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Abstract： This paper discusses the advantages of group work in English teaching. It is argued that group work can be efficient in teaching English. This paper concludes that： 1）group work is one of the greatest education reforms， 2） group work has many advantages in English teaching.
Key words： advantages； group work；English teaching
1. Introduction
With China’s reforms and opening to the outside world， the cultural exchanges at international level have been expanding into every aspect of people’s lives. So， it is necessary for Chinese people to learn and master foreign languages， especially the English language， because English in many ways has been serving as an international communication tool. English learning is of great importance to the nation and to individuals as well. As more and more people begin to learn English， many scholars and educators pay more attention to English language teaching methodology. In recent years， the most widely applied methodology is communicative language teaching. According to communicative language teaching， students are expected to interact with other people， through pair and group work ， or in their writings.
2. The definition of group work
Group work is one of the most important ways of cooperative learning. Davison （1990） considers that cooperative learning should have seven main points. First， the group is to finish， to discuss and solve problems together. Second， the numbers of group are communicating with each other face to face. Third， every group must have the atmosphere of cooperation. The fourth is the sense of responsibility of individual. The fifth is organizing students into groups. The sixth is to teach students skills of cooperation directly. The seventh is relying on each other with organization （王坦，2002：5）.
Johnson and Holubec （1993） made a definition for cooperative learning in 1993. They said that cooperative learning is one kind of teaching methods. It uses group work to promote sudents’ cooperation， then to achieve the most efficient learning （Jacobs， Power，& Inn， 2005：1）.
3. Advantages
Group work is frequently used by the English teaching. A study （王坦，2002：103） found that 46% students believe that group work not only promote their communication skills， but also help English learning； 36% of the students believe that it only help students to communicate with others； 18% of the students believe that it has effect or it makes unfavorable effect in keeping classroom order. And group work puts great emphasis on student--centered teaching pattern. It increases association among students in teaching process， because group work improves quality of students’ learning activities. Furthermore， group work improves English classroom atmosphere and develops students’ personality. Thus， group work promotes students’ full--scale development. Compared with traditional teaching， group work makes following advantages in English teaching. 3.1 .Improving students’ communication skills
Teachers always adopt teacher--centered pattern in traditional teaching. Teachers used to lecture and students used to listen. Except for a few students， others may have no chance to speak in class. But if we use group work in teaching proceed， it will change this situation. Group work provides a lot of chances for students to communicate with one another. The purpose of foreign language learning is to communicate. According to the theory of communication， communication is not only the goal of foreign language learning， but also the essential method of foreign language learning（ 林立，王之江，2005）.
3.2. Making advantage for self--regulated learning
The New English Curriculum Standard reflects the spirit of taking students as the teaching center in every aspect. The characteristic of group work is the heuristic method and it pays more attention to subject. The positive and pleasant atmosphere that group work will help to realize the notion of student--centered language teaching. Cooperative learning believes that the contradiction between students and teaching content is the main contradiction of teaching. That is the contradiction between recognizing subject and recognizing object（ 张旭，2006 ）.
3.3.Improving English for most students
Group work emphasizes that students should form knowledge， find knowledge， transform knowledge and expand knowledge by themselves. The function of teacher is to create every chance for study and good learning environment for students. This learning method is to make their students acquire more knowledge and stronger creative ability. Students pay more attention to sharing responsibilities and helping each other. In this process， more and more students are conscious of their studying. Students of different levels can acquire knowledge through communicating with others. Group work has improved most students’ English learning.
3.4.Establishing good atmosphere of emotion
Generally speaking， we always have large--sized classes in China， usually 40 to 50 students in a class. The students have various temperaments and kinds of learning strategies. Some students are introverted. They are afraid to speak in public. In traditional teaching pattern， students easily feel bored when they face the teacher--centered teaching pattern and mechanical classroom activities all the time. But group work provides a relatively secure place for the introverted students. There is a sense of security among companions. Maybe students will gain some help and establish his or her self--confidence from other group members.
4. Conclusion
“If group work is not the greatest education reform， then it is one of the greatest education reforms at least” （刘吉林，2004：27 ）. To sum up， group work has many advantages in the English teaching. It gives students a lot of chances to show and improve themselves. It improves students communication skills， enhances students’ achievement， and provides chances for self--assessment.
References
George M. Jacobs， Michael A. Power， Loh Wan Inn.
The Teacher’s Sourcebook for Cooperative Learning.
杨宁， 卢杨译中国轻工业出版社，2005
刘吉林，王坦“合作学习的基本理念” 人民教育，2004，（1）
林立，王之江 合作学习在英语教学中的应用 首都师范大学出版社2005
王坦，合作学习的理念与实施.中国人事出版社， 2002
张旭，“论合作学习在中学英语教学中的应用” 吕梁教育学院学报，2006，（3）第23卷第一期
Key words： advantages； group work；English teaching
1. Introduction
With China’s reforms and opening to the outside world， the cultural exchanges at international level have been expanding into every aspect of people’s lives. So， it is necessary for Chinese people to learn and master foreign languages， especially the English language， because English in many ways has been serving as an international communication tool. English learning is of great importance to the nation and to individuals as well. As more and more people begin to learn English， many scholars and educators pay more attention to English language teaching methodology. In recent years， the most widely applied methodology is communicative language teaching. According to communicative language teaching， students are expected to interact with other people， through pair and group work ， or in their writings.
2. The definition of group work
Group work is one of the most important ways of cooperative learning. Davison （1990） considers that cooperative learning should have seven main points. First， the group is to finish， to discuss and solve problems together. Second， the numbers of group are communicating with each other face to face. Third， every group must have the atmosphere of cooperation. The fourth is the sense of responsibility of individual. The fifth is organizing students into groups. The sixth is to teach students skills of cooperation directly. The seventh is relying on each other with organization （王坦，2002：5）.
Johnson and Holubec （1993） made a definition for cooperative learning in 1993. They said that cooperative learning is one kind of teaching methods. It uses group work to promote sudents’ cooperation， then to achieve the most efficient learning （Jacobs， Power，& Inn， 2005：1）.
3. Advantages
Group work is frequently used by the English teaching. A study （王坦，2002：103） found that 46% students believe that group work not only promote their communication skills， but also help English learning； 36% of the students believe that it only help students to communicate with others； 18% of the students believe that it has effect or it makes unfavorable effect in keeping classroom order. And group work puts great emphasis on student--centered teaching pattern. It increases association among students in teaching process， because group work improves quality of students’ learning activities. Furthermore， group work improves English classroom atmosphere and develops students’ personality. Thus， group work promotes students’ full--scale development. Compared with traditional teaching， group work makes following advantages in English teaching. 3.1 .Improving students’ communication skills
Teachers always adopt teacher--centered pattern in traditional teaching. Teachers used to lecture and students used to listen. Except for a few students， others may have no chance to speak in class. But if we use group work in teaching proceed， it will change this situation. Group work provides a lot of chances for students to communicate with one another. The purpose of foreign language learning is to communicate. According to the theory of communication， communication is not only the goal of foreign language learning， but also the essential method of foreign language learning（ 林立，王之江，2005）.
3.2. Making advantage for self--regulated learning
The New English Curriculum Standard reflects the spirit of taking students as the teaching center in every aspect. The characteristic of group work is the heuristic method and it pays more attention to subject. The positive and pleasant atmosphere that group work will help to realize the notion of student--centered language teaching. Cooperative learning believes that the contradiction between students and teaching content is the main contradiction of teaching. That is the contradiction between recognizing subject and recognizing object（ 张旭，2006 ）.
3.3.Improving English for most students
Group work emphasizes that students should form knowledge， find knowledge， transform knowledge and expand knowledge by themselves. The function of teacher is to create every chance for study and good learning environment for students. This learning method is to make their students acquire more knowledge and stronger creative ability. Students pay more attention to sharing responsibilities and helping each other. In this process， more and more students are conscious of their studying. Students of different levels can acquire knowledge through communicating with others. Group work has improved most students’ English learning.
3.4.Establishing good atmosphere of emotion
Generally speaking， we always have large--sized classes in China， usually 40 to 50 students in a class. The students have various temperaments and kinds of learning strategies. Some students are introverted. They are afraid to speak in public. In traditional teaching pattern， students easily feel bored when they face the teacher--centered teaching pattern and mechanical classroom activities all the time. But group work provides a relatively secure place for the introverted students. There is a sense of security among companions. Maybe students will gain some help and establish his or her self--confidence from other group members.
4. Conclusion
“If group work is not the greatest education reform， then it is one of the greatest education reforms at least” （刘吉林，2004：27 ）. To sum up， group work has many advantages in the English teaching. It gives students a lot of chances to show and improve themselves. It improves students communication skills， enhances students’ achievement， and provides chances for self--assessment.
References
George M. Jacobs， Michael A. Power， Loh Wan Inn.
The Teacher’s Sourcebook for Cooperative Learning.
杨宁， 卢杨译中国轻工业出版社，2005
刘吉林，王坦“合作学习的基本理念” 人民教育，2004，（1）
林立，王之江 合作学习在英语教学中的应用 首都师范大学出版社2005
王坦，合作学习的理念与实施.中国人事出版社， 2002
张旭，“论合作学习在中学英语教学中的应用” 吕梁教育学院学报，2006，（3）第23卷第一期