A Study Of The Application Of Cooperative Learning Theory In College English Writing Teaching

English writing is a practical activity to use English knowledge comprehensively. It is also one of four basic skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. However, the college English writing teaching is not satisfying. Teachers paid little attention to writing teaching. As to how to guide English writing, teachers lack of research and practice. They need a much better teaching instruction for writing teaching in order to deal with the problems in the writing, enable the students and teachers to interact with each other. Because college writing teaching has always been the weak point in college English teaching in China, the author thinks it is necessary to use cooperative theories to guide how to write. Cooperative learning is the creative and effective teaching theory and strategy that is applied widely in teaching in many countries. It requires that the course of writing teaching should be student-oriented, with learners learning together co-operatively. It is helpful for students to develop their initiative and motivation. It is also helpful to meet students’ personal potential ability.At the beginning, the writer introduces the theories of cooperative learning and English writing teaching. The theories of cooperative learning include the intention of cooperative learning, the classifications of cooperative learning. the basic theories of cooperative learning and the basic methods of cooperative learning. The latter includes the problems and the causes of college English writing teaching and the necessity of English-writing teaching guided by cooperative learning. Then it introduces the main researches of cooperative learning and English writing in china and in the other countries. At last it introduces the application of the theories of cooperative learning in college writing teaching. Cooperative learning shows much more superiority than the traditional English writing teaching pattern.The author designed a writing teaching procedure as the research method. The participants of the writer’s study are the students of grade2011in Mechanical Engineering Department and the author teaches herself in the two classes. the author applied cooperative learning for writing teaching in Class2-the experimental class. While applied the traditional way to the writing teaching in the control class-Class4. Through a pre-experiment examination, it showed that there is not much difference between the experimental class and the controlled class of the writing levels. And then four and half months later, the author tested them in order to check out their learning effect.Facts regarding the survey have shown that English writing teaching under the guidance of the theory of cooperative learning is superior to traditional writing teaching. Besides it can enhance students’interest in learning English. The method cultivates students’sense of participation, improves the quality of college English writing teaching and provides a new way for reformation of English writing teaching for non-English majors in university.