Application Of Cooperative Learning To Junior English Teaching

English Curriculum Standard (2001) indicates that English teaching should be linked with students’affective education so that it can promote students to study and help each other in groups, make students experience the collective sense of honor and achievements and develop the cooperative abilities.But traditional English teaching in junior middle schools always focuses on the "entrance examination" and teachers judge the students only by means of their "academic scores". The situation that students are forced to study often makes students be less active, less initiative and less cooperative. That is bad for their English study. Most of students in junior schools are usually curious, suspicious and active. Their outlook of value and world are mainly formed in their career of junior middle school. At the same time, they are especially rebellious. In this case, the teaching way of spoon-feeding education will make students be against English teaching and they will lose interest in English study in one day. So a good learning way for students is necessary. The cooperative learning is suitable to solve the problems.At present, cooperative learning is a popular learning strategy, as well as a sort of teaching reform that has been widely adopted all over the world. It was mentioned in the early1700s. Cooperative learning is also called Together Learning which was rooted in America and it’s based on a lot of theories and practice. In the early1990s, many experts and education workers in China began to study the theory of cooperative learning and they tried using it in some schools. Now, after a series of experiments, it’s proved that the theory is helpful to enhance students’enthusiasm for their English study. And English Curriculum Standard also advocates students to jointly carry out learning activities, to research, explore and complete the teachers’ assignments together in order to cultivate their spirit of cooperation and sense of competition. Students encourage, help and respect each other in the process of cooperative learning, which also improves their sense of cognition, affections and behaviours in the field of psychology. Students may experience the collective sense of honor and sense of achievements by experiencing, practicing, discussing, cooperating and studying together in all kinds of learning activities. The theories of CL includes the five elements:positive interdependence, face to face interaction, individual accountability, small-group skills and group processing and also the nine class activities of CL:Jigsaw, Think-Pair-Share, Three-Step Interview, Round Robin Brainstorming, Three-minute review, Numbered Heads Together, Team Pair Solo.In the research, experimental methods are used to probe into the application of cooperative learning in English classes in junior school, especially for the students in junior one, aiming at inquiring into whether this learning model will effectively improves students’ performances. From February,2012to June,2012, the author did the test in her class. According to the model of cooperative learning, the research may be carried out as follows:1) students are divided into several heterogeneous groups by their different levels, personality traits, gender differences. Students complete the teachers’assignments together in different kinds of learning activities.2) Assign the roles in small groups:leader, reporter, inspector, recorder and so on.3) Arrange students’ seats scientifically and set up the group rules and group processing timely.4) Students complete the tasks assigned by the teachers together, the teachers just lead and give directions.5)The teacher timely checks the process and results of the study by different evaluation methods, for example, to analyze the record of cooperative learning, to interview the group members, to check and compare their learning results through the tests, etc.6) The research is carried out by the class activities:pre-class activities (preview and duty report), while-class activities (discussion, brain storming, play games, competition and role play) and post-class activities (homework, correction and revision).The conclusion of the study is that the theory of cooperative learning is a good learning method to promote students’ performances, it can enable more interaction between students in English classes, and it’s helpful for the English teaching and learning, it cultivates students’ spirit of cooperation and sense of competition.