THE OVERVIEW OF HOMEWORK AND TECHNIQUES IN CORRECTING HOMEWORK APPLIED TO TEACHERS AND SECONDARY STUDENT

TABLE CONTENTS PART I BACKGROUND AND THE REASON FOR THE STUDY II AIM OF THE STUDY III SOURCE OF THE STUDY PART I WHY SET HOMEWORK? To extend and consolidate classroom practice To allow students to work at their own pace II IMPORTANT PRE - REQUISITES FOR HOMEWORK TASKS Validity Guidance Meaningfulness Motivation III CORRECTION TECHNIQUES Full teacher correction Student-student correction Indication but not correction 12 IV REMEDIAL WORK 14 V EFFECTS OF THE STUDY 15 PART 16 CONCLUSION 16 i PART I BACKGROUND AND THE REASON FOR THE STUDY The purpose for this study comes from my own year-to-year efforts to help students to homework in Grades 12 in Dong Son High School I feel that the majority of students are always lazy doing their homework At first sight, they not understand the purpose of homework and they are not patient enough to their homework Also, this part accounts for a small percentage in their whole remark As a result, students usually put this part aside and sometimes come to class without doing their homework On the other hand, teachers sometimes give students too much home work and not properly plan the homework tasks they give to students.The result is that students have to repeat tasks which they have already done at school and, of course, they not find it interesting to homework Further more, the way of correcting homework tasks is not always effective Owing to the necessities, I have made up my mind to choose “The overview of homework and techniques in correcting homework applied for teachers and secondary students ” as my topic of the study II AIM OF THE STUDY With the above mentioned reasons in mind, I have the specific aims as follows: To help teachers prepare homework tasks requisitely To encourage students to confidently cope with their homework tasks so as to complete the tasks at best they can To introduce some homework correction techniques III SOURCE OF THE STUDY The materials that have been greatly valuable to my study are from the following books: Breach,D.(2005) Exploring the Vietnamese Concept of a “Good Teacher” Teacher’s Edition 16:30 – 37 Corey, S.M (1953) Action Research to Improve School Practices New York: Teacher College Press Downs,M.(2000) Increasing student Motivation Teachers’ Edition 4: – 13 Kemmis,S and R.Mc Taggart.(1998).The Action Research Planner Victoria, Australian: Deakin University Press Underwood,M.(1987).Effective Class Management: A Practical Approach New York: Longman Ur,P.(1996) A Course in Language Teaching: Practice &Theory Cambridge University Press Besides, the examples to illustrate my thesis are from the latest homework tasks that I have prepared for my students PART I WHY SET HOMEWORK? Teachers should figure out the purpose of homework tasks carefully so that they can make effective homewok exercises To extend and consolidate classroom practice Commonly, students have no more than three hours of classes per week in the target language, divided into three forty five-minute sessions during the week In this case , two homework tasks per week involving half an hour of student time each will increase the time spent practise the language by 33% and increase the frequency of contact with the language from three to five occasions per week To allow students to work at their own pace Classroom tasks usually have to be done within a fixed time-limit set by the teacher, which may mean that faster students have to sit doing nothing while the slower students face the possibe embarrassment of not finishing the task in time Homework, however, can be done at a students' own pace, allowing more time for reflection and lessening the pressure to finish the task quickly II IMPORTANT PRE - REQUISITES FOR HOMEWORK TASKS The following apply largely to writing activities, as homework tasks will normally involve writing rather than the other skills Validity Tasks must be valid in terms of the aims for which the teacher is setting the homework For example, if a teacher wants students to practise the use of the passive , an active-to-passive transformation exercise would not be a valid way of practise this as, although it ensures that students know how to manipulate the verb forms, it can not conclusively show whether they understand its use Guidance At a simple level, this means clear instructions with examples of what the students are required to However, beyond that, it has implications for the amount of control that the format of the task has over what the students can produce The degree of guidance can be divided into four general categories: * Controlled: where the students is given little or no room for errors, for example in an exercise involving simply the choice of alternative words to fill each space in a given text where each of the chosen alternatives for each space is acceptable This level of guidance produces what is little more than a copying exercise * Cued: in which the language of the exercise is given, but students have to perform a task such as joining given sentences with given connectors * Guided: in which details of content are given but students have to formulate their own way of expressing that content For example: write a letter of application for a job saying: Paragraph 1:which job you are applying for where you saw the job advertised Paragraph 2: how old you are Paragraph 3: what qualifications you have where you worked before why you want the job when you are available for interview * Free: in which students are provided only with a subject for their writing, perhaps in the form of a composition title, and, ideally, a purpose for which they are writing Guidance has a number of functions and the relative weight of these varies according to the nature of the task and the level of the students - It means that students can produce extended piecies of written work from a very early stage and this has motivational value - It limits the students' scope for error As in the guided category of task above, if details of content are given, students are not tempted to express ideals which they are not capable of expressing in the target language - It can ensure that students use certain items of language or an appropriate range of items in their writing One of the drawbacks of the unguided composition is that students can write answers using only simplistic language which can deceptively appear better than an answer by a student who has attempted to use a wider range of language Meaningfulness Grammatical exercises should involve thought on the part of the student rather than a mechanical operation which can be carried out without necessarily understanding the language involved For example, instead of using the following transformation exercise: Exercise item Student answer a) I've broken a cup I haven't broken a cup b) I've seen John I haven't seen John the task would be made more interesting, and also made to require thought, by using the following instead: Exercise item Student answer a) Did you like the new John Fowles book? I haven't read it yet b) Did you like the new Fellini film? I haven't seen it yet The second exercise is more meaningful in the following ways: - The students response forms part of a realistic conversational couplet - It is related to the real world of films,books,etc - It requires understanding in seeing the semantic relationship between the noun book and the verb read Extended writing tasks can in turn be made more meaningful through contextualization In other words, the students are told not only to write but also why they are writing In each of the examples below, (a) is a typical composition topic and (b) is the same topic given both a context and an imaginary audience: (a) Describe somone you know (b) It is your first month at high school Write a paragraph describing a friend you have got to know there (a) What are the arguments for and against capital punishment? (b) You are a Prime Minister Write a short speech, which you are going to make in Parliament, either for or against capital punishment (a) When you arrived home last night you found that your home had been broken into Describe what you found (b) When you arrived home last night you found that your home had been broken into Write a report to the police about what you found Motivation Much of what has been written above in connection with meaningfulness applies here If an exercise requires thought, or if the relevance to the real world of a writing task can be seen by the students, then they are likely to find the homework more interesting and thus more motivating An awareness of the interests of the students is also important Teenagers are more likely to enjoy writing the sleeve notes for a new record by their favourite pop group than a letter of application for a job, even if they are more likely to the latter in real life This can also be an argument for setting alternative tasks to satisfy the heterogeneous interests within a group of students III CORRECTION TECHNIQUES Checking answers (to homework, as well as exercises done during the lesson) is a part of class often described by teachers and students as boring, slow and not all that engaging for anyone Naturally, we check these answers for a variety of reasons, such as for marking, for noting student progress, and in order to check if the students have understood the language point in question However, in my experience both as a teacher and as an observer, the time spent checking answers in class is often the part of the lesson where a lot of time is spent that is of no benefit to any of the learners In short, the teacher is checking answers just because it is expected that the teacher will check the answers I don’t want to get too deep into methodology here, but rather to dispel the notion that it is our duty as teachers to check every answer to every exercise the students have done, and also to offer a few suggestions as to how we can make this whole process more engaging and beneficial for the learners The first point to look at here is what the teacher wishes to achieve by reading and correcting the homework In brief, the answer is to find out what the students have or have not learnt and to communicate that to the students For the students, the effectiveness of this communication depends, in practice, largely on the system of correction used by the teacher Correction of homework can take a number of forms Full teacher correction By this is meant the full written correction of all mistakes by the teacher, after which the homework is handed back to the students This is by far the most correction technique used, but the question arises of exactly how much attention students give to their mistakes thus corrected and, even if they make a brief mental note of mistakes at all, how much learning takes place as a result of this effortless process of glancing over the home work Student-student correction Students check each other's homework in pairs, discussing it and making any necessary alterations before handing it to the teacher This requires them to think rto take place However, this method does have a disadvantage in that students may wrongly identify mistakes and , as a result, reinforce mistaken ideas Further, in many teaching situations, teachers are required to build up an assessment of individual students, part of which is usually based on homework, and such co-operation between students conflicts with this requirement 2.1 Let the learners compare their answers first Speaking from experience as a language learner, I always appreciated the opportunity to have a look at my partner’s answers to make sure I wasn’t completely off the mark (and so didn’t have to worry so much about making a fool of myself when called upon) By letting the students compare their answers, it means they’ll have more confidence in them (and so they will be more likely to volunteer them) and also gives them an opportunity for the learners to use English to explain why they chose answer A instead of B, etc This is, for me, the golden rule of checking answers in class: we want to get the learners to use English in their discussions / comparisons of their answers In general, students are often resistant to this at first, but if we can get them use to it then comparing answers later becomes an opportunity for the students to speak and use many of the language structures they’ve learned in class (e.g modals: “the answer must be A”) 2.2 Alternate between asking for volunteers and nominating students to give the answer We’ve all taught classes with students who dominate question / answer time This is a way to simply get more (if not all) of the students involved in the process of checking answers 2.3 Random Order Instead of just going through the questions linearly (i.e 1,2,3,4,5), elicit the answers to the questions randomly This will hopefully keep the students alert, and helps prevent them from simply anticipating what question they are likely to get 2.4 Let the students decide which questions to answer A variation of the above- nominate a student and let them decide which question to answer This is good for weaker students, as it allows them to answer questions that they are more confident they have correct 2.5 ‘Randomly’ call on students with correct answers For activities done in class, you can walk around the class, monitoring and offering help, then ‘randomly’ call on the students who have the correct answers This, again, is nice for giving students confidence in speaking and offering up their answers in class 2.6 Let students nominate each other Easy and fun to do- nominate the first student, then allow this student to choose who will answer the next question Variations of this include using a ball in class (the student throws the ball to the student they want to answer next) 2.7 Read out the questions randomly at normal speed After the learners have completed the exercises and compared their answers, you can give the learners a bit of authentic listening practice by reading out the questions randomly, but at your normal speed This makes the process at bit more different (naturally) for the learners, but if done regularly could help them become more aware of features of natural speech, such as weak forms, connected speech, etc 2.8 Hold off on confirming if an answer is correct or incorrect I think it’s a teacher’s instinct to tell a student if their answer is correct or incorrect straightaway, but discussion in class among the students can be generated by simply waiting a bit (thus giving the other students a chance to agree or disagree) or by nominating another student in the class and asking “do you agree?.” 2.9 Just give the students the answers When I first started teaching, I considered this to be the ‘lazy-way’ to check answers, but it’s what I most of the time now Simply give the students the answers on a handout or put it on the blackboard, and give the students time to check their answers and ask questions If there are no questions, then move on When I taught in a private language school (where marks were not given) I would often give the students the answers to the homework and set aside a few minutes at the start of class for questions or problems with the homework 2.10 Put the answers on the board in the wrong order When dealing with a relatively low number of multiple-choice questions (I certainly wouldn’t this with 50 answers)to check, you can simply put the answers (not the numbers of course) on the board in a random order and let the students work out in groups If you wanted to turn this into a full-speaking activity then you could also put a few functional phrases (such as modals “Number could be A” or even basic conditional structures “If is A, then must be C” etc )on the board for the students to use in their groups as they work out which answer goes with which question 2.11 Easy-First Game A Variation of number above Put the groups into teams The teams first compare their answers, then, in turn, each team gets to choose one of the questions to answer If they answer correctly, they get a point, if they answer incorrectly then the next team has an opportunity to answer 2.12 Snake game Put numbers of questions on board in rows and/or columns as shown below You could even put the numbers randomly if you want 910 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Again, the students work in teams This time, the goal of the game is for each team to have the longest ‘snake.’ So, for example, in the first round a team answers number correctly In the next round, if they answered number or 10 or correctly (the snake can only move space vertically or diagonally) then these two numbers would be connected This game is nice with competitive groups as a bit of strategy is involved in blocking the other teams movement, etc The problem, for me, is often keeping track of which snake belongs to which team Either different color markers or assigning a different shape (circle, square, triangle) to each team helps keep everything clear Again, encourage the students to use English when they’re talking in their groups 2.13 Using a copy of a listening tapescript If checking the answers to a listening task (or reading task), allow the students to read (or read while they listen again) and find / mark the passages in the listening where the answers are Following this, the students can compare their answers and, in theory, should be able to explain why the answer they’ve chosen is correct A variation of this is to give the students the correct answers and have the students use the text / tapescript to explain why the answers are correct 2.14 Exploit the vocabulary in the questions / answers Ask the students if they know a synonym or antonym of one of the words in the question / answer, or with higher level groups, ask if anyone can rephrase the question or answer in a different way but with the same meaning 2.15 Working with mistakes While part of the job does entail testing the students from time to time, most of the tasks we in the classroom are not meant to be tests As such, mistakes shouldn’t be viewed in a negative light, e.g that the learners have failed to master a particular language point, but instead are a natural part of the learning process So anytime we can get the learners to reflect on their mistakes and examine why they got a particular exercise wrong (e.g due to a difference between their L1 and English, or are they possibly confusing two different structures that are similar in appearance, such as “Used to” and “be used to”, etc), we’re not only helping them notice and internalize the language point in question and approach 11 similar tasks more effectively in the future, but also giving them the tools to become more reflective, autonomous, successful language learners Indication but not correction There are two approaches of this kind First, the mistakes can simply be underlined by the teacher, leaving the student to identify the nature of the mistake and to correct it Second, as well as underlining the mistake, the teacher can indicate why it is wrong by using a code such as the one given below If a marking code is used , then it is , of course, important that the students are made familiar with it beforehand and that they are able to understand the terminology used For obvious reasons, it is also advisable for teachers in the same school to use the same code Symbols for indicating errors: Symbol Error # Number or agreement ^ Some thing is missing [ ]Wo WW Word order Wrong word WF Wrong form T Tense [] This need to be reorganizied Symbol Error ? What you mean? S Spelling P VF Punctuation Verb form wrong Example # # She need two banana I went school yesterday ^ Where he [does ]Wo work? WW I didn't buy something WF His English is very well T I saw a nice sweater and I buy it The city grew in such a way that the old centre, outlined in a time that [ there is no automobiles and bus and now is different in dealing with so much traffic ] Example [I am glad as if I had sleep ]? S comfotable What is it P VF I didn't mention doing it 12 Ø Not necessary Ø An old and blind man NA Not appropriate in this Dear sir, context How are you? NA Once the homework has been returned to the students, they can be asked to correct their own work individually or in pairs, returning the corrected form to the teacher for a second check This system has the advantages of: - requiring the students to think about and learn from their mistakes - providing the teacher with important feedback on whether the mistakes were made symply as a result of a lapse or due to misunderstanding what had been taught - still allowing a teacher to evaluate and allot marks for each individual's work for assessment purpose The following is an example of this marking code put into practice: 10 Oxford Road, Cambridge 8th April Dear Anne, How is # Fred and the children? You know Anne, I've moved to a new flat, it's WW nice and friendly.There is a fantastic fireplace and the flat has plenty of place to WW my furniture Do you can VF guess where I've put my desk? In a corner between two windows because, as you know, I need sunligh S to work on my books Can you also gess S where I've put my armchair? Just in front of the fireplace Oh, I forgot There is a big wall just behind the door and I've put [ there ] Wo my bed and the wardrobe Well, I hpoe that you and your husband and that # beautiful children of yours could T come and know WW my flat one day It's a litle S one but there is enough place WW for me and my things Best wishes, Betty 13 It is necessary to distinct between mistakes and errors A mistake refers to slips of the tongue or lapses which may equally well be made by a native speaker or by a learner of a language and which can therefore readily be selfcorrected An error refers to incorrect language produced as a result of an imperfect competence in the language Trachers can make use of the marking code to deal with mistakes but not error, and they must use their knowledge of the students and the syllabus they have followed to decide which of these two categories applies In the case of an error, teachers have to correct in full themselves IV REMEDIAL WORK For the teacher, homework should confirm, or otherwise, the effectiveness of the teaching strategies used so that any necessary remedial teaching can be carried out The form that this takes will vary according to the importance of the misunderstanding in linguistic terms and to the number of students involved For errors made by a large proportion of the class, the teacher needs to use class time for considerable further practice Where smaller numbers are involved, directed remedial group work may be possible These "remedies" , however, can only seriously be applied to errors which have been made by enough students to warrant further class time being spent on them The majority of mistakes and errors usually apply to individuals, and time constraints not allow for considered action involving class time in each case These mistakes or errors, therefore, must be communicated to the students by other means, and it is in this area that the teacher must select the appropriate of the correction techniques outlined above V EFFECTS OF THE STUDY Over a year of teaching according to the previously given rules, I found that my students’ skill of doing homework has improved remarkably This study has been used in the school year 2017 – 2018 in classes: 12A3, 12A4, and the results are the followings: 1.Before the study: Class Results 14 Good 12A4 30/46 12A3 27/44 2.After the study: % 65,2 61,3 Class 12A4 12A3 Good 39/46 35/44 % 84,7 79,5 Bad 16/46 17/44 Results Bad 7/46 9/44 % 34,8 38,7 % 15,3 20,5 Together with this result, my students are not only confident to homework tasks but also able to get good marks in them They are no longer scared of homework Instead, they are eager to it because it makes their scores perfect 15 PART CONCLUSION This article has reviewed some practical ways to help teachers prepare homework tasks and teach students how to homework tasks perfectly It can be thought that the tips or strategies mentioned above are not always completely effective However, I have lately succeeded myself in using them for preparing homewok tasks I found that the attitude of students towards home work has changed They have eagerly tried to their best in doing homework tasks I hope that this article will prove useful to some of my readers Besides, this kind of skill is helpful for all students who have to homework every day of the week Most of the students follow the teacher’s instructions and know for sure what to I have found it less time-consuming and more labor-efficient from a practical point of view Above all, by doing homework perfectly they have chances to get high marks, which help them receive better results at the end of each term The measures I’ve given out are just from my own experiences during the process of teaching students in grade 12 I think that with the affection for our students and with the devotion to teaching, we – the teachers – will have more methods of teaching language, because our aim is to help our students become good learners Above here are only my little ideas, I am looking forward to receiving your comments so that I may more and more improve my teaching in English XÁC NHẬN CỦA THỦ TRƯỞNG ĐƠN VỊ Thanh Hố, ngày 15 tháng năm 2018 Tơi xin cam đoan SKKN viết, khơng chép nội dung người khác 16 Hoàng Thị Thương Huyền 17 ... more, the way of correcting homework tasks is not always effective Owing to the necessities, I have made up my mind to choose ? ?The overview of homework and techniques in correcting homework applied. .. around the class, monitoring and offering help, then ‘randomly’ call on the students who have the correct answers This, again, is nice for giving students confidence in speaking and offering up their... for which they are writing Guidance has a number of functions and the relative weight of these varies according to the nature of the task and the level of the students - It means that students