An Action Research On Hierarchical English Homework Assignments For High School Students

Much research has been done on the English teaching methods as well as the teaching models of each type of English lessons. However, far less research has been done in the field of senior high English homework assignment.Action research is a research initiated to solve an immediate problem, which is suitable for English teachers to solve their problems in the teaching practice. It includes the following steps:designing, action, data collecting, feedback and revising. In fact, it has been widely applied to many social fields by foreign scholars. By comparison, action research is under-explored in China. Besides, there are fewer theses about action research collected in CNKI. As an English teacher in senior high school, the author finds it worthwhile to do some action research on how to assign homework to students with different levels.The participants of this action research are53students in Class4, Senior2in Jiang Yin Nanjing High School where the author works. Also, Class5, Senior2is referred to as a control class. Based on the content of Module7in Advance with English and grounded by the theories of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development and Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences, the homework is designed at three levels in accordance with the students’ different language levels. A pre-test and post-test design was used to compare the results. Also questionnaires and interviews were used so as to get a good understanding of the current situation of the students’ English homework. The action research lasted8weeks. The students in the experimental class were found to have improved their English study, and have become more interested in English study. The result of the action research on hierarchical English homework assignments in senior high school proves practical and insightful despite the fact that there is some difficulty in carrying out the research. Never should we ignore the fact that it does help stimulate the students’ interest in English, improve their confidence and increase their English test scores. This study is aimed to put forward some practical ways to carry out hierarchical English homework assignment and suggestions for problems with the implementation of the hierarchical English teaching.