1. Introduction    1
2. Literature Review    3
2.1 Current Research Achievements on Cooperative Learning abroad    3
2.2 Current Research Achievements on Cooperative Learning at home    4
2.3 Theoretical Basis of the Research    5
2.3.1 The Definition of Cooperative Learning    5
2.3.2 The Basic Elements of Cooperative Learning    6
2.3.3 The Models of Cooperative Learning    7
3. Methodology    8
3.1 Research Target Issues    8
3.2 Research Subject    9
3.3 Research Methods    9
3.3.1 English Reading Tests    9
3.3.2 Questionnaires    10
4. Results and Discussion    11
4.1 Results and Discussion of English Reading Tests    11
4.2 Results and Discussion of Questionnaires    12
5. Conclusion    13
5.1 Major Findings    13
5.2 Limitations of the Research    15
5.3 Recommendations for Future Research    16
References    17
Appendix I Questionnaire One    18
Appendix II Questionnaire Two    19
A Research on the Application of Cooperative Learning to English Reading Teaching in Senior High School
1. Introduction
With the development of the society, English has become more and more popular in the world. As is known to all, English teaching and learning is an organic integrity, and English reading plays a very important role in English teaching and learning because it can help gain students language knowledge and improve language competence. The New Curriculum Standards for Senior High Schools (2003) points out “High schools should focus on enhancing the students’ ability to gain and process information and to analyze and solve problems, in order to lay the foundation for further learning and applying English”. What’s more, about half scores of College Entrance English Examination is testing the reading abilities of students. Therefore, it is significant and urgent to improve the reading abilities of senior high school students.
Although many teachers and students know the importance of English reading and they have made efforts to improve reading ability, the result is far from satisfactory. Therefore, there must be some problems in our present English reading teaching.
Traditional teaching method is the largest problem leading to students’ low reading achievements. In traditional class, teachers mainly focus on the learning of language knowledge, grammar and vocabulary. They often ignore the structure of teaching, background information and the cultivation of reading strategies. Traditional teaching method is teacher-centered, which teachers act as knowledge-giver while students act as machines that receiving and storing knowledge. In addition, English reading lessons are conducted in large class which has more than 50 members. It leads to few chances for students to practice and lacks interaction between teacher and students or between students. In the learning process, students do not have enough opportunities of thinking, creating and cooperating. For a long time, students will lose the interest and passion of English reading.
    Cooperative learning is a good way to improve senior students’ reading abilities, make students more interested in English reading and create a harmonious and democratic atmosphere. The main purpose of the research is to explore whether cooperative method is more effective than traditional teaching methods. To sum up, the research is aimed at confirming the following two questions. First, does cooperative learning have better effect on improving senior students’ reading ability than traditional teaching method? Second, can cooperative learning arouse students’ interest and motivation in English reading? 合作学习在高中英语阅读教学中的应用研究(2):http://www.751com.cn/yingyu/lunwen_21747.html