An Empirical Research On Cooperative Learning In College English Writing

The research and exploration of pedagogies have never ceased in the field ofeducation, while cooperative learning emerging in the1970s in America is one of thecontemporary most profound teaching methods. It has drawn the attentions of manyeducators from various countries and researchers like the Johnson brothers, Slavin andWan Tan who have done abundant researches on cooperative learning. It underlines thestudent-centered mode and lets students communicate and cooperate to enable studentsintegrate into learning process in depth with joint efforts. Abounding studies on theefficiency of language teaching and learning have testified that cooperative learning is aneffective way. English writing, as one of basic English skills, possesses its unique statusthat is a dynamic, accumulative and developmental proceeding. The implementation ofcooperative learning can provide English interaction and communication opportunities forstudents to improve their English skills.This paper is oriented to explore and verify the effectiveness of cooperative learningin college English writing through an empirical research with the questionnaires and testsas research methods. Totally there are sixty-two students participating in this experimentwhich lasts four months from the beginning of September to the end of December. Theexperimental class consisting of thirty students adopts cooperative learning in Englishwriting classes where students are required to communicate in English as much as they can,while the control class of thirty-two students adopts traditional whole class teaching. Thefollowings are the research questions addressed in this thesis:1. Does the cooperative learning in English writing influence college students’ writingattitude?2. Can the cooperative learning in English writing enhance college students’ writingscores?3. Is the cooperative learning in English writing effective in the improvement ofcollege students’ comprehensive English proficiency?The findings in this empirical study indicate that: first, the implementation ofcooperative learning can deepen students’ perspectives, arouse their interest, boost theirconfidence, alleviate their anxiety of English writing and promote them to actually andactively write. Second, the writing post-test scores of the experimental class and thecontrol class reveal that the experimental class’s writing score has been improvedsignificantly. Third, the comparison of the two classes’ CET-4scores presents that theexperimental class holds a better comprehensive English proficiency but with no significant difference. Albeit some existing uncertainties in the present dissertation, it hasbeen validated that cooperative learning can ameliorate students’ attitude towards Englishwriting and improve their writing scores evidently, which examines that it is a worthyteaching method in college English writing.