profile 1.p65


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KINDS OF MATERIALS
TO USE AS HOMEWORK

Martha Liliana Rincón ArgüelloMartha Liliana Rincón ArgüelloMartha Liliana Rincón ArgüelloMartha Liliana Rincón ArgüelloMartha Liliana Rincón Argüello

As our environment is basicallymonolingual, there is an absenceof  an adequate linguistic context,
except for some music in English, cable TV
or internet. In order to reinforce what
students learn in English class, teachers try
to assign extraclass exercises in order to
complement students’  learning, but these
exercises or homework must be attractive
and interesting for them. It is clear that the
kind of material used as homework is
important to motivating students to do it.

IntrIntrIntrIntrIntroductionoductionoductionoductionoduction

Based on the students’ environment, the
aim of this research was to find out what
kind of homework  students like to do, taking
into account their materials and activities
preferences, because as Paulu (1995) says,
the value of homework extends beyond the
school and it can help children to develop
wholesome habits and attitudes. At the same
time, homework allows  the teacher to see
students’ progress and weaknesses
(Shockley: 1968); this constitutes a great
help to him in planning new activities or
methods in English  teaching.

Looking at some materials investigations
(such as Wright: 1987 and Swales: 1980) it
could be noted that most of them were
related to materials activities in the English
class. Meanwhile investigations like Bread

and Candlin’s (1987) help  teachers to
choose homework materials based on aspects
like the aim of the material content, skills
development, learners’ needs and interests
and materials level according to the students
knowledge. On the other hand, McDonough
and Shaw (1993) mention some important
aspects in choosing materials for students
such as the learners’ age and interests, their
personality, their academic and educational
level, the role of English in the school, the
resources available, the  socio-cultural
environment and the teacher status and
training. All these aspects, which are
important when the teacher wants to choose
English class material, help him to make
decisions at the time of choosing homework
materials.

PrPrPrPrProcedureocedureocedureocedureocedure

The first step to follow in the research
was to choose some methods  to help
develop the investigation. The first was a
questionnaire which had some  items or
statements with a range of possibilities to
choose from related to homework activities
and materials; it was applied at the beginning
of the investigation and again at the end.
According to the initial results, the
homework began to be assigned by the
teacher and each student began to keep a
diar y  in which he/she wrote opinions,



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feelings, reactions, obser vations and
reflections about homework. This was the
second method of data collection. The third
method was teacher observation in which
she observed students’ reaction to different
kinds of homework material, such as
gestures of approval and disapproval,
comments and questions. This homework
material included activities like  filling in
crosswords,  writing compositions and
writing and answers based on a specific topic.
Some of these activities were accompanied
by pictures that in some cases helped
students to do the homework more easily.

Results analysisResults analysisResults analysisResults analysisResults analysis

The first results were obtained from the
questionnaire which was the basis for finding
out students’ preferences in activities and
materials so as to assign the homework; the
results showed a great preference for
crossword puzzles and materials with
pictures.

The students showed great cooperation
with the analysis of their diaries, writing
positive commentaries on homework in
which they had to do crosswords, sometimes
with  pictures; at the same time homework
involving filling in gaps based on a topic
made students feel bored and sometimes they
did them mechanically without thinking of
the sense of what they are  doing. Finally,
students wrote about their difficulties and fear
of writing in English due to their English level
being basic.

On the other hand, the  teacher
observation demonstrated that homework
given by the teacher, such  as photocopies,

were more attractive for students than
homework elaborated on paper or in a
notebook. Students also reacted positively
to homework with pictures in which they
could understand a concept graphically.
They found those tasks interesting and
stimulating. At the same time material with
crosswords aroused students’ curiosity and
they were a challenge for them to solve.
Students were scared of writing but those
who did it showed and proved to themselves
that they could express their ideas by writing
in English.

As regards  the final questionnaire, that
was applied to the sample (26 students),
and in which there were three additional
questions with respect to the first
questionnaire, these were the results:

• Students think that English homework
helps them to review and practice  class
topics.

• Students do not do English homework
when they do not understand it and when
it is too long.

• There was an increase in the
percentage of students doing homework
activities  like puzzles  (from 36%  to
46%) and crosswords (from 30% to 35%).

• Assigned homework had helped
students to improve their English
knowledge.

• Students liked homework with
pictures and which could be done quickly.

DiscussionDiscussionDiscussionDiscussionDiscussion

The results obtained from the data
collected clearly showed important aspects



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for choosing activities and materials for
homework; for example, they showed a great
student preference for materials with pictures
and with quick activities. At the same time,
homework has to be enjoyable and easy to
understand for them; moreover, it has to test
their creativeness. On the other hand, and
according to the English level of students,
homework could be assigned to make them
express their own ideas and feelings; this
aspect is special for them because they feel
important in the English class and it motivates
them to value and practice the English
language outside of class.

ConclusionsConclusionsConclusionsConclusionsConclusions

To summarise, the investigation has
suggested the kind of activities and materials
to use as homework and how to choose them
in order to motivate students to do it and so
practice and reinforce what they are learning
in class. Based on this, it can be concluded
that students work and enjoy homework
materials that generate curiosity. On the
other hand, students prefer homework
materials with puzzles and crosswords due
to their speed and because they help them
to use their ingenuity.

Another important conclusion of the study
is that pictures in homework material make

it more attractive to students, compared to
material without them, because they help
students to understand and practice concepts
learned in class. Finally, it can be said that
homework material varies according to the
age of the learners, their interests, and their
environmental resources; for this reason, this
research only tries to show one option  to
motivate students to practice and reinforce
English language outside of class by using
homework.

ReferencesReferencesReferencesReferencesReferences

Bread and Candlin. (1987). Which materials?
In Nunan, D. Language  Teaching
Methodology.  Phoenix:  ELT. (1995)

McDough J. and Shaw C. (1993). Materials
and Methods in ELT. A Teachers’ Guide.
Blackwell Publishers

Paulu, N. (1995)
h t t p : / / w w w. k i d s o u rc e . c o m / k i d s o u rc e /
content/ homework.html.

Shockley R. J. (1968). Las tareas como medio
de enseñanza. Mexico D. F.: Editorial Hispano
Americana

Wright. T. (1987). Roles of Teachers and
Learners. Oxford: Oxford University Press.•