| As a kind of written communication language in foreign trade,Business English Correspondence has been the main communication way in foreign trade.With the wide economic globalization and the rapid economic development in China,it is in urgent need that foreign trade staffs can realize effective communication and cooperation with foreign customers.However,the traditional teacher-centered method is the teacher’s one-way teaching,neglecting the fostering of students’ cooperation skills.Students’ learning atmosphere is not good.As lacking practice and application environment in class,they are weak in communication,and their cooperation skills need to be developed and improved.In this case,the traditional teaching method can’t meet the requirement of the working positions.Cooperative learning is a teaching method in which students can cooperate with each other for their common goal,which is helpful to cultivate students’ cooperation skills.In the class of cooperative learning,the students establish a mutually cooperative relationship,and students’ dominant position in learning is emphasized,the cultivation and development of students’ cooperation skills is highlighted.It is shown from current documents that many Chinese scholars and researchers have applied cooperative learning to the general English teaching and reached expected effects,but the study of the application of cooperative learning in Business English Correspondence which is a branch of English for Specific Purpose in secondary vocational school at home is rarely read.Basing on the related theories of cooperative learning as guidance,the author made an empirical research to explore the effects of applying cooperative learning on Business English Correspondence in Yangjiang No.1 Secondary Vocational and Technical School.This research put forward the following three questions:(1)Can cooperative learning improve the students’ academic achievements in Business English Correspondence?(2)Is cooperative learning helpful in fostering students’ cooperation skills? If yes,in what aspects?(3)What changes do cooperative learning bring to students’ classroom learning?The research lasted for 16 weeks.There were 78 students majoring in Business English from two paralled classes,Grade 2019,selected as the subjects.Class 1 was the controlled class(CC)and Class 2 was the experimental class(EC).In the experiment,the traditional teacher-centered teaching method was applied in CC,while cooperative learning in EC.The research instruments mainly include a pre-test,a post-test,a pre-questionnaire,a post-questionnaire,classroom observation and interviews.Through the qualitative research with the quantitative research,the data of pre-test and post-test,pre-questionnaire,and postquestionnaire were collected and analyzed by SPSS 21.0.Combing the above results with the classroom observation and interviews,the research conclusion is made.The major conclusion is made as follows:1)Cooperative learning is effective in improving the students’ academic achievement on Business English Correspondence,they have not only improved the grasp of foreign trade knowledge but also improve the Business English Correspondence understanding,translation and writing ability.For the assignment performance,students in the EC were more advantageous in correctness of grammar,sentence structure,sentence pattern and concreteness of the Business English Correspondence.2)Cooperative learning is helpful to foster students’ cooperation skills including interpersonal interaction ability,conflict resolution ability,emotion control ability and organization leading ability.3)Through classroom observation and interviews,it is found that the learning atmosphere of EC is more relaxing and cheerful,more students in EC participated in class activities actively,and their learning interest and self-confidence were enhanced.During this process,students’ quality including outgoing character and team spirit is shaped,which is beneficial for their future career life. |
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