The Function Of Songs, Rhymes And Chants In A Cooperative Classroom

Traditional English education in China usually adopts a teacher-centered training style, discouraging the students to express their individuality, denying the essence of communication and cooperation. So many Chinese students can neither speak English well nor have a fluent talk with foreigners even after many years' English learning. With the rapid economic growth in China and the closer relationship of the countries in the world, current foreign language education cannot meet the need of the new era. Therefore, it is urgent to update and strengthen our English teaching.Many teachers and linguistics researchers have regarded cooperative learning as an effective way to overcome the problems in our language teaching and have come to realize the urgency and importance of training learners to acquire the ability to communicate. Songs, rhymes and chants, according to many scholars, are among the best ways of teaching a foreign language. They can assist the teaching of English while providing a relaxed atmosphere and motivating students. This thesis tries to research into the function of songs, rhymes and chants in a cooperative learning classroom in China, with the aim to prove the following assumptions:1) It is an effective way of teaching to use songs, rhymes, and chants in a cooperative classroom, since it is based on scientific theories and has provided a solution to the problem of "silent English" that has troubled our English teachingand learning for a long time.2) Songs, rhymes, and chants are useful activities to improve students' competence of listening and speaking, since it gives students many chances to speak English, which arouses the student's interest in English and passion for English learning without psychological burden.