A Study On Oral English Anxiety Of Junior High School Students Through The Cooperative Learning Approach

Affective factor plays a more significant role in language teaching and learning. Anxiety is one of the most important affective factors for learners. The Affective Filter Hypothesis emphasizes that a mental block that prevents second language learners from filly utilizing the comprehensible input that they receive for language acquisition. At abroad or home, researchers do a lot of researches on oral English Anxiety. They pay more attention to the resources and the influence of oral English anxiety. Researches show that it has a negative impact and students with high level of speaking anxiety with low achievement in oral English test. How to overcome the oral English anxiety is more important in language learning. This study aims at overcoming oral English anxiety through cooperative learning method, and gives teachers the strategy to overcome oral English anxiety. It has important theoretical and practical values to overcome oral English anxiety by introducing cooperative learning to English classroom of junior high school. Based on the study, there are following questions:(1)To what extent, do junior high school students experience oral English anxiety?(2)How efficiently can the cooperative learning approach be applied to overcome oral English anxiety?(3)What is the limitation of cooperative teaching approach in the improvement of oral English anxiety? This study uses Affective Filter Hypothesis and Communicative Approach to argue how cooperative learning overcome learners’ oral English anxiety. The quantitative research and qualitative research are used in this study. It is carried out in Fusong No.10 Middle School. The 73 subjects from two classes are in Grade 9. The experimental group is carried on 16-week cooperative learning method. In order to overcome the oral English anxiety, the Think-Pair-Share, Numbered Heads Class, and Useful expressions, etc. are used in oral English teaching. The control group has more traditional learning method. The subjects are tested by the ESCAS questionnaire, interview and oral English papers before and after the experiment.The data is analyzed through SPSS16.0.The results proved that(1) The students suffered from all kinds of oral English Anxiety in junior high school. More than half the students suffered from high level oral English anxiety. Only a small number of students suffered from low level anxiety.(2)The cooperative learning method can efficiently overcome the oral English anxiety. The oral English anxiety is significantly reduced through cooperative learning methods in experimental group. The oral English scores are significantly improved.(3)The main limitation is that it is difficult for teacher to control students’ noise levels in cooperative learning methods. The advanced students obtain more than others in cooperative learning method.