A Study On The Problems And Countermeasures Of English Homework Design In Junior High Schools

Homework is often regarded as an extension and supplement of classroom teaching in junior high school.Meanwhile,it is one significant way for English teachers to gain an understanding of the implementation of teaching aims and students' mastery of knowledge and language skills.In addition,homework design is an indispensable component of English teaching.With the development of quality education and implementation of the New Curriculum Reform,more and more researches about homework design have been carried out.Compared with the studies on classroom teaching,the studies on English homework design is still inadequate.Therefore,it is of necessity and significance to study the status quo of the English homework design of junior high school and explore a scientific as well as reasonable homework under the English Curriculum Standards.Based on some related theories such as Multiple Intelligences Theory and Zone of Proximal Development Theory,this paper intends to make a deep investigation of the present situation of the English homework design in junior high school by means of questionnaire and interview.Two research questions are put forward:(1)What is the status quo of English homework design in junior high school?(2)How should junior English teachers design homework to meet the requirements in the English Curriculum Standards?In this study,200 students and 30 English teachers are chosen from two junior high schools as the participants,one is a key public junior high school,the other is an ordinary private junior high school.Both qualitative and quantitative research methods are employed.In addition,in this study,12 students and 4 English teachers are chosen at random from the participants and they take part in the interview about their ideas and perceptions of English homework design in junior high school under the background of the New Curriculum.The major research findings are as follows:Through the questionnaires and interviews,some existing problems and the causes in the English homework design of junior high school are found out.The amount of homework is moderate in most cases but the homework type and design are unitary and lack variety and the content is often tedious and uninteresting;the difficulty level of homework is unbalanced,either too simple or too challenging;needs of students andsociety haven't been taken into full consideration and students lack interest in the present homework;the purpose of homework is target-directed and short-sighted with only one single aim,that is to get high English scores instead of cultivating students' comprehensive language performance.The author puts forward some suggestions for designing scientific and reasonable English homework in junior high school under the New Curriculum.Firstly,designing homework closes to students' life;secondly,designing a variety of homework type to stimulate students' learning interest;thirdly,designing practical homework to improve students' language performance;fourthly,designing homework to cater to students of different levels.In a conclusion,it is of utmost significance to investigate and research on the English homework design in junior high school from theory and practice.A scientific as well as reasonable English homework can assist with the formation of students' right learning concepts and positive attitude towards life.