assignments in junior middle schools still exist with the following problems: fixation of the types of English homework assignments;poorness of the quality of English homework assignments and lacking in well-designed content;homework assignments design pays less attention to students’ individual needs and neglects the cultivation of students’ interests;assignments are functionally homogeneous and lack purpose;lacking of appropriate motivation and support for homework improvement and implementation.In view of the above problems,this thesis combines constructivist and other theories with teaching practice to put forward several suggestions for the design and implementation of junior high school English after-school homework:(1)Choosing a rich variety of homework types and designing a variety of homework completion forms;teachers should try to choose a rich variety of homework types and design a variety of homework completion forms for students to choose from when designing homework;(2)Enhancing the integral assignment design of the unit to improve students’ self-efficacy.Teachers should design unit assignments and course assignments as a whole based on the unit objectives and taking into account individual differences,while grasping the content,difficulty and quantity of assignments so that students form positive emotional experiences and enhance their sense of self-efficacy.(3)Designing homework stratification scientifically to meet students’ individual needs;teachers should carry out effective stratification of homework in a scientific and reasonable manner to meet students’ individual needs.Factors that should be taken into account when stratifying include students’ cognitive structures,personality traits and receptiveness,rather than simply dividing students by test scores.(4)Diversifying the design of homework,being close to students’ lives,and paying attention to the cultivation of thinking quality.Teachers need to be close to students’ lives and design English assignments in a diversified way.Teachers can design assignments from the perspective of the multiple intelligence theory,based on students’ characteristics,from the five aspects of “listening,speaking,reading,writing and acting”,to cultivate students’ thinking quality.(5)Improving supporting policies and optimizing the homework management system.In order to make homework assignments better play their value,it is also necessary to optimize and improve the design and management system of assignments to provide impetus and support to promote the reform and development of homework assignments.