From Formal Novelty to Competency Advancement: The Design and Practice of Innovative Primary English Homework under China’s “Double Reduction” Policy

Background: China’s “Double Reduction” policy has intensified the need to reconsider the educational value of primary English homework, yet changes in task format do not necessarily improve language learning. Aims: This article examines competency-oriented assignment design for primary English homework under China’s “Double Reduction” policy. Drawing on research on curriculum reform, language tasks, and formative assessment, it addresses three questions: what makes an assignment educationally distinctive; what principles should guide its design; and how a coherent unit-level sequence translates these principles into observable and assessable performance. Study Design: This practice-based classroom case study involves 36 pupils aged 12–13 and uses Unit 6, “E-friends,” from the Oxford English (Shenzhen Edition) Grade 6, Volume 1 textbook as its curricular source. Place and Duration of Study: Shenzhen Foreign Language School of Bao’an, Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. The case concerns a single instructional unit. Methodology: Five design principles—objective alignment, thematic coherence, purposeful tasks, differentiated scaffolding, and embedded assessment—inform an eight-step design process. A connected sequence of four tasks culminates in a five- to eight-sentence reply email and peer-supported revision. A three-level analytic rubric defines task-relevant performance. The account interprets the teacher’s classroom observations and descriptions of pupils’ written work. Results: The teacher reported difficulties distinguishing conversation topics from activities and responding to questions in an incoming email. Feedback and revision redirected attention to the reader’s information needs. These observations identify instructional priorities; they do not establish the size of a learning gain or a reduction in total homework burden. Conclusion: Under the “Double Reduction” policy, effective homework reform requires explicit alignment among objectives, learning activities, assessment, and pupil effort. The framework presented here offers a practical design route while acknowledging the limited generalisability of findings from a single-unit case.