ATTITUDES OF JUNIORS MAJORING IN ENGLISH TEACHING ABOUT

HOMEWORK SIGNIFICANCE AND ITS EFFECT ON ENGLISH

PROFICIENCY AT HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY 2

ABSTRACT

Homework holds significant educational value, particularly in language learning,

fostering practice and application of learned material, time management skills,
and academic performance improvement. However, student attitudes towards
homework vary widely, influencing their engagement and outcomes. This study
investigates the attitudes of third-year English teaching majors at Hanoi
Pedagogical University 2 towards the significance of English homework and its
impact on language proficiency. Through an online survey in Google Form with
51 participants, results reveal that students generally believe that homework is
important and recognize its role in enhancing vocabulary, grammar, and overall
language skills, especially writing and reading skills. The study suggests that
homework assignments are beneficial for language learning and gives some
recommendations to make homework more effective. However, the research is
limited to a specific group of students and relies on their self-reported data,
indicating the need for future studies to consider different groups and include
more detailed qualitative data.

Keywords: Homework, English teaching, English proficiency, student attitudes.

INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background and rationale for the study

Homework has been considered as an important component of the educational

process, particularly in language learning (Xu & Wu, 2013). It is necessary for
students to practice and apply what they have learned into a variety of contexts,
increase students’ learning immersion time to have a better retention of
information and improve their academic performances or scores. Besides, regular
assignments encourage students to establish a consistent study routine and
promote skills such as time management or self-study. There are, however,
scholars believing that homework can lead to excessive stress when assignments
are too demanding or wastes students’ time and energy because of tedious tasks.

Attitudes towards homework also vary significantly among students. Many

learners view homework as a valuable tool for fostering their academic skills, so
they appreciate and practice it as part of their daily routines. However, others see
homework as a source of stress and an obstacle to their personal time and
extracurricular activities, leading to negative feelings and behaviors towards
completing assignments.
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EFL learners all around the world are also assigned homework to enhance their
essential language skills and their exposure to English. Students are required to
interact with the language through English tasks including reading materials,
writing essays and practicing new vocabulary, which contributes to their
comprehension and their ability. Nevertheless, throughout the past century,
academic studies have primarily concentrated on classroom-based instruction and
"how the classroom, together with teachers, learners, and learning resources can
provide the necessary conditions for learning to occur." (Richards, 2015, p. 6)

To investigate the homework aspect, this study focuses on understanding English-

teaching-majored juniors' attitudes toward the necessity of doing English
homework and its impact on their English proficiency at Hanoi Pedagogical
University 2. The motivation for conducting this research is that these students
are feasible to become English educators, and their perspectives on homework
will likely influence their teaching practices. Furthermore, insights gained from
this study can help lecturers in the English faculty of Hanoi Pedagogical
University 2 refine their homework policies to better support their student
learning and proficiency development.

1.2. Aims and objectives of the study

The primary aim of this research is to investigate the attitudes of juniors majoring
in English teaching at Hanoi Pedagogical University 2 towards the significance of
homework and to assess how these attitudes correlate with their English
proficiency levels. Specifically, the study seeks to determine general opinions
towards doing homework, evaluate the effect of homework on English abilities,
analyze the correlation between these attitudes and actual proficiency and provide
recommendations for enhancing homework effectiveness. By examining students'
beliefs about the value and influence of homework, this research aims to offer
insights to improve the role of homework in fostering English proficiency.

1.3. Research questions

This study tries to find out the answers for following questions:

a. Is it significant for third-year students majoring in English language teaching to

do English homework?

b. Can English homework help these juniors improve their speaking, listening,
reading, writing, vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar?

1.4. Scope of the study

This research focuses on juniors majoring in English teaching at Hanoi

Pedagogical University 2. It explores their attitudes towards English homework
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and finds out its impact on their language proficiency. The study will collect data
through an online survey to capture students' perspectives. The scope is limited to
51 participants currently studying in their third year, which allows findings
relevant to the specific context of Hanoi Pedagogical University 2.

1.5. Significance of the study

Understanding the attitudes of English teaching juniors towards homework is

crucial for enhancing language learning outcomes. This study investigates how
students at Hanoi Pedagogical University 2 perceive homework's significance and
its impact on their English proficiency.

Firstly, it reveals that these students generally view homework positively,

recognizing its role in improving vocabulary, grammar, and overall language
skills. This aligns with educational theories emphasizing practice and
reinforcement in language acquisition.

Secondly, the study highlights practical implications for educators, suggesting

that well-designed homework tasks can enhance student engagement and
proficiency. Recommendations include integrating diverse assignments that
reinforce classroom learning and providing adequate support for effective
homework completion.

1.6. The structure of the research

This research includes 8 chapters: Introduction, literature review, methodology,

findings, discussion, conclusion, references and appendix.

The first part is the introduction. I present the background about the arguments of
the importance, attitudes, facts of not only homework in general but also English
homework in particular. Then I explain the reasons why I expect to conduct this
study. I also mention aims and objectives, so that two research questions are
raised. Afterwards, I limit the scope of this research in the specific context, the
quantity of participants or the aspect I study and express the significance of the
research for education.

The second part is literature review, in which I mention about two opposite
strands of approval and disapproval about doing homework, realize students’
attitudes about English homework and demonstrate perspectives of assignments
relating English in the specific context of Vietnam.

The third chapter is methodology including the context, participants, instruments

and steps when I collect data.

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The fourth one is results. This chapter reports the findings which investigate
students’ attitudes about the significance of doing English homework and the
judgements for its impaTact on their English abilities and skills. This stage draws
on data from online survey, which was conducted in the sixth semester (February,
2024).The results of this stage directly answer two research questions. There are 2
main parts presented and discussed: Opinions about the importance of doing
homework and the influence of English homework on developing students’
language proficiency.

The fifth is the discussion part. It includes my findings attached to my research

questions and the discussions with previous researches.

The sixth is a clusion. I show my key findings, then explain theoretical and
pedagogical implications. I finally present some limitations of this study.

Two final chapters are references and appendix respectively.

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Homework: Proponents and opponents

There are two orientations: the first one concentrates on the advantages of
homework and the other focuses on its disadvantages for education. With regard
to supporters, homework can be defined as tasks assigned to students outside of
regular class time to reinforce, practice, or extend their language skills and
knowledge. Many educators such as Bembenutty (2009), Kitsantas &
Zimmerman (2009) believed that homework contributed to the enhancement of
learning and academic achievement and to the development of academic skills
and responsibility. According to Xu (2010), homework was believed to have
beneficial effects such as helping students get better scores in tests, and
developing good study routines. Recently, Mohammad (2016) studied voices of
EFL teachers and students about benefits, functions, satisfaction, time, and
preference of homework throughout 283 EFL learners and 46 English teachers
selected from two famous and prestigious institutes in Iran. Results from the
semi-structured interview and questionnaire revealed that English homework
could help language learners understand their English lessons better, review the
learned materials and elements, use the learned materials and elements in
meaningful contexts, and have a regular plan for their English learning.

However, there are scholars assuming homework is a detrimental factor that

wastes students’ time, energy and health. In 2013, Galloway et al. emphasized
that students who did more hours of homework experienced greater behavioral
engagement in school but also more academic stress, physical health problems,
and lack of balance in their lives. Loveless (2014), with the same opinion,

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assumed that homework meant punishment imparted by teachers with long hours
of sitting still and wasting energy. Besides, Kackar et al. (2017) reported that
excessive homework could detract from students' time to engage in other
important activities such as extracurriculars, family time, and rest, leading to a
less balanced life.

Despite this extensive exploration, there are little or even no former researches
judging the significance of doing homework and its impact on students’ English
abilities, particularly in the context of junior English-teaching majors at Hanoi
Pedagogical University 2.

2.2. Student attitudes towards homework

Student attitudes towards homework are influenced by various factors, including

the difficulty of assignments, relevance to their studies, and feedback from
teachers. According to Trautwein et al. (2009), positive attitudes towards
homework were often linked to higher academic achievement, as students who
valued homework were more likely to complete assignments diligently and
benefit from the practice. Conversely, negative attitudes could lead to lower
engagement and diminished learning gains. Xu (2011) also explored homework
completion at the secondary school level, finding that homework completion
positively correlates with academic performance. Additionally, Epstein and Van
Voorhis (2012) conducted a meta-analysis affirming a positive correlation among
attitudes, homework and academic achievements, emphasizing there existed the
close connection.

Those researches on student attitudes towards homework and its impact mainly
focuses on academic performance with the contexts and Western educational
systems. However, there is a gap in understanding whether English homework is
necessary and has an impact on students abilities within the specific context and
participants of Vietnam.

2.3. English homework in Vietnamese educational settings

In Vietnam, the educational system places a strong emphasis on homework,

particularly in language learning. Nguyen (2014) highlighted efforts to integrate
English homework into the national curriculum and enhance teaching
methodologies. However, challenges such as limited resources and varied teacher
proficiency levels has still remained. In 2020, Tran et al. didn’t believe the
relationship between students’ time spent on homework or studying at home and
learning results.

To investigate in the Vietnamese studying context, this research is carried out at

the faculty of English in Hanoi pedagogical university 2 with two expectations.
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The first one is to survey and recognize the attitudes of third-year English
teaching students in the importance of doing English homework. The second one
is to find out the effect of English assignments or tasks on students’ abilities and
skills including vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar; speaking, listening, writing
and reading skills.

METHODOLOGY
3.1. Context

The study is conducted with third-year students majoring in English language

teaching in the Faculty of English at Hanoi pedagogical university 2. It is carried
out in the sixth semester when these students are following IELTS orientation in
their university courses.

3.2. Participants

At Hanoi pedagogical university 2, fifty-one juniors majoring in English teaching

in the Faculty of English participate in the investigation. They are from seven
classes (47A, 47B, 47C, 47D, 47E, 47G or 47H) and have a certain English
background knowledge. All were trained and received formulated marks in the
courses of Listening & Speaking 4 and Reading & Writing 4, which followed the
IELTS orientation. The marks were calculated with a logical formula among
progressed (A1), mid-term (A2) and final (A3) scores. These results followed the
grading scopes of being under 5.5, from 5.5 to 6.9, from 7.0 to 8.4 or 8.5 and
above, compatible to scoring level F, D, C, B or A at this university. In the sixth
semester, they are also taught in IELTS-oriented courses of Listening & Reading
6 and Speaking & Writing 6.

3.3. Research questions

a. Is it significant for third-year students majoring in English language teaching to

do English homework?

b. Can English homeworks help these juniors improve their speaking, listening,
reading, writing, vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar?

3.4. Instrument

Questionnaire

Two versions of Google-form survey are created with 14 questions for each. One
survey is written in Vietnamese and the other is in English. They are adopted
from the questionnaire in Mohammad Amiryousefi (2016) research. They has 5
parts:

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Part 1: Participants’ information

Part 2: Ideas about the importance of doing English homework

Part 3: Types of English homework

Part 4: The frequence and carefulness of doing homework

Part 5: Opinions about the influence of homework on developing English

proficiency

The questionnaire requires the participants to complete in 5 minutes and it

includes many types of questions. They are short answers, long answers, multiple
choices and Likert scales (See in Appendix 1). There is a present at the end of the
survey, which is considered as an appreciated present. That is a link of the IELTS
material collection.

3.5. Data collection steps

To gather quantitative data on students' perceptions of homework significance

and its impact on their English proficiency, firstly, suitable questions are sorted
out from the questionnaire of Mohammad Amiryousefi’s research. Then, the
questionnaire is given to three friends and reviewed by my lecturer in the
academic writing course. Its necessary changes are made based on the validation.
The final format is given to a group of 51 juniors majoring in English teaching,
who are the participants of the study. The participants from seven selected classes
are invited one-by-one through messages or direct conversations. Afterwards,
relevant information is collected and examined by myself. Besides, an excel file
is used to analyze with Likert-scale answers.

RESULTS
As can be seen from table 1, the participants with 51 juniors from seven classes.
They are in different levels based on their performance of doing English
proficiency test.

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A variety of juniors (94.1%) including males and females from seven classes
agree that English homeworks are necessary when studying at schools or
universities. They believe that English homework serves as a crucial tool for
reviewing materials (88.2%), understanding lessons better (78.4%), recognizing
their strengths and weaknesses while doing these assignments (58.8%), taking
their responsibility for their own learning (56.9%) and decreasing mistakes
(50%). However, there are few of participants assume that homework is a waste
of time and they are often under stress or have negative feelings while doing it.

The table 2 presents the mean (M) and standard deviation (SD) of students'
perceptions regarding the effectiveness of English homework on various aspects
of their language proficiency. These perceptions are measured on a scale where 1
indicates "strongly agree", 2 indicates "Agree", 3 indicates "disagree", and 4
indicates "No idea". The analysis focuses on understanding how juniors majoring
in English Teaching at Hanoi Pedagogical University 2 perceive the impact of
homework on their speaking, listening, reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar,
and pronunciation skills.

Generally homework is considered as beneficial for various aspects of their

language proficiency, particularly in Grammar, Vocabulary, Reading and Writing
skills. With skills, especially in Reading, the mean score of 1.55, which is close to
1 (strongly agree) and the relatively low standard deviation of 0.54 suggest that
there is a consensus among students regarding the positive impact of homework
on reading abilities. So does the writing skill with mean of 1.59 and standard
deviation of 0.50. Grammar and Vocabulary respectively is 1.54 and 1.58 in

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mean; 0.49 and 0.61 in standard deviation. However, speaking skills and
pronunciation are perceived as less impacted. The variability in students'
perceptions, as indicated by the standard deviations, suggests that the type and
quality of homework assignments play a crucial role in their effectiveness.
Students reveal that they often do writing (78.4%), listening-based and reading-
based assignments (74.5%) with at least 30 minutes for completing. 60.8 percent
of the answers shows they do all their tasks well and carefully. That is a positive
signal that juniors concern about their homework.

DISCUSSION

The findings of this study provide significant insights into the attitudes of juniors
majoring in English Teaching at Hanoi Pedagogical University 2 regarding the
significance of homework and its effect on English proficiency. The data gathered
the relationship between students' attitudes towards homework and their actual
language proficiency.

Attitudes towards Homework Significance

Overall, many juniors surveyed recognize the importance of homework in the

context of learning English, which is same to the ideas in the research Voices
from EFL teachers and learners of Amiryousefi, M. (2016) and other scholars. It
contributes to claim that doing homework, especially English assignments at
home can help students gain benefits in reviewing and solidating knowledge;
being responsibility and understanding not only their strengths but also their
weakness in lessons. Although there are few students supposing they are stressful
while doing homework, I recognise they are not serious when doing this survey.
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The evidence is based on their short and superficial answers such as “j”, “tired”,
“nothing”.

Effectiveness on English Proficiency

Regarding the effect of homework on English proficiency, students generally

agree that regular homework assignments contribute positively to their language
skills. They report improvements most in areas such as vocabulary acquisition
and grammatical accuracy. Besides, the study also highlights a correlation
between homework and the improvement in proficiency. The findings from the
research indicate that students frequently engage in writing, listening-based, and
reading-based assignments, dedicating at least 30 minutes to complete them. The
responses also reveal that students perform their tasks with diligence and care.
This demonstrates a positive trend among juniors, highlighting their conscientious
attitude towards homework and their commitment to academic responsibilities.
That result is the same as the opinion of Bembenutty in 2009.

CONCLUSION

Key findings

In conclusion, the study reveals that juniors majoring in English Teaching at

Hanoi Pedagogical University 2 generally hold positive attitudes towards the
significance of homework and its effect on their English proficiency, especially
vocabulary, grammar, reading and writing skills. They recognize homework as a
vital component of language learning, contributing to their overall academic
success.

Implication

Theoretical Implications

The findings from this research provide valuable insights into the role of
homework in language acquisition. The positive attitude of juniors towards
homework and their diligent approach to completing assignments supports
existing theories that emphasize the importance of regular practice and
reinforcement in learning a second language. It also aligns with cognitive and
educational theories that suggest structured and meaningful homework can
enhance learning outcomes by providing opportunities for repetition, practice, and
application of knowledge

Pedagogical Implications

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The positive engagement of juniors with their homework has several pedagogical
implications:

Curriculum Design: Educators should consider integrating regular, structured

homework assignments that encompass writing, listening, and reading activities.
These tasks should be designed to reinforce classroom learning and provide
opportunities for students to practice their skills.

Homework Quality: Assignments should be meaningful and aligned with learning

objectives. High-quality homework that requires critical thinking and application
of knowledge can enhance student engagement and proficiency.

Student Support: Providing resources and support for students to complete their
homework effectively is crucial. This might include access to supplementary
materials, feedback on assignments, and strategies for effective study habits.

By adopting these strategies, educators can help students develop a more positive
attitude towards homework and, ultimately, improve their English proficiency.
Further research could explore the long-term impact of different types of
homework on language learning and investigate additional factors that influence
students' attitudes and outcomes.

Limitations

While the research provides insights into the attitudes of juniors majoring in
English teaching towards homework and its impact on their English proficiency,
several limitations must be acknowledged. Firstly, the study is limited to juniors
at Hanoi Pedagogical University 2. Therefore, the findings may not be
generalizable to all students majoring in English teaching at other institutions or
in different educational contexts. Secondly, the quantity of participants is limited.
This research invites 51 students, which not comprehensive enough to cover in a
widespread. Thirdly, the research relies on self-reported data, which may be
subject to my biases. Finally, this study just uses quantitative approach, effective
in providing statistical insights, but it may lack the depth and richness of
qualitative data. They do not capture the deep experiences, attitudes, and
motivations of students regarding their homework practices.

REFERENCES
1. Amiryousefi, M. (2016). Homework: Voices from EFL teachers and
learners. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 4(2), 35-54.

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2. Bas, G., Sentürk, C., & Cigerci, F. M. (2017). The Effects of Homework on
Students’ Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Review. Educational
Research Review, 22, 56-71.
3. Bembenutty, H. (2009). Academic delay of gratification, self-regulation of
learning, gender differences, and expectancy-value. Personality and
individual differences, 46(3), 347-352.
4. Epstein, J. L., & Van Voorhis, F. L. (2012). The changing debate: From
assigning homework to designing homework. In Contemporary debates in
childhood education and development (pp. 263-274). Routledge.
5. Galloway, M., Conner, J., & Pope, D. (2013). Nonacademic effects of
homework in privileged, high-performing high schools. The journal of
experimental education, 81(4), 490-510.
6. Kackar, H., Shumow, L., Schmidt, J. A., & Grzetich, J. (2017). Age and
Gender Differences in Adolescents' Homework Experiences. Journal of
Educational Psychology, 109(7), 1035-1045.
7. Kitsantas, A., & Zimmerman, B. J. (2009). College students’ homework and
academic achievement: The mediating role of self-regulatory
beliefs. Metacognition and Learning, 4, 97-110.
8. Loveless, D. J., & Griffith, B. (2014). Teaching and Learning in Complex
Times: An Argument for Polymodal Education. In Critical Pedagogy for a
Polymodal World (pp. 1-21). Brill.
9. Nguyen, A., Piech, C., Huang, J., & Guibas, L. (2014, April). Codewebs:
scalable homework search for massive open online programming courses.
In Proceedings of the 23rd international conference on World wide web (pp.
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10. Pressman, R. M., Sugarman, D. B., Nemon, M. L., Desjarlais, J., Owens, J.
A., & Schettini-Evans, A. (2015). Homework and family stress: With
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perceptions of online homework use for formative assessment of learning in
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13. Trautwein, U., Niggli, A., Schnyder, I., & Lüdtke, O. (2009). Between-
teacher differences in homework assignments and the development of
students' homework effort, homework emotions, and achievement. Journal of
Educational Psychology, 101(1), 176.

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14. Xu, J. (2010). Predicting homework time management at the secondary
school level: A multilevel analysis. Learning and individual
differences, 20(1), 34-39.
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APPENDIX
1. Questionaire

Vietnamese version:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfdGsUPuUfBjiWucYAiAvJ-
rn5iCAy57Qevd179Ow5-dc6MOQ/viewform?usp=sf_link

English version:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/
1FAIpQLSfLGB9_rJX0fa0DDtIhxL4G4ZKHHRRKLmkcl5wQ6DdoGOmM7g/
viewform?usp=sf_link

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