The Application Of Cooperative Learning In English Reading Teaching In Senior High School

It is very important to train students' reading ability, thus reading has become one of the most important parts of English teaching in senior high school. But it is a pity that our English reading instruction is far from being satisfactory. In order to transform the traditional teaching method of reading and find a more effective way of teaching and learning, the author suggests the cooperative learning (CL) approach be applied to the reading instruction and the study is mainly aimed at investigating the following questions: (1) Does CL improve students' reading proficiency? (2) Does CL motivate students to read? (3) Does CL alleviate students' reading anxiety?In order to answer the questions, the researcher did an experiment which lasted for four months. The research involved 40 students who are in Class Three, Grade Two of Datian No. 3 Middle School of Sanming City in Fujian Province. A pre-test and a post-test were conducted to find out changes in students' proficiency in reading. Moreover, four questionnaires were administered to investigate changes in students' attitudes towards reading and cooperative learning. The data from the results of the experiment were analyzed, and the results before and after the experiment were made a comparison. The study made the following major findings: Firstly, cooperative learning can improve students' reading proficiency. Secondly, cooperative learning can motivate students to read. Thirdly, cooperative learning can alleviate reading anxiety. The result of the experiment shows that it is feasible to implement cooperative learning in English reading in senior high school. The cooperative reading activities and suggestions are also discussed in the thesis.