Successful grammar teaching has positive effect on our language capability。 However, at present, under the pressure of the current examination system, there is a problem existing for a long time in the middle school English grammar teaching process, that is, the organization form in the grammar teaching class is too inflexible and rigid, the traditional grammar—translational method is mainly used by teachers。 In this method, teachers are the centre of classes。 They spend a large part of time explaining the grammar key points while students stay in a relatively closed, inpidual and lack-communication situation because they just need to memorize all these knowledge。 Consequently, the learning atmosphere is gloomy, students totally lose even the last hope of developing their interest or showing their enthusiasm to English grammar learning。 Students completely become passive receivers of knowledge because of this kind of “spoon-feeding” grammar teaching approach。 This teaching method, especially the single organizational form of teaching, tightly restrains the comprehensive development of the students, limiting the improvement of their English language using abilities。 Therefore, it is very important and necessary to change the rigid grammar teaching mode and find a more suitable and effective grammar teaching method。
Cooperative learning is a teaching method dominated by students, and in the cooperative teaching situation, teachers often design some cooperative activities and students are required to work in groups。 Each member of a team takes responsibility for both learning what is taught by teachers and helping to solve their teammates’ problems。 Its advantages lie in the function of arousing the English learning curiosity and enthusiasm of the students, encouraging their cooperative abilities and senses of participation, and realizing the communicative teaching in the class。 Cooperative learning is a method strongly recommended by the New Curriculum, which requires the practicality and applicability of language study in the English teaching process, emphasizing the involvement and experience of the students。 It also points out that cooperative learning should be encouraged because it promotes the interaction not only among teachers but also between students, students become the subject of the class and they can learn from each other。 Besides, many researches at home and abroad have proved that under the atmosphere and circumstance of achievement and success, the teaching proficiency will be enhanced and students’ as well as teachers’ personal abilities will be improved。 That is to say, cooperative learning is no doubt a feasible teaching method。文献综述
In this thesis, the author will clarify some advantages of learning grammar with cooperative learning by comparing it with the traditional method; the author will also advance some new ideas about how to change teachers’ traditional grammar teaching modes and arouse students’ curiosity of English grammar learning。
2。 Literature review
Literature review consists of two sections。 It begins with a conceptual ideal of cooperative learning。 The second section probes into the history and researches on cooperative learning abroad and at home, it will also concern the modes and the methods of cooperative learning。来,自,优.尔:论;文*网www.youerw.com +QQ752018766-
2。1 Brief introduction of cooperative learning
As a teaching theory and strategy, cooperative learning has its strong creativeness and effectiveness, it is known as “one of the most important and most successful teaching reform in recent decades。” (Vermette 1994) and “one of the three major learning patterns。” (Jin and Song 9) In recent years, it has been recognized as one of the most promising educational practices among the modern mainstream of teaching theories and strategies。 Cooperative learning already has several decades’ history in both theory and practice, but there is still not a clear definition because linguistics explained it in different ways。 According to Johnson brothers, David Johnson and Roger Johnson, “cooperative learning is the instructional use of small groups so that students work together to maximize their own and each other’s learning。” (Johnson and Johnson 5) Koschmann defines cooperative learning as “the mutual engagement of participants in a coordinate effort to solve problem together。" (Koschmann 8) As for Paul J。 Vermette, he defines cooperative learning in this way: “cooperative learning is not just a strategy, part of a bag of tricks。 It is also a philosophy。” (Vermette 5-6) In his opinion, a cooperative classroom is a learning community that serves itself as it can help every member。 Based on the definitions above, the author describes cooperative learning as a kind of collective education method mostly consisting of four to six students, which aims to inspire students’ enthusiasm and strengthen their main roles in learning。