The Application Of Cooperative Learning In Task-based Classrooms In Reducing Students' Foreign Language Anxiety

The globalization of economy and the intense heat of information technology endow English an ever-increasing importance as an international language in people's life and work and their activities in the international community. However, English language teaching (ELT) in many of China's colleges and universities is still far from being satisfactory, and unable to meet the needs of the rapid development of the country. The number of students who are vulnerable to English learning have been ever increasing. Then what caused students' anxiety? How to reduce it? The researches focusing on the damaging effects of foreign language anxiety indicate that CL as a classroom procedure can create a more positive affective climate in the classroom. To be more specific, it is of great importance in reducing anxiety, promoting interaction, increasing motivation, increasing self-confidence and self-esteem and providing comprehensible input and output, and the like. Besides, researchers of CL have succeeded in constructing different models of CL and its benefits have also explored. Although the researches abroad have suggested that CL has positive impact on reducing foreign language anxiety, the researchers in China have not attached much significance to it, and relatively little empirical research has been done in the field. But it is very urgent and important for us English teachers to help our students to reduce their anxiety. Therefore, an experiment study aimed to apply CL methods in classroom to reduce foreign language anxiety was conducted.The participants selected for this study were 94 freshmen with a major in technological sciences. By using a classical instrument, the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), this study examined English language anxiety levels and by using two final examinations, we examined English proficiency of the 94 participants. As for the qualitative study, seven students were interviewed.The quantitative research finds that the non-English major college students at Guizhou University do experience a relatively high level of EFL anxiety. The results indicate significant difference between the first and the second FLCAS tests which offered the evidence that this experiment was effective. At the same time, the study investigated the students EFL proficiency level, but the difference between the pre-test and post-test is not significant. The qualitative research shows further support to the findings of the quantitative study.The findings of the present study suggest that English teachers should consider the possibility that EFL anxiety is responsible for the students' poor performance, while contriving to adopt approaches to help students to decrease anxiety and learn more effectively.