Advantages and Disadvantages of Homework

The term "homework" or "homework assignments" refers to a list of tasks students are expected to do outside the classroom by their teachers. Required reading, writing or typing tasks, mathematical problems to solve, content to be examined before an assessment, or other activities to practise are examples of common homework assignments.

It needs to be clarified what homework's impacts are. In general, homework doesn't help young kids in their academic achievement. In particular, older kids who perform academically below average may benefit from homework. However, homework also makes kids and parents stressed out and limits how much time students may spend on other activities.

Purpose of Homework

The fundamental goals of giving homework to children frequently correspond with education in general. However, there are several reasons professors/teachers provide assignments, one of which is reinforcing concepts covered in class.

• Expanding knowledge to new circumstances
• Prepared for future classroom lectures
• Encouraging active learning among students
• Building study and time management abilities
• Promoting communication between parents and students.
• Boosting inter-class cooperation
• following district/school rules
• Illustrating an intensive school curriculum to others
• A class or student punishment

Perspectives on Homework

When it comes to homework, teachers frequently need clarification. They see kids' bad behaviour and unfavourable attitudes despite acknowledging the benefits.

A significant percentage of a teacher's time might be spent marking and providing helpful comments on homework, frequently after school hours. The homework assignments that include exam preparation, workbook exercises, completing unfinished classwork, memorization of vocabulary lists, and composition writing are among the complaints made by students that it is uninteresting or meaningless.

When this is the case, homework's negative impacts can be seen, most notably a lack of interest and a conception of homework as a punishment. Poorly handled homework also has the unfavourable effect of leaving students with little free time and widening the achievement gap.

These issues are frequently the root of avoidance strategies like doing homework in class, working together and copying, or just avoiding the necessary duties. Conflict might develop between students, teachers, parents, and the institution.

Effective Homework

Specific rules should be followed for homework to be effective.

• Homework should be helpful in the eyes of the students. Both the overall objective of homework and the reason for each specific activity should be explained by teachers.
• Tasks should be diverse, entertaining, and relevant.
• Homework assignments should follow good classroom practice. Tasks should be both manageable and attainable.
• Different ability groups may be given different assignments. Individual learning preferences should be considered.
  
• Although homework is hardly coordinated throughout the curriculum but must at least be included in a larger work plan and taken into account when preparing lessons.
• Encouraging students to submit suggestions for homework and create their activities can boost student engagement and motivation. Additionally, the teacher needs to know the students' preferences, home comforts, and time limits. This information may be obtained with a short questionnaire.
• While homework should enhance classroom material, it should not be a repetition. Tasks more in line with language usage in everyday life are suitable since the home is the outer world.

Types of Homework

There are several groups of practical and effective homework.

1. Workbook-Based Tasks

A workbook or practice book, often containing memory exercises, brief reading passages, and an answer key, is a common component of published course materials. Most workbooks claim to be appropriate for both in-class and independent study, but they operate best when used at home to distinguish between what is completed in class and what is done at home. As a result, mechanical practice is moved outside class time, whereas this activity is exceptionally well adapted for peer- or self-checking and corrections.

2. Preparation Tasks

There are benefits to including students in the lesson plan and letting them know what is coming, yet teachers only sometimes require students to go through the following unit of a coursebook. Asking students to locate and bring relevant resources, such as images, magazine articles, and visuals, to the next topic is more motivating, especially when personalization or relevancy to the local context call for course materials to be adjusted.

3. Extensive Tasks

The usage of graded readers, which frequently feature additional audio content, including radio and TV broadcasts, podcasts, and songs, can be very beneficial. While assignments should occasionally be given as directed, students should also be encouraged to learn, listen to music, and watch movies for enjoyment. Students must talk about their experiences in class. In addition to extensive reading and listening, students may also work with dictionaries and keep a themed or personalized vocab notebook to compile valuable words.

4. Guided Discovery Tasks

There is an alternative to encouraging students to observe language and draw conclusions at home, whereas classroom instruction frequently involves generating language patterns and principles from students. This promotes information exchange and even peer teaching in the classroom.

5. Real-World Tasks

These include hearing, understanding, and using language in appropriate situations. There are many apparent examples, like reading publications, watching TV, going to the movies, and listening to music, with the choice of writing summaries and reports as follow-up tasks. Even in monolingual situations, observing shop and brand names when strolling along a retail street will disclose a lot of languages, and technology encourages discussion and friendship networks. Students must share their thoughts, and assembling them in a direct or indirect portfolio may be helpful, much like lengthy assignments.

6. Project Work

Having group or individual projects that last for a while is a fantastic idea. Projects might be based on themes from a coursebook, the neighbourhood, interests and hobbies, or they can be chosen randomly. Project work aims to produce significant work for which the learner can take responsibility after a course or term. Project work has to be led to where to locate resources and monitored regularly.

Advantages of Having Homework

We shall discuss the importance of homework assignments for students in this section.

1. Collaboration between professors and students is enhanced. Once examinations and assignments are finished, students can look for better answers, collaborate on ideas, and discuss the outcomes. Schools that provide homework have the chance to improve communication.
2. Assignments for homework bring families closer. Every time a youngster has trouble completing an assignment for their homework, they ask their parents or older siblings for assistance; as a result, families spend hours trying to find solutions.
3. Practice makes perfect. Students are given homework assignments, including writing assignments, to graduate from the University with more excellent credentials. Children who spend more time polishing their talents have a greater probability of enrolling in the University of their choice or landing a job in their chosen sector.
4. Students learn responsibility via assignment duties. When students know their given homework has a due date, they are forced to do it on time rather than put it off. They get the capacity to arrange their time for academic activities and strengthen their willpower as a result.
keep an eye on their kids' progress. Parents who know their kids have homework offer them an understanding of the educational process their kids are going through.

Disadvantages of Having Homework

Many individuals do not believe giving homework tasks after spending around 7 hours in class is brilliant.

1. Students are under stress due to homework. Young students who must spend countless hours completing complex tasks due after school have negative health repercussions from receiving homework assignments. Children who experience stress may experience health problems and develop a bad attitude toward learning.
2. Students' social lives are affected by their homework. Students with a lot of schoolwork to complete, even late at night, have less time to socialize, negatively affecting their communication ability and making them more withdrawn.
3. Students become bored. Children are under a lot of strain due to the abundance of homework obligations. Children become disinterested in school and less focused due to this pressure. Time must pass for students to turn to other activities.
4. Academic burnout is caused by homework. After a full school day, an assignment typically takes a lot of time. As a result, students are exhausted when they get home, and the vast amount of homework they must complete often leads to complete burnout.
5. They lose their power. Since kids ask their parents, siblings, or tutors for assistance, the homework assignment is ineffective for its original purpose. Students learn ideas better in the classroom than when they try to apply them at home, where they fight to fulfil due dates or win over their professors.