More homework and less play makes better ESL pupils?

Abstract

Homework has become an important part of pupils’ and teachers’ everyday lives in the Malaysian context. As pupils continue to display poor proficiency in English Language, completing homework has become an important after-school activity. Hence the aim of the study is to identify the types of homework assigned by English teachers and to examine the time spent in completing them. A total of 346 pupils from Year Four and Year Five (ages 10-11) and 14 fourteen teachers participated in this study. The mixed-method approach included a survey and an interview to measure the participants’ views on the types of homework and time spent in completing them. The findings indicate that essay writing, reading and copying texts were the most common homework assigned whereas projects were the least. Also, Year Four and Year Five pupils spent approximately 39.2 minutes and 47.2 minutes respectively each day completing their homework. The interview data revealed that the teachers preferred to assign drill-based exercises and avoided projects due to time constraints. It is recommended that teachers place more importance on project-based assignments, and less on drills which promote rote learning.