What to do with students who keep ignoring the homework?

‘I forgot to do it’. ‘I had no time, sorry. Too busy’. ‘Homework? Did we have any? Oh my…’. Does it sound familiar? First comes denial: ‘No, there must be something wrong. My students can’t ignore homework’. When the situation is repeated a couple of times, it’s time for the next stage — anger. ‘Not again! Don’t you realize how important it is?!’. Then comes bargaining. Here we, teachers, start rewarding students with stickers, develop a whole system of incentives, and bonuses and try to negotiate the homework amount and deadlines. Nothing works, though. The next stage, depression, comes along. ‘I’m such a bad teacher and, probably, not lucky with students as well. They never do any homework, so they’ll never be able to speak proper English’. Is there anything we can do? Let’s try to find out in today’s article.

Have a talk

Sometimes our students, especially teens and adults, might not realize the importance of homework. However, they should see the usefulness of it. Here are a few things worth mentioning. First, homework is a chance to practice the language more often. No matter how often a student comes to class, doing homework doubles their exposure to English. The more encounters with the language they have, the faster they progress. Second, revision matters. Students tend to retain vocabulary better if they meet the same words and constructions repeatedly. Workbooks and textbook-related practice can facilitate this process. Third, it takes two to tango. Even with the best teacher and the most cutting-edge materials and equipment students will still have to contribute and make an effort. Homework is the easiest way to do that.

Personalize it

It’s always great if we know something about our students. Tailor-made homework can encourage learners a great deal. We can customize almost everything: content, length, way of delivery, level of difficulty, and whatnot. Of course, it’s time-consuming for a teacher, but why don’t you give it a try when a situation is critical? Some basic ideas on how to make students’ life easier are the following:

• Give a choice or offer students a minimum and maximum amount of work. Say that exercises 1-3 are obligatory as you will start the next lesson with a discussion on the topic. Exercises 4-6 are optional and can be emailed to you or even skipped.
• Don’t forget about a student’s life issues. If they are planning to go on a business trip, a podcast, Quizlet cards or an online exercise might work, while a workbook page might not. When a teenage student is getting ready for a school Math exam, watching a funny video or reading an Instagram* post on something they are hooked on can help them distract for a while. Well, if you still think that homework is a must, no matter what.
• Provide audio tracks and active links to videos. Most of us are addicted to technologies and we like these technologies fast. Most modern coursebooks have audios available as tracks or QR-codes. Sometimes students struggle with listening even more because they have to deal with old-fashioned CDs, have no tracks or experience technical difficulties. A track sent to WhatsApp or any other messenger significantly increases the chances of doing the task. Even better if you accompany that with a script. As for videos, it’s just the path of least resistance. It’s much more convenient if you just click on the link than if you have to copy and paste the name of the video and then select a proper one in the search results.
• If a shy student doesn’t talk much in class, send them a picture to describe or a question and ask to record an answer as a voice message. It literally takes no time but can be extremely beneficial. Works great with exam classes, by the way.

Make it authentic

Workbooks can fail because at times students say that they just repeat the content of the corresponding textbook. It’s boring and not very encouraging. A few authentic materials won’t hurt. First, it can give students a proper amount of challenge. Second, sometimes it’s just more exciting to work with ‘real language’. A short video from Ted-Ed, a page or two of Reader’s Digest, last 3 Instagram* posts of a favourite English-speaking blogger or an article from The Times  — choose what is related to the current topic and might spark learners’ interest.

Be ahead of the game

Giving homework to revisit things already done in class is a common practice. It can be discouraging at times and ignored as a result.  Why don’t we change it? It may well take learners by surprise and arouse their curiosity. And curious learners are effective learners, aren’t they? We almost never ask students to take a look at the following unit, not the previous one. A teacher can ask students to find and bring something relevant to the next topic. There might be photos or pictures, short videos, songs, blog posts or longer articles, whatever their research brings them. Alternatively, you can invite learners to watch a short video or read an article in advance. Attach a little vocabulary task and a couple of questions for discussion which you’ll start the next lesson with. This way students will be prepared as the context has already been set. Also, if you ask them to bring some materials, they will do the ‘personalizing’ part themselves by choosing something that is catchy or important for them. Does this count as homework? Absolutely. Is it likely to be done? Well…chances are high.

Leave them alone

After denial, anger, bargaining and depression comes acceptance. It’s here where we should just take the fact that doing homework is the responsibility of a student. Ideally, we should do our best to come up with some tasks which are authentic, personalized, doable, meaningful and interesting at the same time. However, learning a language sometimes requires patience and self-discipline. Those who have it will inevitably make better and faster progress. So, maybe, in some particular case, it is really more beneficial to leave a learner alone and make the most of your meetings in class.

What’s your take on homework? And what do you do with those who keep ignoring that?