A Study On Individual Accountability Of Cooperative Learning In English Reading Class In Junior High School

Cooperative learning as a teaching theory and teaching strategy system started in America in the 1970 s.It began to be applied to English teaching in China in the 1990 s.The new curriculum reform advocates cooperative learning to cultivate students' learning ability.However,in recent years,the problem of low efficiency of cooperative learning has attracted much attention among researchers and English teachers.A main cause for the low efficiency of cooperative learning is that neither teachers nor students pay sufficient attention to the implementation of individual accountability.This research aims to explore the present situation of implementing individual accountability in English reading class in junior high school,to find specific problems that cause the lack of individual accountability accordingly,and to propose corresponding suggestions for solving the problems.This research adopts the methods of classroom observation,questionnaire,and interviews,specifically analyzes,from both teachers and students' perspectives,the implementation of individual accountability of cooperative learning at pre-,while-and post-task stage in English reading class in junior high school.Ninety-seven students in Grade eight and three English teachers who have been using the method of cooperative learning in Qingdao No.57 middle school have participated in this research.The data are presented and analyzed by Excel 2007.The results show that the present situation of implementing individual accountability is not very optimistic.The problems that cause individual accountability not to be effectively implemented are mainly and specifically as follows.Firstly,at the pre-task stage,English teachers and students have low consciousness of implementing individual accountability.The vague division of individual tasks and roles provides opportunities for students to escape their individual accountability.Secondly,at the while-task stage,with loose supervision in cooperative learning groups,some students,especially lower achievers,intend to rely on other team members so as to escape their own accountability.Thirdly,at the post-task stage,individual assessment and corresponding feedback are not always timely and sufficient.These problems may not occur simultaneously in one class,but each of them can directly affect the efficiency of the implementation of individual accountability in cooperative English reading activities.Based on the above problems,the author comes up with corresponding suggestions including English teachers' cooperative learning groups,students' reflective activities for their cooperative work,dividing hierarchical tasks,establishing functional roles,group displays and specific evaluation.The author hopes that the suggestions can provide help for improving the present situation of the implementation of individual accountability in English reading class in junior high school.