Junior secondary EFL learners’ enjoyment of homework: A mixed-methods comparative study of a high-, average-, and low-achieving school in Hong Kong

Positive emotions such as enjoyment have recently come to the fore in FL research and education. However, very few studies to date have focused on learners' emotions associated with doing homework, a common practice institutionalized in many FL education settings. In this comparative study, we examined 327 Grade 7 EFL learners' levels of enjoyment of homework in a high-, an average-, and a low-achieving school in Hong Kong. We elicited, through a questionnaire, their enjoyment of the most common types of English homework assigned by their teachers in their specific schools at two timepoints with a one-year gap. 24 participants were interviewed after the second timepoint. Overall, the participants’ levels of enjoyment were neutral to negative. The high-achieving participants had the highest level of enjoyment while the low-achievers had the lowest. This pattern remained largely the same across the two timepoints. The qualitative data shed light on the overall low enjoyment associated with homework and different levels of enjoyment between different kinds of homework in specific schools.