By Li Shoujing Hu Bo Renmin University of China

1. A Preliminary Study on the Cooperative Learning Strategy in College English Classin Renmin University of China By Li Shoujing Hu Bo Renmin University of China

2. 3 4 1 2 5 Theoretical support Introduction Research design Data analysis and discussion Conclusion Structure of the paper

3. Introduction • The notion of cooperative learning has a long history. • Nowadays cooperative learning becomes a popular and fruitful field of research on learning strategy. • Cooperative learning is a good way to help students develop the skills of cooperating with others, which is very useful in real life situations. • In China, researches about cooperative learning are far from enough now.

4. Theoretical Support • Definition • Five elements of cooperative learning • Pedagogical theory • Constructivism theory • Motivation theory

5. Definition of Cooperative Learning • Cooperative learning is a set of instructional methods in which students are encouraged or required to work together on academic tasks (Slavin 1987)

6. B A C interpersonal skills Cooperative learning D E processing face-to-face promotive interaction Five Interrelated Elements individual accountability positive interdependence

7. Theoretical Support—Pedagogical Theory • The essential goal of education is to promote learner development by cultivation of various abilities, among which is the ability to work with others, communicate with others, participate in all kinds of social activities and live independently in the society. • “We should change the education which is eager for instant benefit nowadays to the education that ensures students’ sustainable development.” (Pan Maoyuan 1998)

8. Theoretical Support —Constructivism Theory • Knowledge is not acquired through the teaching of teachers, but constructed by learners themselves in certain culture background, with the help of others (including teachers and other learners) and necessary learning material. • How to make use of the acquired knowledge and problem-solving skills more useful in students’ daily life is another major concern of constructivists.

9. Literature Review—Motivation(1) • Motivation influences learning strategies used by language learners. • Learning strategies also influence students’ motivation in language learning process.

10. Literature Review—Motivation(2) Cooperative learning can enhance students’ motivation In language learning Cooperative learning can also help students to gain more self-esteem and confidence. Cooperative learning can help to decrease students’ anxiety. Cooperative learning can provide comprehensible input and output, at the same time lower affective filter.

11. Research Design • Tools: a self-designed questionnaire and semi-structured interviews • Subjects: undergraduate students of Renmin University of China.

12. Basic Information of the Questionnaire • The questionnaire consisted of 29 items in a 5-point Richter scale. • Structure of the questionnaire:

13. Basic Information of the subjects(1) • The questionnaire was distributed to 151 randomly chosen undergraduate students of Renmin University of China. 145 copies were collected, and 142 of them were valid and analyzed, using SPSS 13.0.

14. Basic Information of the subjects(2)

15. Discussion —Statistics of the Survey

16. Basic Information of the Interviewees

17. A General Description of the Statistics • A general description • Learner beliefs about cooperative learning • Learner behaviors in cooperative learning • Summary

18. A General Description • Frequency of using cooperative leaning

19. Learner beliefs about cooperative learning (1) • Learner beliefs about using cooperative learning

20. Learner beliefs about cooperative learning (2) • Learner evaluation of cooperative learning

21. Learner behaviors in cooperative learning • Use of English in cooperative learning (1)

22. Learner behaviors in cooperative learning • Use of English in cooperative learning (2)

23. Learner behaviors in cooperative learning • Management and monitoring of cooperative learning

24. Learner behaviors in cooperative learning • Skills of handling disagreement (1)

25. Learner behaviors in cooperative learning • Skills of handling disagreement (2)

26. Summary

27. Factors that affect effectiveness of cooperative learning Five factors are identified to affect the effectiveness of cooperative learning. They are: • Factor 1, students’ attitude toward cooperative learning; • Factor 2, active involvement on the part of the students; • Factor 3, use of the target language; • Factor 4, relationship within the group; • Factor 5, management and self-regulation.

28. Discussion • Beliefs and behaviors do not match. • Factors That Account for This Phenomenon • Suggestions

29. Educational concept The non-dominant role of cooperative learning Social and cultural reasons Teachers and learners

30. 1 2 3 . The issue of face Social and Cultural Reasons The traditional Chinese culture encourages people to be conservative The highly competitive Chinese society

31. Educational Concept • Education for scores and certificates • Limited resources of education and the overwhelmingly large population of students.

32. Teachers and Learners • Teachers’ belief of teaching • Students’ motivation of learning

33. Suggestions • For teachers it is necessary to choose the proper tasks or projects to ask students to cooperate with each other. • Lack learner autonomy, therefore, teacher instruction should be reinforced to help the students understand why a specific cooperative learning activity is organized, what they are supposed to accomplish, and how they can do a better job, including attitude and skills to deal with disagreement.

34. Conclusion • The advantages of Cooperative learning are confirmed. College English students can benefit more than improvement of English proficiency. Their capacity for self-access learning such as the choice of deep approach to learning, and useful social skills such as convincing others and handle disagreement can also be developed. • Measures to make cooperative learning more effective should be taken by teachers and students alike. But this is far from enough. More have to be done outside the classroom. The current assessment system, for example, may insert more influence on the learning process than class activities.

35. Limitations • The survey mainly focused on the learner beliefs and some of the behaviors as reported by the subjects. More in-depth investigation such as observation should be used to establish evidence for the actual performance in cooperative learning to validate the data and to gain more insights on the effect of cooperative learning.

36. Thank You !