Chapter I Introduction
1.1Research Background
School homework is typically defined as 'any task assigned to students by schoolteachers that are meant to be carried out during non-school hours' (Cooper 1989，2001).Then what is the purpose of homework? And has the homework assigned tostudents performed its function and attained its purpose? General, for many years, theeducators have held that homework can help students to develop a good studying habit,and promote the individual development. It is of great importance for students toconsolidate and expand their knowledge, to cultivate student's learning ability andimprove learning skills. For teachers of English，it is believed that to learn the languagewell homework is absolutely necessary becausethat will ensure the students to havecommand of English vocabulary and grammar knowledge and skills for the purpose ofpassing various kind of examinations throughout their secondary education years.However, the function of homework has been changing since the reform of theeducation and curriculum for nearly the last two decades. The educators and teachersare reconsidering the function of homework under the new framework of educationreform. And they are beginning to realize that the present situation of English teachingincluding the homework assignment has to be changed as it does not meet the need ofstudents nor attain the purpose of students’ healthy development in this new area.
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1.2 Rationale
The research was made under the guidance of several related theories, mainly thetheories of the zone of proximal development, individualized theory, mastery learning,multiple intelligences, and humanistic psychology, which provide the theoretical basisfor the current education reform in present situation in this era. In response to thedemand of this rapidly developing society, the National English Curriculum Standardfor Middle School stipulated by China Educational Ministry (2012) provides all theschools in China with the English teaching principles and specifies the requirements inevery aspect in present middle schools.English as a foreign language, like other school subjects, has to meet thechallenges from the current demand of all-round qualified people. English teachingshould be changed to a stratified or diversified way according to the students’ individualcharacters and needs. So there is a great demand for designing stratified and diversifiedcourses and teaching including customized or tailored homework assignment to meetthe teaching situation in middle schools. The tailored homework design is based onstratified teaching from different perspectives. Through research articles published since1999, the domestic scholars, most of scholars about the stratified and diversifiedteaching and tailored homework design theory point of view is consistent, some of thistheory, the theory of multiple intelligences, the mastery learning theory, the zone ofproximal development theory, and the theory of teaching optimization.Most of the domestic scholars think, homework design theory is developed fromthe theoretical basis of pedagogy, psychology, and corresponding subject. The authorthinks that, from the classical theory of philosophy and management, it can be foundnew theoretical basis, and opening up new research perspectives, such as the study oftailored homework management.
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Chapter II Literature Review
2.1Definition of Homework
Homework, or homework assignment, refers to tasks assigned to students bytheir teachers to be completed outside the class. Common homework assignmentsmay include a quantity or period of reading to be performed, writing or typing to becompleted, problems to be solved, a school project to be built (such as a diorama ordisplay), or other skills to be practiced. Tailored homework, which is also termed ascustomized homework, is a kind of homework that is designed and assigned to thestudents in the same class according to their differences in their learning levels,abilities and needs, in order to attain the final teaching goals. What is emphasized isthat education should allow individual students to develop in the way that is mostsuitable for them. In tailored homework students are divided into several differentlevels according to their studying achievementsto carry out design, assignment,tutoring, and finally develop their learning interest in Englishand improve theirlearning outcomes.
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2.2 Related Theories
The idea of designing tailored homework for the students who differ in manyaspects in learning is derived from the basic educational concept that is advocated bydifferent scholars and educators both home and abroad. The following theories arereviewed to support the design and practice to be done in this research. The zone of proximal development is one of the most important concepts ofsocio cultural perspective (Vygotsky, 1978.). The zone of proximal development is thearea between the child’s current development level 'as determined by independentproblem solving'（ Vygotsky,1978. Cited from Amy Chak, 2002） and level ofdevelopment that child could achieve 'through adult guidance or in collaboration withmore capable peers（'Vygotsky,1978. Cited from Chak, 2002）. It describes the properlevel children could achieve. The designer of tailored homework is fully consideringthe studying level of each student, to give home work according to student’s level, andset a goal that students can achieve.
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Chapter III Methodology ...... 13
3.1 Research Design....... 13
3.2 Research procedures ..... 17
3.3 Homework design .... 20
Chapter IV Data Analysis and Discussion ....... 23
4.1 Results of the pre-test.... 23
4.2 Classification of the students ....... 24
4.3Pre-questionnaire survey..... 25
4.4Result of post-test...... 30
4.5Result from observation ...... 33
4.6Result from interview..... 35
4.7Result from post-questionnaire survey.... 36
4.8Discussion ....... 42
Chapter V Conclusion ...... 46
5.1 Major findings..... 46
5.2Implications ........ 47
5.3 Limitations ..... 48
5.4 Suggestions for future researches...... 48
Chapter IV Data Analysis and Discussion
The research was implemented in accordance with the design. It began inSeptember, 2013, and finished in January, 2014.The homework design was to be donein two different ways and assignments made in two classes respectively in theexperiment. The data from three questionnaire, two tests and one interview werecollected and treated statistically for the discussion presented in this chapter. Studentsin experimental class had increased their interests in English, they all think tailoredhomework is a good way to learn English. The students in experimental class couldnot only master the basic English grammatical points, but they could also read andwrite nearly every English words in each unit and make some brief summary of eachunit. In addition, students from experimental class could use what they have learnt tomake sentences and communicate with each other in English.
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Conclusion
This research studies the effect on the application and practice of tailored Englishhomework in Junior high school. The result shows it is good for students to improvetheir interest in learning English, consolidate the basic knowledge; the effectiveness oftailored homework assignment has played a positive role in promoting students Englishstudying.By dividing into different groups, the students were more clearly about theircurrent level, and they could place themselves in a group which is closed to theirEnglish level and target, thus students became more motivate and made constant effortsto achieve the study goals, continuously surpassed themselves and another.We can seefrom the data analysis for the questionnaire and the two tests, the findings of theresearch are positive, students’ motivation and learning interest in the experimental classhas increased. The grades have improved.
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Reference (omitted)