A Survey Of The Current Situation Of English Homework In Senior High Schools

With the rapid implementation of quality education and new curriculum standard in Tianjin, an increasingly large number of scholars and educators pay more attention to homework, which has been regarded as an important component of English teaching and learning. However, how the curriculum reform impacts on teachers’ and students’ view and their practices about English homework is still unknown at present. Therefore, the author carries out a study on the current situation of English homework implementation in senior high schools so as to find out the influences and effects of homework on English teaching and learning.The survey attempts to investigate and analyze the belief, practical implementation and expectations for English homework from the perspective of teachers and students, and tries to look for the effectiveness of homework assignment and assessment in order to give full role’s play to English homework in senior high schools.The present study mainly adopts the questionnaire and interview method. The theoretical framework of the study, based on the theory of Constructivism and the Zone of Proximal Development, comes into existence with the help of collecting, analyzing and comparing the related studies at home and abroad. The questionnaire of the study consists of a teacher questionnaire and a student questionnaire. The subjects, including31teachers and472students of Grade10and11, are from Number25, Number102, Number7and Number14senior high schools in Tianjin. Both teachers and students are required to complete the questionnaires respectively, and some of them are invited for an interview with the teaching observation carried out at the same time.The data-analysis of study mainly includes three dimensions:(1) The belief in homework (the importance and purpose, the positive and negative impacts of homework);(2) The practical implementation of homework (the quantity, difficulty, content, form, and assessment of homework);(3) the expectations for homework.The major findings of the study are:(1) The majority of teachers and students hold positive beliefs in the importance and significance of English homework at present, particularly the maintenance function of homework, but they neglected the magnitude of the development and adjustment function of homework to some extent.(2) Both teachers and students are able to reach an agreement on the quantity and difficult degree of homework, while the main different opinions focus on the content, form and assessment of present English homework.(3) Homework whose quantity and difficulty degree is appropriate, whose content and form is various as well as optional, and whose assessment is humanized can make it possible to arouse students’interest basically, promote their comprehensive abilities of English learning gradually, and also assist teachers to reconsider their teaching activities effectively in the long term. At last, the author puts forward some implications for teachers and students, hoping to improve the effectiveness of English homework practice and to enrich further research on English homework in senior high schools as well.