Homework and independent practice can be great teaching tools for English Language Learners if used appropriately. Effective homework/independent practice is work that builds on a skill or concept that the students have already been exposed to on more than one occasion. It is important that the students are not expected to do something independently that they were just taught. This can cause frustration, anxiety, and confusion. If a student is expected to complete an assignment, it should address a skill the student has shown some amount of proficiency in. The student should be able to complete the homework with very minimal support from anyone else.
Homework can be given across all content areas and can address a variety of skills. Teachers should assign homework with a familiar structure to class work that the student has previously done, or be prepared to model the expectations of the assignment. It should not be assumed that all students could comprehend written directions for any assignment. The more clear expectations are, the more accessible and effective the homework/independent practice will be to the student. Homework should be something the student feels successful with. That being said, it is important the the homework assigned is differentiated to meet the needs of the students in the classroom. It is a rare occasion when every student should be sent home with the same assignment.
Homework objectives should align with the learning and language objective that the assignment is an extension of. Students should have a clear understanding of what the intended learning are and what language skills they should use. Often, the intended learning will just be the practice of a skill they have been using in class. In particular, English Language Learners should be aware of what language functions they are using and what vocabulary is important to the assignment.
It is important to provide students with adequate and timely feedback on their homework/independent practice. Students are generally more motivated to do well when feedback is given. They also benefit from seeing where they were meeting the objectives and where they made mistakes. This allows them to continue in the right direction instead of being unaware of their misunderstandings. Teachers also benefit from providing feedback, as it can be used as an informal assessment tool.
Different forms of technology can also be incorporated into homework and independent practice. Many teachers have online blogs that provide outlines of different assignments and more detailed instructions or hints, and links to other helpful tools. There are also many websites that teachers and students can link where students can go to complete different academic activities. The teachers can then log on and see what the students were able to do independently. Different technology is often highly motivating for students as it provides a different way to accomplish tasks.
Lauren- I definitely agree with you that homework should be reinforcing and practicing a skill that the students have already been taught. I like how you say that if this is not the case, it can cause "frustration, anxiety, and confusion," as this is often times how students truly feel when they aren't successful. I also like how you say that students should be able to be totally successful with homework, as it should be something they are confident with.
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