An Empirical Study On Applying Cooperative Learning To English Reading Teaching In Senior High School

This thesis is an empirical study on applying cooperative learning to English reading teaching in senior high school,aiming to explore the efficiency of cooperative learning,compared with the traditional teaching method.It is based on the following cooperative theories:group dynamics,motivational theory,constructivism and cognitive learning theory.The author analyzes five essential elements of cooperative learning:positive interdependence,face-to-to promotional interaction,individual accountability,interpersonal and small group skills and group processing,combining some main techniques of cooperative learning.They are Student team achievement divisions,Jigsaw II,Learning together,Group investigation and Think-pair share.The thesis mainly focuses on the combination of cooperative learning and reading skills to improve students' reading ability in this thesis.Two classes with 93 students are involved in this research.One is the control class with traditional teaching method.And the other is the experimental class with cooperative learning.The research lasts three months.The teaching time of the two classes is equally the same,with seven English classes each week.Three tests,two questionnaires,an interview and narrative inquiry are adopted during the research in order to analyze students' achievements in English reading comprehension and collect the information about students' attitudes towards their teacher's teaching style,cooperative learning and their reading ability.Before the research,the experimental class is divided into groups of four,each with a high-proficiency student,a low-proficiency student and two intermediate-proficiency students so that different groups are heterogeneous.After the division of the cooperative groups,each member's role is allocated to make sure each one has the chance to participate in the activities and contribute them to the success of cooperative learning.The role of each member is adjusted once a week based on their performance in the activities in order that each member has equal chance of participating experience.In addition,reading skills training and extracurricular reading training assist to promote the effectiveness of cooperative learning.In this thesis,comparisons between the samples of traditional teaching method and cooperative learning are made to prove the advantage of using cooperative learning.After the analyses of the three tests,two questionnaires,an interview and the author's observation,a conclusion of the study is drawn that most students prefer cooperative learning to traditional teaching method,which is seen from the questionnaires,the interview and the author's observation on the experimental class.As is seen in the three tests,cooperative learning improves students' achievements in English reading.The mean score of the experimental class increases greatly compared with that of the control class.Moreover,students' reading skills are improved with cooperative learning,especially the low-proficiency students,who always have the opportunities to ask for help and become more relaxed to put what they have learned in class into practice.Not only has students' English reading ability been improved,but also their enthusiasm to learn English has been aroused with the method of cooperative learning.That is,they are willing to express their own idea in English and deal with problems with joint efforts in their cooperative group.What's more,students in experimental class develop their habit in the extracurricular reading,which of course has a further impact on their English ability.To conclude,cooperative learning is helpful for senior high students' reading ability.