Exploring the Layered Arrangement of Middle School English Homework under the Background of "Double Reduction"

Assigning homework to students during the teaching process by teachers is a consolidation and extension of the teaching content, and plays an important role in testing students' mastery of English knowledge. In traditional English homework assignments, teachers only consider the overall level of the class in terms of workload and difficulty, ignoring individual differences among students. Some students with weak foundations find it difficult to complete the homework, and the emphasis on rote memorization and transcription of words in the form of homework seriously affects students' interest in learning English. With the implementation of the "double reduction" policy, homework assignments should be effectively implemented in accordance with new requirements, and layered teaching should be implemented. Students' homework should be "tailored to their needs" to meet the requirements of the new curriculum implementation, so that students can truly reduce their workload and learn efficiently. Therefore, junior high school English teaching should adopt targeted homework assignments based on students' learning situations, break the shackles of traditional teaching concepts, innovate homework assignment forms, and meet students' personalized development needs.


Introduction
Some students have a rebellious mentality towards the homework assigned by the teacher, mainly due to the large amount of homework, the mechanical repetition of homework, and the one-size fits all phenomenon of homework content. This leads to some students believing that homework is too simple to stimulate learning interest, while others believe that homework is difficult and cannot be completed in a timely manner. Homework evaluation is also a unified standard for all students, with limited motivation for students at all levels in terms of academic performance, and does not take into account the learning needs of students at all levels. The homework is arranged in layers, and students can choose the appropriate level of homework to complete based on their English proficiency. This changes students' rebellious emotions towards homework, enhances their interest in learning English subjects, and enhances their sense of achievement when completing homework, forming a positive cycle learning mode. Therefore, in the context of "double reduction", effective implementation of hierarchical assignment can promote the comprehensive development of students at all levels.

Problems in the Design of Homework
There are some problems with the current assignment of middle school English homework, such as the form, number, and evaluation of homework.
1. Form of assignments Under the traditional teaching philosophy, junior high school English homework was mainly written. In the classroom, questions were used to consolidate the knowledge learned in the class. After class homework was also used to cultivate writing, reading comprehension, and other abilities in the form of written homework, neglecting the abilities that English language subjects must pay attention listening, speaking, and reading. As a result, students' comprehensive English literacy was relatively low, and their comprehensive learning abilities were difficult to improve effectively.
2. Number of assignments The content of English learning in junior high school gradually increases, and some students have relatively poor learning abilities. With dozens of minutes of classroom learning time, students are unable to complete learning tasks efficiently. Therefore, some teachers try to consolidate students' classroom knowledge through "a mountain of homework", but the effect is not as good as teachers think. On the contrary, under this situation, the quality of students' homework not only decreases, but also affects their interest in learning English.
3. Evaluation of assignments In the past, the evaluation system for English subject assignments was basically in a state of absence. After students submitted their assignments, it was difficult for teachers to grade them in a timely manner, losing the timeliness of the assignments. Students did not make timely modifications and corrections, resulting in the role of checking for omissions and filling in gaps in the assignments becoming a decoration.
Based on the above issues, combined with the teaching objectives of the middle school English subject and the requirements of the "double reduction" policy for homework time and quality, diversified homework design has become a key issue of concern for teachers and a key measure to improve homework quality.

Theoretical Basis for Layered Homework
The rise of layered homework is mainly based on the following theoretical basis. 1. Theory of multiple intelligences Gardner believes that humans possess intelligence in seven aspects: language, movement, communication, music, space, mathematics, and cognition. Each person's seven types of intelligence development have varying levels, and their combinations vary among different individuals. In English teaching, with the help of the Theory of multiple intelligences, the creation of learning situations such as reading, writing, singing and sitcom dialogue can help students develop language intelligence better. Teachers should assign different levels of homework based on students' different combinations of intelligence to meet the learning needs of students with different combinations of intelligence.
2. Theory of zone of proximal development Teachers should provide teaching guidance based on students' current level during the teaching process, and allow students to explore and solve problems independently, which can explore their potential development abilities. Therefore, teachers should reasonably set homework based on the students' proximal development zone. As students make certain progress, the workload should gradually increase, and the difficulty of homework should be slightly higher than the students' cognitive level. Through their own efforts and teacher guidance, they can reach the proximal development zone. In the process of assigning hierarchical assignments, teachers should comprehensively grasp students' current English learning level and proximal development zone. The difficulty of homework should be within the reach of students' toes, in order to stimulate students' enthusiasm for learning English subjects and help them accumulate English knowledge.
3.Theory of individualized teaching Teachers should carry out targeted layered teaching based on individual differences among students, from course design to homework assignment, in order to enable students to maximize their own advantages and achieve comprehensive development. Under the theory of individualized teaching, English teachers carry out hierarchical homework design. Teachers should assign English homework based on the psychological development characteristics of middle school students, more closely related to their daily lives, and in line with their thinking development and cognitive abilities.

The Background and Significance of Layered Assignment of Middle School English Homework
With the implementation of the double reduction policy, how to reduce the quantity of homework while improving the quality of homework poses a challenge to every teacher. Layered homework solves these problems well, that is, assigning different homework according to different students' needs and abilities.
1. Background of Layered Assignment Due to differences in students' mastery of basic knowledge, thinking habits, and learning abilities, homework assignments for junior high school English subjects should be based on students' proximal development zone, and students' learning and cognitive differences should be objectively viewed. If homework assignments are uniformly arranged, it is not conducive to top students and struggling students expanding their knowledge in the zone of proximal development, which restricts the effectiveness of homework assignments. The new curriculum standards emphasize that teachers should highlight the subjectivity of students in teaching. Therefore, assigning homework should also fully respect students' individual differences and thinking characteristics, so that every student can have the maximum development space. During the teaching process, teachers set different levels of teaching objectives based on the learning situation, continuously innovate teaching methods, teach students according to their aptitude, and take into account the comprehensive development of each student. This reflects the people-oriented teaching philosophy and responds to the requirements of the new curriculum reform and the "double reduction" policy. In order to balance the needs of students at all levels, a layered homework arrangement is adopted to ensure that students at all levels make progress, which is in line with the current English teaching approach.
2. Significance of Layered Assignment Homework is an extension of students' classroom learning, which can help them better grasp and consolidate the knowledge received in the classroom, and is also the main way to test students' learning effectiveness. At present, quality education requires student-centered approach, with teachers assigning homework in a hierarchical manner, in line with the concept advocated by the new English curriculum reform. Starting from students' interests and physical and mental development patterns, teaching plans should be tailored to their individual needs. Teachers should fully respect students' subjective differences. There are certain differences in students' English learning, understanding, thinking development, and innovation abilities. If teachers use a "one size fits all" education method and do not fully consider students' individual differences, it will make students with poor learning abilities feel difficult to learn English, which will undermine their enthusiasm and interest for English learning. Similarly, using the same educational philosophy to treat students with strong learning abilities may make learning and homework assignments unable to effectively meet students' learning needs and significantly promote their English proficiency. So, it is very important for teachers to apply the concept of hierarchical arrangement in homework assignments, and to set targeted homework content tailored to students' differences. This can avoid reducing students' learning efficiency and dulling their interest in learning due to excessive difficulty or simplicity. It can be seen that applying the concept of hierarchical assignment to junior high school English homework assignment is an effective way to meet students' English learning needs and improve their learning efficiency.

How to Improve the Effectiveness of Hierarchical Arrangement of Middle School English Homework
Based on the above theories and the existing problems of assignment, the following suggestions are put forward on how to improve the efficiency of assignments.
1. Stratification of homework subjects When assigning homework, junior high school English teachers should start from the actual needs of students and provide layered education to them. Teachers can divide students into three categories based on their English learning ability, level, and mastery of English, namely top students, average students and struggling students. Therefore, different assignments are assigned to students at different levels to improve teaching quality through individualized teaching. In general, top students have strong self-directed learning abilities. They have excellent English grades and often have unique learning methods. For homework assigned by teachers, they can usually complete them with high quality. For this type of student, teachers need to provide them with more thinking space, such as assigning difficult reading comprehension and cloze tests to enhance their thinking and innovation abilities, meet their knowledge needs, and promote students' core English literacy. For average students, they usually have average academic performance and can complete homework assigned by teachers on time. However, they are not very proficient in mastering basic English knowledge, and the cultivation of learning ability and learning habits also needs to be strengthened. For this type of students, teachers should provide them with more encouragement and guidance, and explore their potential learning abilities through reading and reciting texts more frequently. For struggling students, it is necessary to cultivate their interest and habits in learning. Generally, students with difficulties have a partial understanding of basic knowledge and lack the ability to learn independently. For these students, teachers should give them sufficient attention and encourage them to practice more basic words and phrases, for example, some easy exercises such as single choice and simple sentence patterns, in order to cultivate their interest in English learning. In terms of learning habits, struggling students generally use mechanical word memorization methods. Teachers can teach them phonics and comprehension memorization methods to deepen their understanding of English knowledge, increase their interest in learning, and gradually improve their comprehensive English abilities.
2. Grading the difficulty of homework Middle school English teachers should grasp the hierarchical nature of homework and gradually cultivate students' English abilities when teaching students in a hierarchical and individualized manner. When designing homework, teachers should fully understand the actual learning situation of students. For top students, teachers can assign more exploratory questions, so that students can comprehensively grasp English knowledge, learn to apply new and old knowledge to creatively solve some special problems, and exercise their thinking expansion ability. For average students, teachers can assign more developmental questions to them, allowing them to apply their abilities to solve problems and exercise their knowledge application ability. For struggling students, teachers can assign some basic homework. These students have poor knowledge acceptance ability, and through the assignment of basic homework, students can further consolidate the knowledge learned in the classroom. In summary, junior high school English teachers need to have a clear understanding of the difficulty level of homework. If unit assignments are difficult, teachers can guide students in the classroom to better think. For simpler assignments, they can reduce interference with students, allowing them to fully think and explore, and grasp the difficulty level of homework. It is not advisable to assign too many difficult assignments, nor can they ignore the role of simple homework in consolidating students' learning, based on the actual learning situation of students, scientifically and reasonably allocate homework, so that students can have the joy of solving problems through their own efforts. Through the stratification of homework difficulty, various types of students have significant gains in completing homework, and have a sense of achievement in learning. They can easily complete homework and achieve the goal of increasing efficiency and reducing burden.
3. Stratification of homework evaluation In addition to hierarchical assignments in homework assignments, teachers also need to provide positive feedback to students in the evaluation. Layered homework evaluation can improve the effectiveness of layered homework design, and when used properly, it can also stimulate students' learning enthusiasm. Therefore, it is very important to do a good job of layered evaluation. Teachers can use motivational language to affirm students and establish their confidence in English learning. In addition, teachers can also use euphemistic language to correct students' learning mistakes and cultivate their correct learning habits, which is greatly helpful for future learning. For students at different levels, the evaluation of teachers should also be changed. For top students, teachers should use more relevant words to praise them, such as "perfect", "outstanding" and other evaluation words, in order to set an example and serve as a demonstration for other students. For average students, teachers should use more evaluation words such as "exactly" to motivate them and enhance their confidence and sense of achievement in English learning. For struggling students, teachers can enhance their confidence in learning by encouraging them to gradually improve their English learning ability by using words such as continue to strive 'and' continue to maintain '.

Conclusion
The implementation of the "double reduction" policy has led to a consensus among teachers that reducing students' homework burden does not necessarily mean that there is no homework. Homework remains an important way to consolidate students' classroom learning effectiveness and test their understanding and application of English knowledge. In line with the ideas of educational reform, teachers should conduct in-depth research on what to reduce, diversify their exploration of how to reduce burden, and never at the cost of reducing students' academic quality. The hierarchical arrangement of English homework has innovated the content and form of homework, improved the management level of homework design, grading, and feedback, changed the habit of brushing questions, reduced the total amount of homework, and improved the training effect of homework. It can be said that the hierarchical arrangement of English homework conforms to the principle of "double reduction" policy to reduce burden and improve efficiency, and plays the role of students as the main body. It is a beneficial practice for English teachers to improve their teaching ability, and also one of the teaching achievements that have achieved significant results.