I had a class in which three-quarters of the students regularly did not do any homework. Because many of these students were exactly the ones who most needed the practice, I really wanted them to do it, even if it meant taking up class time for them to finish.

On the other hand, I did not want to punish the few students who had done their homework at the right place: home.

One morning, I announced that I would take the few students who had completed the homework outside to the hall to do verbal drills and pronunciation work while the others did their homework. The students with me in the hall relished the personal attention. The next day, the number of students who got to go out to the hall with me increased slightly. More and more students started doing their homework at home, and it got to the point where it made more sense to send the dwindling number of students working on homework out to the hall and keep the majority inside the classroom.

I never achieved a 100% success rate, but the ratio changed dramatically. More importantly, I found a fair way to manage the problem. For this, I owe thanks to my colleague, Myriel Eykamp, for her wise advice!

• On occasion, have ESOL practice new language structures by calling and leaving a message on your answering machine.
• Assign homework partners for students to support one another in getting homework done.
• Discuss barriers and solutions for getting homework done, including time management techniques. Discuss hidden pockets of time for doing homework: the subway, laundromat.
• On occasion, devote 30 minutes to receiving very short phone calls from students so they can practice social language.
• Consider having students read to their children as part of their homework.
• Have students tell you what they want for homework, or have students create homework assignments for the class.
• Assign a television show and spend some time in the beginning of class discussing what students remember.
• Give homework holidays from time to time.
• Assign dialogue journals with students to practice their writing. Exchange written conversations with students on subjects of their choice.

Deborah Lerme Goodman teaches at the Community Learning Center in Cambridge, MA. She can be reached at: dlg@mac.com