English Homework, Achievement, and Motivation

English Homework, Achievement, and Motivation IntroductionIn many countries of the world, homework accounts for a considerable proportion of study time (Cooper, 1989; Cooper, Lindsay, Nye, & Greathouse, 1998; Xu, 2005). At the same time, the effectiveness of homework has been discussed a lot, and studies investigating the relationship between homework and achievement have produced mixed results. Most previous research on homework has focused on homework time and analyzed the relationship between homework and achievement (Cooper, Robinson, & Patall, 2006). However, according to Corno (1996), homework is a complex process affected by a variety of factors. Previous research fails to reflect the complexity of the variables involved in homework assignment and homework completion, and the methodological pitfalls of many studies make it difficult to draw firm conclusions about the strength of the homework achievement relationship (Trautwein, 2007). Background StudiesThe few empirical studies to date that have included homework variables indicate beneficial effects of  homework. For instance, in their comprehensive study Trautwein, Niggli, Schnyder, and Lu¨dtke (2009) asked teachers about their homework attitudes and behaviors. Overall, they found a relatively low emphasis on drill and practice tasks and a high emphasis on motivation. Cooper (1989) distinguished between homework containing same-day tasks and homework including elements of practice and preparation and found that cognitively more demanding homework assignments were much more favorable and beneficial.In another study, using structural equation modeling, Keith and Cool (1992) found that giving a combination of practice and project homework was positively associated with a higher motivation, which in turn was positively related to achievement. Method The present study examines the effect of different types of homework on learners' language achievement and motivation. Six types of homework have been introduced naming practice, preparation, extensive, guided discovery, real world, and project homework. In this study 3 groups of intermediate level students were chosen from ILI in Babolsar each group containing 17 adult female learners. The first group had only practice homework (the ILI workbook), the second group received preparation homework and the third group had to do extensive homework. The treatment took a whole term (20 sessions) and the ILI final exam scores in addition to an oral exam were used to measure the students' achievement. A questionnaire was also employed which consisted of close and open ended questions. Furthermore, 12 learners (4 learners of each group) participated in a semi-structured interview in Farsi at the end of the term.Conclusion / Discussion The results of the final and oral exam were analyzed using SPSS and the qualitative data of the questionnaire and the interview have been examined with N-VIVO (8).The 2nd and 3rd groups outperformed in both final and oral exams. The group with extensive homework outperformed the other two in oral exam. And the group with extensive homework had the highest level of motivation while preparation homework group was next.