If you are one of those teachers, whose students roll their eyes whenever they hear the word "homework", this is a post for you.
Negative feelings towards homework are especially present in adult learners, because of the lack of time in their busy schedules. Doing boring repetitive tasks can also add to the problem. And when you think that your students don't have any contact with the subject matter outside your classroom, it can be really daunting even mentioning the homework to them. So, here's a solution.
I came across this homework choice board a while ago and I cannot for the life of me remember where I found it (but I have to make it clear that this wasn't my idea and if you know the author please let me know so I can credit them appropriately). I just loved it as soon as I saw it.
Notice that this homework choice board deals mostly with language acquisition, but it can be used for many other subjects, just tweak the instruction a bit.
Download it here:
The point of the homework choice board is to let the students decide what they would like to do for their homework, regardless of what's been done in class. This helps them stay in control of their learning process and they don't feel as obligated to do it because they are the ones who choose their activities. The best part of it for me is that all the activities include at least one part where production is needed, so you know that they are working on their active knowledge.
I usually give the board to my students at the beginning of the course and tell them to choose one activity to do per week. And, as always, there are those who love the idea and diligently do all their chosen tasks, but there are also those who can't be bothered. And that's fine. Your task is to give them the resources and try to be as motivating as possible, but at the end of the day - it's their own work that counts the most when it comes to language learning.
Have you ever used something like this? How do your students react to homework?
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