Homework or hometask

The second student calls someone else and does the same and so on and so on until every student in class has heard the gossip for homework. (Write out a list of student names and phone numbers and hand it out to each student. Then each person can simply call the next person down on the list.)

Put your homework in writing. It can be tempting to just announce homework assignments to students at the end of class, but language learners benefit when you reinforce what you say with what they can see. So take a minute to write any homework assignment on the board so students can read it as well as listen to it.

You’re just wrapping up class when you hear someone call out from the back of the room, “Please, please, teacher, you forgot to give us some homework!” Under normal circumstances, that might seem highly unusual, but not when you make homework fun and engaging.

For the most part, people are willing to help someone in need, and that is doubly true for someone who needs to complete an assignment for school. That’s why sending students out to interview native speakers is such a fun homework assignment. Start by helping your students write a survey they’ll use for their interviews.