Adult ESL Learners: Homework Assignments That Work

Adult ESL learners may not have a lot of time outside of class to devote to their English studies but assigning homework once in a while can be beneficial. Having students complete exercises at home allows them to maximize their speaking time during class periods. Since adults are often very busy, it is important to assign homework only when you feel it is necessary.

Try These Homework Assignment Ideas

1

Reading Texts As Homework? Why Not?
For discussion lessons, send students home with the reading assignment instead of setting aside time for them to read it silently in class. You should introduce key vocabulary beforehand and give students some topics or questions to think about during their reading so that they will know what to focus on. You can then do some pronunciation practice and comprehension checks in the next lesson. A discussion could also be based on the material students read. This type of homework activity really makes the most of the time you have with students and gives them an opportunity to think about the material before having to discuss it.
2

Use Their Imagination!

This activity is especially good for students of Business English but could also be used in other lessons to focus on giving advice, voicing an opinion, or politely agreeing or disagreeing. Give students a dialogue to read and ask them to think about the different characters. These dialogues could be based on work, school, or personal interactions. In the next class, discuss students’ opinions of the characters from the dialogue and give students some options for what the next part of the dialogue could be. Ask students to defend their choices. For instance, give students a conversation in which two colleagues are discussing Employee C and end the material you give them for homework with one person complaining that Employee C did not deserve to get a promotion. In the next class you can talk about the appropriateness of this conversation, what students think of the two characters, and what the other character should say next.
3

‘Interview Your Granny About …’

Simple interview activities can be done with students of all ages. For this activity, ask students to interview family members or friends. This is especially good practice for using reported speech but can be used to talk about other topics too. You can provide students with some basic questions to give their interview some structure and have them build on it using their own questions. In the next lesson, students can report their findings and discuss the material with the rest of the class.
4

Role Plays For Homework Are Fun, Too

Adult learners are generally more reluctant than younger students to do role plays but if you think your class would be willing to give it a try, sections of the activity can be assigned as homework. Students will have to work together in class if you want them to develop their own scripts but they can practice and memorize their lines as homework. Since students may not be able to meet one another outside of class, be sure to give students some time to practice together in their groups before the final presentation. You must allow enough time for students to prepare for the role play so spread it out over several weeks. Remember that you do not have to make it the focus of all your lessons from the time it was introduced until its completion. Introduce the activity in one lesson, check to see if students have any questions about it in each class period after that, give them time to practice, and finally have students present their role plays.
5

Worksheets Work Wonders

Some worksheets may also be appropriate for homework. If there is an exam coming up, students may appreciate optional study material for further practice. While crosswords are not a great use of class time for adult learners, providing students with an occasional crossword for homework may be fine. They are enjoyable and do not take long periods of undivided attention to complete; in fact, crosswords can be done gradually in free time such as during the commute to work. They are good practice material because they focus on checking vocabulary comprehension or expanding vocabulary; both of which are very important to adults.

While adult learners may have less time than younger students for homework, it is important that they devote time to their studies in order to make progress.

Talk to students at the beginning of the course about what they expect in regards to homework and ensure that you always give students plenty of time to complete exercises.