摘要：作者史蒂芬达恩在文中分析了教师布置英语家庭作业的理由：强化所学知识、养成良好习惯、提供自学机会、充分调动学生积极性。随后，作者剖析了学生对家庭作业的敌对态度。最后，作者提出为了实现家庭作业的有效性，教师布置作业时应遵循一定的规则。

　　IN order for homework to be effective, certain principles should be observed.

　　Tasks should be relevant, interesting and varied.

　　Good classroom practice also applies to homework. Tasks should be manageable but achievable. Homework should be manageable in terms of time as well as level of difficulty. Teachers should remember that students are often given homework in other subjects and that there is a need for coordination to avoid overload.

　　Homework is rarely co-ordinated within the curriculum as a whole, but should at least be incorporated into an overall scheme of work and be considered in lesson planning.

　　Learner involvement and motivation may be increased by encouraging students to contribute ideas for homework and possibly design their own tasks. The teacher also needs to know how much time the students have, what facilities they have at home, and what their preferences are. A simple questionnaire will provide this data.

　　While homework should consolidate classwork, it should not replicate it. Home is the outside world and tasks which are nearer to real life use of language are appropriate.

　　If homework is set, it must be assessed in some way. While marking by the teachers is sometimes necessary, peer and self-assessment can encourage earner independence as well as reducing the teacher’s workload.