本科英语毕业论文
合作学习在初中英语教学中的应用
姓 名：
系 别：
专 业：
学 号：
指导教师：
The Application of Cooperative Learning in English Class of Junior Middle School
I
摘 要
合作学习是指以合作小组为基本形式，系统地利用教学中的动态因素之间的合作互动来促进学生的学习，以团队的成绩为评价标准来共同达到教学目标的一种教学活动。合作学习作为一种新的教学策略，着重对学生的小组学习进行积极、有效的指导，它的精髓就在于变灌输为指导，使学生之间彼此信赖，学会自己对学习负责，从而实现各种教学目标。
合作学习作为对传统授课制度的一种突破与补充，目前被广泛用于中学英语教学课堂。本文在第一部分说明了在英语教学中组织合作学习的必要性和重大意义，并分析了合作学习研究的现状。第二部分阐述了合作学习的定义和理论基础，并列举了合作学习的优势。第三部分介绍了在合作学习中教师角色的转变，及教师如何处理合作学习中学生的关系。第四部分介绍了合作学习在中学英语课堂上的实施。最后，总结并指出合作学习的不足之处。
关键词：合作学习；中学英语教学；教师角色
II
Abstract
Cooperative learning is one of teaching activities, which bases on team working and cooperative interaction between students to accomplish the shared learning goal and evaluate students’ performance according to achievement of the whole group. Cooperative learning is regarded as a system of teaching strategy, which emphasizes on guiding group learning positively and efficiently. The essence of cooperative learning is the change of teachers’ role from giver into director. In cooperative learning, the students rely on each other and learn to be responsible for their own study, thereby, make the students realize the learning goal.
Cooperative learning as a breakthrough and complement to traditional classroom instruction is widely applied in the English class of junior middle school. This thesis gives the introduction about the present research and the significance of the research. It analyses the present research situation of cooperative learning in the first part. Then it concerns about the cooperative learning, including definition of cooperative learning, benefits from cooperative learning and theoretical basis of cooperative learning. The third part introduces the change of teachers’ role from traditional teaching to cooperative learning and the teachers’ strategies to deal with the relationships between students in cooperative learning. The fourth part shows how to implement cooperative learning in English class of junior middle school. Finally, make a conclusion and put forward the defect in cooperative learning.
Key words: cooperative learning; middle school English teaching; teachers’ role
III
Contents
摘 要 .................................................................................................................................. II Abstract ................................................................................................................................ III Contents ............................................................................................................................... IV 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Need for the Present Research ................................................................................. 1 1.2 Significance of the Research ................................................................................... 2 1.3 Present Research Situation of Cooperative Learning .............................................. 2
1.3.1 International research situation ..................................................................... 2 1.3.2 The domestic research situation .................................................................... 3
2 Cooperative Learning ..................................................................................................... 3
2.1 Definition of Cooperative Learning ........................................................................ 3 2.2 Benefits from Cooperative Learning ....................................................................... 4 2.3 Theoretical Basis of Cooperative Learning ............................................................. 5
2.3.1 Goal Structure Theory ................................................................................... 5 2.3.2 Developmental theory ................................................................................... 6
3 Roles and the Relationships in Cooperative Learning.................................................... 7
3.1 Roles of Teachers in Cooperative Learning............................................................. 7 3.2 Teacher’s Strategies to Deal with the Relationships ................................................ 8
3.2.1 Teacher and students ..................................................................................... 8 3.2.2 Teaching and learning ................................................................................... 8 3.2.3 Form and aim ................................................................................................ 9 3.2.4 Fluency and accuracy .................................................................................... 9
4 Implement of Cooperative Learning............................................................................. 10
4.1 How to arrange the groups .................................................................................... 10 4.2 How to design cooperative learning ...................................................................... 10 4.3 How to carry out cooperative learning .................................................................. 11 4.4 How to evaluate after cooperative learning ........................................................... 11 5 Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 11 References ........................................................................................................................... 12
IV
1 Introduction
Cooperative learning, as a theoretic and strategic system, has been applied by many countries in the world. Many researches believe that cooperative learning is one of the most influential fields in contemporary education theory. Cooperative learning is adopted as an important method to teach by curriculum reform of our country. The application of cooperative learning can change the traditional ways of English teaching, so it is significant for the thesis to concern on cooperative learning in English class of junior middle school.
1.1 Need for the Present Research
The world is developing rapidly and full of challenges, competitions and opportunities. Teamwork is a key point that decides if you are successful or losing in the competition. If one whose ability is limited is not good at communication and cooperation with others, it is difficult for him to adapt to the processing world. English, as an international language, has been an important tool with the rapid globalization development. It is prerequisite for students, especially junior middle school students to learn English well and to communicate with others in English.
It is well known that secondary education is not only the basic stage of education but also the foundational stage of life-long education, and the English teaching in it is very important. Junior middle school can adopt English teaching method that accommodates to the environment full of competition and cooperation and teachers should cultivate students’ teamwork spirits in class. Therefore, cooperative learning is a very effective method for English learning.
In addition, some policies which formulate by China also advocate that students should learn to cooperate with others．Cooperative learning strategies have drawn much attention in the past decade. Cooperative learning in English teaching should accords with the requirements of the current curriculum reform in China.
1
1.2 Significance of the Research
In 2001, China’s New National English Curriculum Standard was set out. According to the new standard, teachers should teach students how to speak and listen to English and how to read and write in English. Teachers should also help students cultivate their interest, make them acquire the confidence in learning English, and train their active attitude to learn English. (The ministry of education of the People's Republic of China, 2001,81) So students should learn how to communicate and cooperate with others. Through the cooperative learning, students will be interested in English study. Furthermore, students will join in English class by themselves instead of by force. They will like to take part in activities in English class. They will make progress in English learning.
1.3 Present Research Situation of Cooperative Learning
1.3.1 International research situation
In the west, the research and the practice of cooperative learning have a quite long history. It was pointed out that students can benefit from teaching each other in ancient Rome. Students can not only obtain the knowledge from the teachers’ teaching but also from other students’. In the 19th and 20th century, cooperative learning appeared and gradually became one of the most widespread fields of educational theory, research and practice all over the world. In the United States, the concept of cooperative learning is praised highly and applied broadly by Park, F. and Dewey, J. Finally, in the early 1970s, the cooperative learning research became gradually a vigorous mass campaign in America. The birthplace of cooperative learning is the United States. Both in the theory of cooperative learning and practical experience, many countries have enlightenment and reference from the cooperative learning research and experiment of the United States. However, the concept of cooperative learning has different views. It is not hard to see that cooperative learning still exist some defects with the development of cooperative learning. Therefore, the theory of cooperative learning systematization is the trend of its development.
2
1.3.2 The domestic research situation
The concept of cooperative learning has a long history in China. The classical educational masterpiece, To Learn wrote by Mencius, recorded: “A person who learns alone without friends will become ignorant”, which advocates learners should improve each other by active discussion in the process of learning.
Since the early l990s，researchers and teachers in China have begun to pay attention to the study of cooperative learning. Recently the discussion of subjective educational experiment in-group work and a series of educational scientific researches and teaching practices have promoted the development of cooperative learning in China. Through these studies, the members of the education system gradually recognize the value of cooperative learning. Many students have benefited from it, and the teachers have developed some effective implementation strategies.
2 Cooperative Learning
2.1 Definition of Cooperative Learning
Cooperative learning takes many definitions. Many scholars proposed their own definitions. According to Johnson, D. W. and Johnson, R. T. (2001), cooperative learning is a procedure of small group interactive instruction, in which students work with their peers to accomplish a shared or common goal. The goal is reached through interdependence among all group members rather than working alone. Each member is responsible for the outcome of the shared goal. Wang Tan (2001) thinks, “Cooperative learning is a kind of activity guided by aim” (Wang, 116). The aims of cooperative learning can be divided into academic aim and cooperative skill aim. Traditional teaching only stresses the teaching and mastery of knowledge, neglecting training other skills. Cooperative learning trains students’ communication skills in process of teaching knowledge. In a wide sense, it not only emphasizes the students’ cognitive development, but also tries to make the students get happiness from learning．It mixes cognition, feelings, determination and action into a
3
whole part. In a narrow sense，each cooperative learning activity has its concrete aim. That is to say, each activity should finish a certain task or solve a problem assigned by the teacher.
From the above definitions, cooperative learning is an approach in which learners, having individual responsibility, from groups to create positive interdependence among group members and study together to reach a common goal. There are two key points here, individual responsibility and positive interdependence, that can determine whether or not cooperative learning could be successful. In groups, students discuss what they have learned together, help each other to understand well and encourage each other to study hard. Each member in the group learning should be not only responsible for oneself, but also for others. Students should not be successful until each member in a group has accomplished both group learning and his or her individual goals.
2.2 Benefits from Cooperative Learning
Cooperation is the demand and the main stream of the society. Cooperative learning is an important way to cultivate team spirit and cooperative consciousness. At present in China, most of middle school students are growing up without brothers or sister because of the one-child policy. They are apples in their parents’ eye. It is an urgent situation for them to learn how to cooperate with others. They lack of trust between their classmates and they are not good at communicating and cooperating with others. Cooperative learning is an effective pedagogy that promotes the relationships between students. In the process of cooperative learning students can not only learn teamwork, but also learn to respect others. Cooperative learning can train students’ ability of social communication and promote the formation of language ability. The fundamental purpose of learning English in junior middle school is not to gain the systematic knowledge of language, but to correctly utilize it and get into the habit of learning on basis of understanding the language well. The teacher provides much more time to practice in cooperative learning, so students can master the ability of language faster than traditional teaching.
4
Cooperative learning is beneficial to enhance the students’ self-esteem and self-confidence. Since the cooperative learning changes the evaluation basis, which transfers learning competition between individuals into teams competition, students can relieve their anxiety. All members in the group need to support each other so that they can achieve the common goal. Through cooperative learning, the relationship of whole-class teaching has been changed to cooperation in the group and competition among groups. Cooperative learning makes students rely on each other in the group, and the self-confidence and self-esteem of everyone will be enhanced.
Cooperative learning is beneficial to the improvement of the overall academic achievement. It is an effective way to promote learning efficiency. It has changed the traditional relationship between teachers and students in class. The main factor of cooperative learning is students. The teacher is the guide on the side, no longer the sage on the stage. Students are truly learners, but teachers are only arrangers of learning settings. The application of cooperative learning in English teaching not only change the traditional teaching mode, but also make students have a relaxing and happy atmosphere to learn. Through cooperative learning, students can master language ability and communication skills easily and the teaching quality can be improved.
2.3 Theoretical Basis of Cooperative Learning
2.3.1 Goal Structure Theory
M. Deutsch proposed goal structure theory. The theory thinks: because of the different awards given by teachers when students finish goal in cooperative learning, the relationship between students is also different. The theory emphasized on the way of reaching the shared goal. Due to different ways of achieving goals, Deutsch identified three goal structures: cooperative goal structure, competitive goal structure and individualistic goal structure.
According to cooperative goal structure, members in a group have a common goal; an individual is not successful until all members in the group finish the goal. In this condition,
5
each member should learn to believe in each other. The positive interdependence promotes the common goal successful in activities.
According to competitive goal structure, there is competition between members; when others in the group can not meet the goal, an individual is likely to achieve success. If other members succeed, some individuals’ possibility of success will be weakened. In this case, the relationship between members in a group is negative. The manner of finishing task for individual should be beneficial to himself, but it will reduce the possibility of others’ success in a group.
According to individualistic goal structure, it is nothing to do with the other members when individuals reach the goal; individuals only pay attention to their own task in the activity. Therefore, individuals pursuit a beneficial result of themselves, and do not care whether the other individuals achieve their goals. The relationships between members in a group are independence and noninterference with each other. 2.3.2 Developmental theory
The developmental theory is always the main point of educational practice. The representative personages are Piaget, a Sweden psychologist and Vygotsky L. S. a psychologist of former Russia. Development theory emphasizes the careful study of children’s developmental process, among which children are encouraged to attend activities, but promoted by force when they work together.
Vygotsky presented Zone of Proximal Development. In the book Mind in Society，he defined the ZPD: “the distance between the actual developmental level as determined by independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined through problem solving under adult guidance or in collaboration with more capable peers”. (Vygotsky 1978, 154) In his view, collaborative activity among children promotes growth because children of similar ages are likely to be operating within other proximal zones of development，modeling in the collaborative group behaviors more advanced than those who perform as individuals．So making the zone of proximal development in teaching is
6
not only necessary for the teaching practice, but also necessary for cooperating with better companions．
From the developmental theory, cooperative learning will enable educational practices to be aimed to cultivate children’s learning by their own and active cognitive abilities. To replace the traditional class, in which teachers’ role is that of the sole giver of knowledge and students’ role is that of the passive receiver, cooperative learning creates a flexible atmosphere, in which students can create their own ideas, and the ideas drive the learning process。
3 Roles and the Relationships in Cooperative Learning
3.1 Roles of Teachers in Cooperative Learning
Teachers are the initiator of knowledge. In traditional classroom teaching, teachers are in the main status, where they can control the whole class and ask students to do what they require. Teachers are the center of the class, all of students answer questions that they design; they teach students knowledge and students write down what they teach and listen to them passively. Students have little space to develop their own ideas. In this situation, students are lack of the motivation of learning; they can not perform themselves well. What’s more, cultivate their spirits of innovation and teamwork spirits.
Compared with traditional teaching, cooperative learning pays more attention to students’ creative and cooperative abilities. The focus of cooperative learning is the student. The teacher should be a director, an organizer or a promoter. Superficially, teachers may lose authority and controlling status in traditional classroom teaching. But in fact, they guide the whole class and induce students’ interests and motivation of learning in the teaching process. Teachers direct the students to meet the goal by designing learning sets and activities and let students gain knowledge effectively. Through cooperative learning, students can develop themselves well and participate in activities actively. It can promote students’ communication skills and the ability of learning by themselves.
7
3.2 Teacher’s Strategies to Deal with the Relationships
When a teacher organizes cooperative learning in English class, he should deal with the following relationships. 3.2.1 Teacher and students
The relationship between the teacher and the students in cooperative learning is different from that of traditional teaching, in which the teacher is speaking, while the students are only listening. In cooperative learning, relationships between students are emphasized. The interaction and mutual promotion between the students improve learning efficiency in class.
The center of cooperative learning is the students who are regarded as the main body of class teaching. While the teacher plays different roles in different steps of teaching. At the stage of cooperative learning design and group arrangements, the teacher is a designer who designs the teaching plan and arranges cooperative learning groups. In the process of cooperative learning, the teacher becomes a partner or adviser. When the teacher takes part in a group and discusses with the group members, he is a team partner. When the teacher walks up and down the class and gives help when students do not understand, he is a counselor or adviser. At the step of generalization and summarization, the teacher becomes a judge. When a class finishes, the teacher should give awards according to performance of each group.
3.2.2 Teaching and learning
Cooperative learning stresses on the students’ learning rather than the teacher’s teaching in traditional classroom teaching. In cooperative learning, the teacher adopts every way that should reflect the students’ principal position, the interactivity of the activity and communicative interaction. However, the teacher should not carry out cooperative learning from the beginning to the end of the class. The teacher should design teaching plans, arrange groups according to teaching requirement, and combine cooperative learning with
8
class teaching and individual learning efficiently. 3.2.3 Form and aim
The form serves the aim. And the aim can only be reached through certain forms. They rely on each other. Teaching forms should serve teaching aims. The all-around development of students can be reached through a variety of teaching organizational forms. Cooperative learning teaches students to master knowledge and skills and cultivate the consciousness and the ability of cooperation. In addition, it trains the students’ study ability, healthy psychology, good emotional attitude and values. The teacher combines the form with the aim ingeniously in order to achieve these teaching goals better.
Cooperative learning in English class should have communication. But only communication is not called cooperative learning. Dividing the class into several groups to do activities is the form of cooperative learning. The real cooperative learning makes the students learn to deal with the problems and meet a certain aim. The final aim of cooperative learning is that the students can speak English freely and gain knowledge. 3.2.4 Fluency and accuracy
The relationship between fluency and accuracy is neither opposite nor contradictive. People who master a foreign language can use it correctly and freely at any time and any place, which is the highest level in foreign language learning. However, if a beginner in English must be required to be accurate and fluent, it can reduce their enthusiasm to learn English.
In English cooperative learning, the students should communicate in English. Whether we should stress the fluency or accuracy in English communicating has not yet reached an agreement. In the thesis, the interactive communication between the students and the students should ensure the fluency first. As long as the students can understand each other, discuss with others and solve the problems by communicating in English, which is enough. As to the mistakes in communication, group members or teachers can correct then in proper time. If we can carry out cooperative learning for a long time with individuals’
9
effort, partners’ help and teachers’ guidance, the students’ English expression will be fluent and accurate.
4 Implement of Cooperative Learning
4.1 How to arrange the groups
Arranging the groups properly is the first concrete thing before organizing cooperative learning. It is key point whether cooperative learning is successful. The teacher should be familiar with each student, including his or her interests, characteristics and his or her English level. According to the differences of the students’ abilities and teaching tasks, the teacher can divide all students into different groups. In each group, the students’ abilities and English level should be different, which is good for fair competition and mutual help between groups.
It is very important for a group to choose a group leader. In general, the group leader should study well with certain ability of cooperation, communication and organization. He should guide the group, help the members with poor communication skills, and let all members make progress in learning English. After a period of training in cooperative learning, members can be group leader in turn; this is beneficial to develop every member’s ability.
4.2 How to design cooperative learning
Designing cooperative learning is a crucial step in cooperative learning. A teacher should make good preparation for lessons that will be presented. He should know the textbook and his students very well. In cooperative learning, the teacher should put forward some tasks with exploratory and challenges that are difficult for one student to finish.
Before utilizing cooperative learning, the teacher should design each step carefully and plan the time of each step. The time of one class should be divided into several parts: teachers’ speech, individual learning, cooperative learning and summarizing. The tasks in
10
cooperative learning should be clear and certain. The questions should be put forward by the teacher from the simple one to the difficult one.
4.3 How to carry out cooperative learning
A teacher must have some organizational competence, and he can organize a cooperative learning class successfully. It is feasible for junior middle school students to have cooperative learning. And it is necessary to have cooperative learning in English classes. To language learning, it is to learn how to use the language to communicate not learn about the language. Most of students practice English just in English class in China. Cooperative learning must be carried out in English class. The students will get more chances to use English to communicate.
The first step of implementing cooperative learning is grouping. The teacher should group students according to required tasks. After grouping, the teacher can give the students several minutes to know group members and assign duties. Then the teacher presents problems or tasks that the students should solve or achieve in cooperative learning. Finally, when every group finishes the tasks, the teacher can make a summary about the activity.
4.4 How to evaluate after cooperative learning
It is essential for teachers to make research, collect feedback information and evaluate cooperative learning from all aspects. Doing this is helpful to improvement of teaching. The teacher’s evaluation is very important for the students to promote their learning efficiency. The teacher can evaluate a group, an individual in a group or some representative students. Different groups can make mutual evaluations. A member in a group can also evaluate other members.
5 Conclusion
Cooperative learning is a very important way for junior middle school students to learn
11
English. The students can improve their cooperative consciousness and learning ability and heighten their learning confidence through cooperative learning. Cooperative learning is good for forming a relaxing and happy learning environment and the students can develop their peer relationship in cooperative activities.
There are still some problems in the process of implementing cooperative learning. Although the students who are used to traditional teaching method show great enthusiasm, they are lack of initiative and positive consciousness for learning. So the teacher should consider the students’ individual factors fully to ensure that the students develop personal responsibility and positive interdependence between groups. The teacher can check the completion of the task randomly or arrange some tests to make the students develop a positive and initiative habit. The teacher should prepare well, make a deep research about textbook and enrich his knowledge to promote teaching efficiency and make the students play their roles effectively.
References
Fang, Wenli. & Wang, Jianjun. 2007. Application of Cooperative Learning in English
Teaching. Journal of Hebei Energy Institute of Vocation and Technology (1), 88-96. Hong, Lei. 2004. Cooperative Learning in English Teaching in Middle School. Journal of
Fujian Education Institute (11), 68-69.
Johnson, D.W., & Johnson, R.T. 1992. Implementing Cooperative Learning. Contemporary
Education, 63(3), 173-80.
Shi, Yan. 2012. The Application of Cooperative Learning in English Class in Junior Middle
School. Teaching Reference of Middle School (36), 13.
Song, Xiaoyan. 2010. The Application of Cooperative Learning in English Teaching in
Junior Middle School. Tianjin, MA: Tianjin Normal University
The ministry of education of the People's Republic of China. 2001. China’s New National
12
English Curriculum Standard. Beijing: Beijing Normal University Press, 81. Vygotsky, L.S. 1978. Mind in Society: Zone of Proximal Development. Cambridge, MA:
Harvard University Press.
Wang, Tan. 2001. Cooperative Learning---Principles and Strategies. Xueyuan Press, 116. Wang, Tan. 2002. The Idea and Realization of cooperative Learning. Educational Research
(2)
Yang, Chunye. 2003. The Teachers’ Strategies to Deal with the Relationships in
Cooperative Learning. Educational Practice and Research (12), 34-35.
13