ABSTRACT:Cooperative learning has attracted worldwide attention for its remarkable achievements in the past three decades. It also becomes one of the focuses of China’s new curriculum reform. Now, there appear lots of studies on cooperative learning in language teaching, but few of them concern vocabulary teaching. Only Zhang Yonglan conducted a cooperative learning experimental research in vocabulary teaching at college level. And after observing some teachers’ English vocabulary teaching classes, which using the method of cooperative learning in junior middle school, and doing a related investigation about students’ attitudes toward cooperative learning and some effects of cooperative learning on students’ vocabulary learning and mental states, the author made a case study of No. Two Middle School in Mengzi. Which wants to help junior middle school English teachers accomplish their goal of vocabulary teaching wonderfully; and to improve the students’ interest of learning English vocabulary and learn it well; as well as to improve the students’ competence of communication with others and learn how to get on well with others in groups. The results showed that cooperative learning has a positive effect on students’ attitudes toward English vocabulary learning; it improves students’ competence of vocabulary learning and has a positive effect on students’ English vocabulary learning; and also does well in cultivating students’ mental state and gives positive effects on students’ mental state. To sum up, it’s feasible for students to study English vocabulary using the method of cooperative learning in junior middle schools.

Keywords: cooperative learning; English vocabulary teaching; Junior Middle School

TABLE OF CONTENTS

摘要

ABSTRACT

1 INTRODUCTION-1

1.1 Research Background-1

1.2 The Purpose of the Research-2

1.3 The Significance of the Research-2

1.4 Research Questions-4

1.5 The Organization of the Thesis-4

2 LITERATURE REVIEW-6

2.1 Related Researches on Cooperative Learning-6

2.1.1 The definition of cooperative learning-6

2.1.2 The study on cooperative learning abroad-7

2.1.3 The study on cooperative learning at home-7

2.1.4 The theoretical basis of cooperative learning-8

2.2 Related Researches on Vocabulary Teaching-9

2.2.1 The study on vocabulary teaching abroad-9

2.2.2 The study on vocabulary teaching at home-10

2.3 Applying Cooperative Learning to Vocabulary Teaching-11

2.3.1 Principles in cooperative vocabulary teaching-11

2.3.2 Cooperative learning models in vocabulary teaching-12

2.4 Summary-13

3 METHODOLOGIES-14

3.1 Subjects of the Research-14

3.2 Instruments-14

3.2.1 Questionnaire-14

3.2.2 Observation of vocabulary teaching class with cooperative learning-15

3.3 Data Collection Procedures-17

3.4 Summary-18

4 RESULTS AND DISSCUSSIONS-19

4.1 Results of the Questionnaires-19

4.1.1 Students’ performance in cooperative learning……………………...19

4.1.2 The effects of cooperative learning on English vocabulary learning-21

4.1.3 The effects of cooperative learning on students’ mental state-23

4.2 Results of the Observation of Vocabulary Teaching Class with Cooperative Learning-25

4.3 Discussions-26

5 CONCLUSION-27

5.1 Major Findings of the Research-27

5.2 Limitations of the Study-28

5.3 Suggestions for Future Research-28

REFERENCES-30

APPENDIXⅠ-32

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS-34