Job Discussion Forums

[gaijinalways]

I was surprised by comments a coworker made yesterday, he assigns no homework in classes at this one university. One 'reason' he offered was time constraints (we're both part-timers), but he also stated that he only gave homework in other classes (at other universities) where the homework was related directly to something to be produced in class (presentation, report).

I, on the other hand, see homework acting as;

review

preparation for the next class (i.e. prereading a text we will go over next week, if done, speeds up student comprehension where we can really discuss it if some of the students are weak readers)

way of providing more grades to average (I feel class time observations are limited, especially with most classes having 24-40 students, though I do also grade classwork periodically)

gives additional practice (most of us realize that class time is not enough to 'really' learn what we need to use a language)

But what about you, how much homework do you give, if any, what types, and how often (I tend to give more earlier in the semester, trying to encourage students to come to class as if they do the homework, the classwork is fairly easy)?

[Glenski]

The amount and type of homework I give depends on the course. I DO give homework to every course, and almost every day.

super low level (bekka course): small essays or fill in the blanks prints

TOEIC prep course: Exercises from the listening textbook, plus a weekly journal of what they are studying for listening and reading improvement.

Communicative English course: usually short essay topics (less than half a page)

Writing course: sporadic HW; sometimes pieces of their papers, sometimes fill in the blanks prints or short written assignments

[saint57]

My students always have some sort of project on the go, but I never assign them extra readings or questions based on classwork. I almost feel like I spend too much time with them each week. 75 minutes a day is more than enough to cover the material. I let the math, science, and English teachers give the homework.

[dmb]

I'm the opposite. Mainly business students, I have only 90 minutues a week with them. They get given loads of self study, links, etc. They decide what they have time for. I'm all for for self-autonomous learning. That way they can't blame you

[Sweetsee]

I assign homework to students interested in learning English. So, my answer is none.
Enjoy,
s

[Jetgirly]

I'm student-teaching in a public school and we don't give the ESL students any homework in their ESL classes. They have enough of a struggle trying to do their regular schoolwork in English. Most ESL students get a "tutorial" every other day, where they work in a small group to complete the homework from their regular classes. With me on the ESL team there are often more teachers (and aides) than students in the tutorials!

[saint57]