| Homework is an essential part of the English teaching process.As an extension of classroom teaching,it not only helps students to consolidate what they have learned in class,but also provides a basis for teachers to test the effectiveness of teaching,diagnose students’ learning problems,and adjust and improve teaching.In English Curriculum Standards for Compulsory Education released by the Ministry of Education in 2022,the requirements for homework design are clearly stated: "The design of homework should take into account individual differences and grasp the content,difficulty and quantity of homework.It should help students consolidate their language knowledge and skills,develop positive emotional experiences,and enhance their sense of self-efficacy." Therefore,the importance of English homework to students’ learning is axiomatic.However,the effectiveness of homework has been a worrying issue in basic education and English teaching in China,mainly for the following reasons:(1)In the background of large class teaching,most teachers do not take into account students’ differences and make all students complete the same difficulty and the same amount of homework;(2)Relatively speaking,English teaching in junior high school focuses more on the development of students’ language ability,cultural awareness and thinking quality,while neglecting their emotional experience.With the continuous development of education,stratified homework comes up.Teaching students following their different characteristics no longer remains on the surface,but extends to the specific aspects of the homework,which brings a new development opportunity for English teaching in junior high school.In this study,stratified homework was applied to English teaching in junior high school to explore the following three questions:(1)What is the effect of stratified homework on students’ English learning self-efficacy in junior high school?(2)What is the effect of stratified homework on students’ academic performance in junior high school?(3)What is the relationship between English learning self-efficacy and academic performance of junior high school students after using stratified homework?This study takes Bandura’s self-efficacy theory,the multiple intelligence theory,and the zone of proximal development theory as the theoretical bases.A four-month experiment was conducted in grade nine of a general junior high school in Xichang,Sichuan province,with two classes and a total of 122 students as experimental subjects in this study.One of the classes was randomly selected as the experimental class,which used stratified homework,dividing students into three levels according to their academic performance,learning attitude,class participation,and completion of homework,etc,and the other class was the control class,which used traditional homework,with the whole class doing the same homework.A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods was used to collect and analyze questionnaires,final exam papers,and interviews with 10 students in the experimental class.The results showed that(1)Stratified homework has a positive effect on students’ English learning self-efficacy in senior high school,and most of the students in the experimental class show a significant increase in their English learning self-efficacy compared to the past;(2)Stratified homework has a positive effect on students’ academic performance in junior high school.Although most of the students’ academic performance is improved in the control class,it is not as significant as the experimental students’ improvement;(3)The is a significant positive correlation between English learning self-efficacy and academic performance of junior high school students after using stratified homework.This study draws the following enlightenment based on the above research results.Firstly,English teachers should be fully aware of the importance of stratified homework and actively apply it in teaching.Secondly,English teachers should be fully aware of the advantages and disadvantages of stratified homework.On the one hand,they should give full play to its advantages,and on the other hand,they should take measures to compensate for the shortcomings of stratified homework.Thirdly,students’ emotional experience should be highly valued.At present,the English learning self-efficacy of junior high school students is at an intermediate level.Therefore,teachers should consciously enhance students’ English learning self-efficacy in the teaching process,which is conducive to improving junior high school students’ academic performance. |
