A Study On The Effect Of Cooperative Learning On Reducing English Learning Anxiety Of Low-achieving Students In Junior Middle School

Affective factors in foreign language learning have attracted more and more attention from researchers at home and abroad since 1970s.Among all the affective factors,foreign language learning anxiety is an extremely important one.Foreign language learning anxiety as a kind of affection of fear or apprehension occurs in the process of learning a foreign language.A large number of studies have been conducted on foreign language learning anxiety and researchers find that foreign language anxiety is a negative factor in language learning.For how to reduce foreign language learning anxiety,many researchers propose cooperative learning.Studies find that cooperative learning can reduce foreign language learning anxiety effectively since it can create a positive classroom atmosphere,improve learners' motivation,and increase their participation and so on.Although there are already a large number of studies on this issue,most of them are conducted in college or university,a few in junior middle school.Studies focusing on low-achieving students in junior middle school are fewer.However,the phenomenon of low-achieving students is common at home and abroad.The present study aims to investigate English learning anxiety of low-achieving students in junior middle school and the effects of cooperative learning on reducing their English learning anxiety.The research questions are as follows:(1)What is the actual situation of low-achieving students' anxiety in junior middle school?(2)Can cooperative learning reduce low-achieving students' anxiety compared with the traditional teaching method?(3)Can low-achieving students' English proficiency be improved if their English learning anxiety is reduced by cooperative learning?In order to address the above questions,both qualitative and quantitative methods were used.There were totally 64 subjects in this study,32 from class 9 and the rest from class 10.Before the experiment,all the students in the two classes had the ECAS(English Classroom Anxiety Scale)questionnaire which was adapted from Horwitz's Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale.At the same time,the author interviewed 5 low-achieving students from class 9.Then took subjects from class 9 as the experimental group and applied cooperative learning method for a semester.Subjects from class 10 were regarded as control group taught with traditional teaching method.At the end of the experiment,the 64 subjects answered the same EC AS questionnaire again.Besides,the author collected the final exam scores of all the 64 low-achieving students.Finally,the author made use of the SPSS 18.0 to analyze the data collected.The study finds that almost all the low-achieving students in junior middle school experienced certain level of English learning anxiety and most of them had a higher level of English learning anxiety compared with other students.In addition,cooperative learning as a classroom procedure can reduce low-achieving students' anxiety effectively.Finally low-achieving students' English proficiency was improved after their English learning anxiety was alleviated.According to the findings,some pedagogical suggestions are offered.Firstly,teachers should treat each student equally and pay enough attention to low-achieving students.Secondly,teachers are supposed to create a relaxing atmosphere in English classroom and implement cooperative learning appropriately to reduce low-achieving students' anxiety.Thirdly,teachers should organize cooperative learning effectively.