Homework: Should parents help? – ESL Conversation Questions and Speaking Activities

Homework is the staple of any school. How useful is it really? And should parents help their children with the homework? It is important to know that children excel when they are dedicated to their studies. Some, however, need a little more help than others. Where they get that help and how often, does it change what they achieve? For instance, if a student takes regular extra school classes with a private tutor and gets help from mum and dad, then the question remains, how much of that achievement belongs to the student? some argue that this type of help should not be allowed and instead, students need to work on their own merits. Any external help should be disallowed.

Teacher’s notes

Ask students when was the last time their parents helped them.
Give student copies of the enclosed infographic and ask them to work in groups and share their ideas.
Use the Vox Pop worksheet attached below. It’s best to print and then cut up each individual comment. Distribute these to the students
Once the students each have one or two comments, ask them to form groups of three or four. Have them compare viewpoints and discuss what their own opinions are.
- If time persists you can try to board up ideas on the board and create a scale to see where student opinion bunches together.
Video discussion. Pre-read the video questions and ensure students understand all the sentences.
Play video and have students listen out for the missing words or phrases.
Plenary, ask the class as a whole what they found to be surprising.