Research On The Cooperative Learning Strategies Applied In Non-major CET

With a view to keeping up with the needs of social development and higher education reform, one of the essential targets at present in college English education emerges: the reform of teaching model. The cooperative learning (CL) focusing on the teacher-students and student-student interaction and cooperation is a beneficial attempt to reforming teaching model. CL takes group as its basic form, which helps realize the shift from traditional teacher-centered pattern to student-centered and teacher-guiding pattern. Meanwhile, CL can foster students' ability to use the language and the ability to learn autonomously in addition to learning language knowledge and skills. Besides, such a pattern tends to enhance students' motivation to learn, increase students' commitment to study, relieve anxiety in study and create a harmonious climate of study.The thesis begins with a summary of present research on cooperative learning at home and abroad, and the background, significance, goal and content of the research. Many overseas and domestic scholars and researchers have conducted some effective studies on CL, which bloomed in the late 1970s in America. An instructional theory and strategy system has already been set up. Cooperative learning centering on the learners starts a new angle of view for pedagogy and is put into use in practice. However, in non-major CET, CL hasn't aroused so much concern. Even some of the limited adoptions are just in form and it is far from realizing the strengths of CL, for which the key point is lack of effective strategies. Therefore, the thesis tries to explore strategies, of which cooperative learning can make use in non-major CET, as well as the feasibility and the effectiveness of them.The thesis goes on to discuss the definition of CL and its theoretic bases. Various versions of CL definition are analyzed and therein several specific elements, which differentiate CL from traditional group learning, are summed up: heterogeneous group, positive interdependence, individual accountability, interpersonal skills, equal opportunities for success and team rewards. Thereafter, the thesis presents the related theoretic perspectives: Social Interdependence Perspective, Constructivism Perspective, and Second Language Acquisition Perspective. These theories sustain that CL can be adopted in language teaching, and provide guide to the application of CL to non-major CET.Based on the comparatively thorough understanding of the theories, the thesis focuses on the effective CL strategies to be implemented in non-major CET. These strategies include strategy of learning group formation, strategies of team learning and strategy of evaluation. Given the current situation of the non-major CET, the author conducted a survey of combination and the supplement of the strategies on the basis of the basic strategies to make them more feasible. For instance, when implementing team learning, the author mainly adopted the strategies of jigsaw, group investigation and group quiz-designing. When evaluating students' achievement, the author designed the learning process evaluation table according to the required content of the non-major CET in Wuhan University of Technology. And the evaluation is the combination of student team achievement division (STAD) and individual contribution.A fifteen-week experimental research was conducted on the basis of the research on the strategies in three natural classes of Grade 2005 in Wuhan University of Technology. By means of two questionnaires before and after CL and interview, the author collected some information about students' feedback of classroom teaching model, learning methods, initiative, affect, cooperation, etc. Besides, the experiment and the control classes' results of pretest and posttest are analyzed. The result of the comparison of the information is that the CL enhanced the students' interest in English study and participation, increased student-student interaction and self-discipline, relieved the students' anxiety in English study, and boosted up collectivism. The most evident change is that students' commitment to English study and their cooperative efforts are fueled by extrinsic motivation to achieve group rewards. They read more and did more practice than before. They communicated with each other, respected each other, helped each other, supervised each other and shared their studying material. They created a better climate for English study.To sum up, the result of the research indicates the CL strategies have positive influence on non-major CET and they are exercisable and effective. However, there are still some problems in implementing the strategies. For example, some students still loaf;the research neglects the students' listening practice;the improvement of the students' intrinsic motivation is not very evident. The measures to solve these problems call for further research.