In traditional English class, teacher-centered has been a common phenomenon. Teachers spend too much time and energy explaining and analyzing the material instead of training students'communicative competence while students have less time to practice. Thus, most students are very passive, less responsive and reluctant to follow teachers'teaching procedure. Gradually, the students do not want to think over the knowledge, while they are just waiting for the teachers'explanations.So it is difficult for them to enjoy their learning. In fact, the aim of the junior English class is to stimulate and cultivate students'interest to English, make students master a certain language knowledge and basic skill,foster students'ability of using language and communication, and develop their intelligence and personality.New English Curriculum Standards requires that teaching should be focused on students and students'development and it advocates the task-based teaching model in which students complete the task objective by means of perception, experience, practice, participation and cooperation under the help of teachers.Cooperative learning is a kind of new teaching mode and it advocates that students should be cultivated to autonomous learners.Students are expected to change and exceed themselves in cooperative learning. In the course of cooperative learning, students are supposed to adjust their emotion and strategies in order to form a positive learning attitude. Under cooperative learning, students are supposed to finish a certain task and they are offered opportunities to use the language and communicate with each other. Teachers should develop students'language skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing. The most important thing is to develop students'abilities of communication, consulting and cooperation. Cooperative learning not only aims at emphasizing the development of cognitive aspects but also concerns more about the learning process of students'emotional experience, cognitive and affective skills, which can achieve a variety of teaching objectives of the cooperation.In addition, cooperative learning can stimulate students'interest and enthusiasm to learn, cultivate teamwork spirit and cooperative abilities.What's more, cooperative learning can increase students'self-confidence and self-esteem. Cooperative learning has been a focus learning theory and widely promoted and used all over the world, which causes a series of education reform.In cooperative learning, the achievement of the whole group's goal is based on the accomplishment of the individuals'tasks in a group.Sub-group's success and reward depend on the concerted efforts, mutual encouragement and assistance of members, so that there will be a motivation within the group.In the group learning activities, the team members are liable to share personal responsibility, self-study, and then, through an interactive cooperation they discuss and exchange different understanding together to reach a consensus.Students encourage each other, and discuss together to create a new more creative learning method, learning pespective and learning outcomes.In her research, the author did a lot of preparation, such as group building, group norms and group assessment in the course of her teaching. Then she made a detailed analysis and explanation in the form of questionnaire investigation from one of the classes she taught. The questionnaire was about the students'learning habit, attitudes towards English, interest and motivation to learn English, social abilities, self-confidence and their attitudes and feelings to cooperative learning.The author analyzed the data she collected with the help of SPSS.The result indicates that cooperative learning plays a role that cannot be ignored in junior middle school.It can improve students'achievement of English and it is proved that the more active the students are in cooperative learning, the higher score they will gain in the exam. Cooperative learning also helps the students promote their self-confidence and develop their social communication skills. |