Analysis of the application of cooperative learning in senior high English class

西安外國語大學

【Abstract】Writing is one of the important skills of English competence. Although writing is a kind of self-learning process， cooperative learning can be an efficient instrument to cultivate students writing competence. The purpose of this paper is to analysis the effect of application of cooperative learning in senior high English class.

【Key words】cooperative learning； English writing class； senior high school

1. Introduction

English is taught as compulsory subject valued for its educational and cultural significance（Khan， 2015）. As is investigated， high school students English writing gets the lowest scores in a paper. Cooperative learning is an instrumental teaching method， which emphasizes students-centeredness， advocates cooperation between different students， and narrow ability gap between strong and weak students.

2. Theory of cooperative learning

About the definition of cooperative learning， ??M?EK（2013）thinks that cooperative learning method can be defined as a learning method， in which students help each other create small mixed groups， trying to achieve a common goal. It can increase self-confidence， students communicative competence and the ability to problem-solving and critical thinking.

To be clear about cooperative learning， we need to know the principles of cooperative learning. They are positive interdependence， individual responsibility， interpersonal and small group skills， promotive interaction， group processing

3. The application of cooperative learning in senior high English writing class

In fact， in senior high school， students are at different level of writing ability. The number of students in each class is large. Hence its difficult for teacher to point out each students shortcoming. Here we can choose cooperative learning as an alternative. As is known， high school English writing can be divided into two kinds： product approach and process approach. Here we combine cooperative learning with process approach to writing. The process to writing can be divided into three stages： pre-stage， while-stage and post-stage.

3.1 Pre-stage

First， teacher divides students into several groups. Second， choose an appropriate topic. Third， students should work together to brainstorm. They can say whatever they think. Forth， map. Mapping helps students organize these ideas. A diagram or an outline can be used to do this. Fifth， free writing.The students are asked to write what has come there mind as quickly as possible within ten to fifteen minutes.

3.2 While-stage

After students have gathered enough ideas， they need to write a more detailed outline， which shows the main structure of the article ant topic sentence of each paraphrase. Then it comes to draft. In this period， the idea of the article is more important than getting grammatical structures， punctuation or spelling correct.

3.3 Post-stage

After students have written the first draft， they have four more stages to carry on. Firstly， peer editing. The second stage， after the peer has edited， it is turn to the author to revise such as adding， deleting and correcting. The third stage is reading each students essay before the small group. At last， each group chose one outstanding work to read before class. In this process， students and teacher should provide constructive and positive feedback， treat students errors strategically and give students a sense of achievement from time to time.

4. Conclusion

Cooperative learning is a student-centeredness method， promoting students writing motivation and enthusiasm and eliminating students writing fear， anxiety. We should use it more frequently.

References：

[1]Shafqat Ali Khan，Muhammad Arshad Javaid，& Umar Farooq，Evaluation of the effectiveness of cooperative learning method versus traditional learning method on the writing ability of the students.（Asian journal of management sciences & education，2015）：23.

[2]Ma Yu，A study on the application of group cooperative learning in English process writing teaching in junior high school，（International journal for innovation education and research，2016）：48.

[3]Ufuk ??M?EK，Bayram YILAR & Birhul K???K，The effects of cooperative learning methods on students academic achievements in social psychology lessons，（International journal on new trends in education and their implications，2013）：6.

作者簡介： 朱枝鑫（1994-）， 女， 陜西商洛人， 西安外國語大學，英語教育學院，2013級英語專業。