Application Of Cooperative Learning In Junior English Reading Teaching

Reading is one of the essential social-cultural skills for people to live anddevelop in modern society. English reading, as one of the four skills of languagelearning, plays an important role in the English learning. English teaching syllabusalso regards cultivating students’ reading ability as one of the main English teachinggoals. The traditional teaching methods of English reading are dominated by theconcept of teacher-centered, examination-oriented, grammar and vocabulary-based,which to a certain degree hinder the development of student’s interest towardEnglish reading and the improvement of their ability in language learning and using.There is a great need to reflect on the teaching methods applied in the Englishreading class. Among the various teaching approaches, Cooperative Learning is alearning and teaching method in which students work together in groups toaccomplish their shared tasks assigned by the teacher. Cooperative Learning isregarded as one of the most popular teaching strategies for classroom instructionand classroom management, and is used in a wide variety of teaching contexts. Thestudy aims to research the following three aspects:a. How can Cooperative Learning be applied in English reading teaching? Is itfeasible in teaching management?b. Can Cooperative Learning method help to arouse students’ interest andactivate their motivation towards English reading and create an interactive classroomatmosphere?c. Can students achieve higher levels of English reading comprehension inCooperative Learning?This thesis reviews the relevant literature on English reading and CooperativeLearning. It discusses the nature of reading and its models and analyzes the presentteaching and learning situation of English reading in junior middle schools. It alsoprovides the definition of Cooperative Learning and discusses its features, modelsand implementing principles. The author introduces the teaching design andimplementation process of Cooperative Learning in English reading in detail. After the discussion of the students’ performance in Cooperative Learning by means ofclassroom observation, assessment questionnaire and interview, the author drawsthe conclusion of how to implement Cooperative Learning and gives answers to theresearch questions:a. Cooperative Learning method is feasible in teaching management andprovides a possible way of applying the positive factors effectively within limitedclass time to achieve higher effectiveness of classroom teaching.b. Cooperative Learning contributes to an active classroom atmosphere, andpromotes students’ interactions and participation in class. Students show greatinterest and motivation in the Cooperative Learning in English reading.c. The multiple interactions in the Cooperative Learning process contribute toenhancing students’ comprehension level from literal comprehension to inferentialcomprehension and even to critical and evaluative comprehension, and also helpstudents to achieve emotional sublimation.