The Research On The Applications Of Cooperative Learning On EFL Reading Comprehension Instruction In Junior High School

With the rapid development of science and technology, reading has obviously become an essential way for people to gain and exchange the latest messages. However, English reading teaching was a concern for most EFL teachers. The traditional state of English reading instruction in most junior high schools depends heavily on lecturing and memorization. As a result, a large number of students show little interest in English reading.There is a great need to reflect on the teaching methods in the English reading class. Among various teaching approaches, cooperative learning is regarded as one of the most popular teaching strategies. Cooperative teaching of reading is a kind of class technique that encourages students to perform all kinds of learning activities in groups of four to six. Students work together to complete the learning tasks assigned by the teacher. Students are supposed to experience the happiness, improve reading skills and develop good English reading habits through reading.The purpose of this research project is to explore the effects of cooperative learning on junior high school students'English reading comprehension. Participants were seventy-seven Grade Nine junior students at Shanghai No. 54 Middle School. The experimental class of forty-four students engaged in cooperative learning activities in class, while the control class of thirty-three students engaged in the traditional reading instruction in class. Both classes were taught by the researcher. Seven articles of different topics, two attitude questionnaires, the teacher's classroom observation, students'reflections and reading comprehension multi-choice tests were employed in this research. After four months of the experiment, the findings of this research were summarized as follows:1. The experimental class performed much better in both English reading comprehension tests and comprehensive English language tests than the control class did.2. Attitude questionnaires and the teacher's classroom observation have revealed that the students in the experimental group took part in reading activities more actively and confidently.3. Most students in the experimental group showed more interest in English reading than before and some of them gradually formed a good habit of English learning.4. Experimental students'social skills were improved through cooperative learning. Students learned to respect different viewpoints, to seek support and help each other to solve problems. Their learning attitudes were more positive than before.