English Language Teachers' Homework Practices In Hong Kong

Abstract

Research in English language education has focused on learning and teaching in the classroom ‘and how the classroom, together with teachers, learners, and learning resources can provide the necessary conditions for learning to occur’ (Nunan & Richards, 2015, p. xi). While understanding what happens in the classroom is important, it is not the only environment students are learning. This has begun to be noticed by researchers, who have shown an interest in students’ learning outside of the classroom (Nunan & Richards, 2015). To date, research has presented the learners’ out-of-class learning as distinct from their in-class learning, with a focus on self-directed and autonomous learning (Benson, 2001). This focus neglects a key part of students’ out-of-class educational experience, homework. This leaves a gap in our knowledge (Rudman, 2014). Homework is the only component of the school curriculum that is experienced by teachers, students and parents alike. It is unique in that it bridges both in-class and out-of-class learning. Teachers are seen to have the main role in the practice of homework (Epstein & Van Voorhis, 2001). Teachers choose the topic and assignments, decide whether to set homework, and are chiefly responsible for the homework routines. In spite of this, the homework practices of teachers are under-researched (Cooper, 2007; Rudman 2014) and are almost non-existent in English language education (Moorhouse, 2017; Moorhouse, 2018). The majority of research on homework that has been done has looked at teachers’ homework practices as a whole and not individual subjects such as the English language (Rudman, 2014). Knowing teachers’ current practices will allow for better support of teachers as well as better informed school-based homework policies. This exploratory study aims to shed light on English language teachers’ homework practices by answering the following question: What are the homework practices of English language teachers in Hong Kong primary schools?