Cooperative Learning (cl) In Vocabulary Learning In Senior High School

Vocabulary instruction is a very important part in English learning and teaching, especially for the students in senior high school, whose English achievement is greatly affected by the quantity and quality of words they have mastered. At present, many of them are spending a large amount of time on vocabulary learning, making great efforts to learn vocabulary in order to improve their English. However, most of them still have much trouble memorizing and properly using the words and expressions required in the New National English Curriculum Standards, which poses many difficulties for them in learning English further in senior high school or in college. This thesis studies the relationship between cooperative learning and achievement in senior high school English vocabulary learning through carrying out an experiment on vocabulary learning among senior high school students. The purpose of the research is to seek an effective way of vocabulary learning to help senior high school students master a larger vocabulary and improve their ability to learn and use English. Three questions are raised in the research:1),Will the application of CL to vocabulary learning enhance the quantity and quality of senior high school students'English vocabulary acquisition? 2) Will the application of CL to vocabulary learning have a better immediate effect and delayed effect on senior high school students' vocabulary acquisition than individual learning? 3) Will senior high school students hold a positive attitude towards learning English vocabulary cooperatively? The subjects involved in this study were 72 senior high school students who were admitted to Experimental High School of Sanming in 2008. The students were arranged into the experimental group and the control group. Students in the experimental group were assigned to use cooperative approach in the vocabulary learning while those in the control group still used the traditional individual method to learn the same words. Both the instant and delayed effects were examined and both of them indicated that learning English vocabulary in a cooperative way is more effective than doing that individually, for learning vocabulary cooperatively not only can enhance the quantity and quality of senior high school students'English vocabulary acquisition, but also can have a better immediate effect and delayed effect on senior high school students'vocabulary acquisition. The researcher also conducted a questionnaire survey among the subjects in experimental group and interviewed some of them, which indicated they took a positive attitude to cooperative learning.