Abstract:

This study analyzes and integrates the research achievement about cooperative learning both abroad and at home, presents a variety of definitions given by different experts and scholars, and analyzes the significance of cooperative learning in English classrooms of junior school. The writer observed the actual application of cooperative learning in English classrooms of junior school, analyzed the cases, and proposes her opinions focusing on the deficiencies of the current situation. Furthermore, according to the theory and actual application of cooperative learning, this paper presents some advice for conducting a successful cooperative learning in English classrooms of junior high school.

Key words：Cooperative Learning; English; in classrooms; actual application

摘要：

本文针对国内外关于合作学习这一主题的研究成果进行了分析整合，呈现了不同专家学者对于合作学习这一教学模式的不同定义，分析了合作学习在初中英语课堂教学中的重要性。笔者在实习期间观察了合作学习这一理念在初中英语课堂教学中的实际运用情况，并针对案例进行了分析，有侧重地总结出了合作学习在实际运用中仍存在着的弊端与不足，并依此为初中英语教育者们提出了一些实用的教学建议。

关键词：合作学习；英语；课堂教学；实际运用

1. Introduction
Cooperative learning is a teaching method started in the early 1970s in America. Nowadays, cooperative learning is gaining its popularity across the world. In many elementary schools, secondary schools and even a lot of colleges and universities, cooperative learning has become a common and standard educational practice. It is very popular in a number of countries such as Canada and America. In China, group work has been used in the classroom teaching since the early 1990s. With its rapid spread, many educators were inspired to implement research on the theory of cooperative learning. Various scholars studying cooperative learning have gained many achievements, and already built the basic theoretical structure of it.