5 Creative ESL Homework Ideas
Homework is homework. And we all know those times in the semester when things can just start to feel a little stale, and everyone’s motivation is kind of falling off. A good way to pump a little more energy into your class is by skipping the traditional boring homework assignment and assigning something a little more fun. So here are five different ideas for homework assignments that won’t make your students groan too loudly:
1) Listen to an English song. You can go two different ways with this one. 1) Let them choose any song they want, and have them write or say why they like it. This is such a fun way to get to know your students better. You’ll get to know their music tastes, and maybe you’ll find something in common. Or perhaps they’ll share a personal story that’s attached to this song. 2) Assign a thought-provoking song, and have them respond to it. I once had a lesson about goals and dreams, so the class before, I had them listen to the Tim McGraw song, “Live Like You Were Dying.” The song talks about a man who finds out he has cancer, and decides to do all the things he’s always dreamed about doing. I had students answer the question, “If this were you, what things would you do?” Maybe you could have them listen to Jason Mraz’s “Life Is Beautiful,” and have the describe the things they think are most beautiful in life. You can relate the song to your lesson, or just choose one for fun.
2) Watch a TV show.You can assign this as homework multiple times, if you change the focus a little. Students can find three new vocabulary words they learned in the show. To practice storytelling or outlines, tell them to describe the plot of the episode. To practice descriptions, they could describe a character. You could either suggest a show for them, or let them choose whatever show they already like. Learning English is should be fun and useful, and this exercise can remind them of that.
3) English jokes.Now this is not one I would suggest for a class with a low English level. Being able to understand jokes in another language requires an an impressive grasp of the language. Let this be a casual assignment. Tell them to go onto Bing (isn’t blocked in China, the way Google is) or Baidu (the Chinese search engine equivalent to Google), and search “English jokes.” Tell them to find one they understand and think is funny. If you like, you could have some students share the jokes they found next class, but I wouldn’t spend too much time doing this, since everyone’s English level will be different.
4) People watch.This is great for a lesson about descriptions. Tell them to sit on a bench on campus, go to a coffee shop, the library, or the cafeteria, and find an interesting person. Have them describe what the person looks like. If you want to go a step further, you could have them imagine what they think his personality is. Or even a step further, have them imagine the rest of his life story. What’s his job, what was his major, what are his hobbies, is he married? Not only does this help students practice descriptions, but it also encourages them to develop their creative sides.
5) Picture scavenger hunt.This is another great way to find out more about your students. Give them categories, such as “something beautiful,” “something sad,” “something with a good memory,” or “something delicious” if you want to see their personalities and practice adjectives. If you want to practice vocabulary, you could make the categories nouns, such as “ruler,” “phone charger,” “notebook,” or “keyboard.” Have students take pictures of each of the items, and have them show you in class. (You could also have students text the pictures to you if you happen to have an abundance of free time you don’t know what to do with.)
Next time you need to liven up class a little bit, just pull out one of these creative homework assignments, and if you have any other fun ideas, share them in the comments!
If you’d like to see what homework assignments I assign on a regular basis, I have a list here: https://www.atlasteaching.com/lesson-planning/basichomeworkideas