大學英語課堂學習共同體構建研究

余榮芳

摘要：探究如何將大學英語教學與課堂學習共同體有機結合對進一步促進大學英語教學范式改革具有重要意義。本文旨在為讀者總結出大學英語課堂學習共同體構建相關研究成果，并為后續研究提供依據。

Abstract： To explore how to combine college English teaching and classroom learning community together properly has very great significance in further promoting college English teaching paradigm innovation. This paper is going to show readers related research results on the topic of learning community construction in college English class and provide basis for further studies.

關鍵詞：大學英語教學；教學范式改革；課堂學習共同體

Key Words： college English teaching； teaching paradigm innovation； classroom learning community

一、Introduction

In recent years， classroom learning community received much concern from all over the world. The idea of learning community was first put forward and practiced by American educationist Alexander Meiklejohn in 1927. In the 1980s， the idea of “Community” entered the education field. It derived from the recognition of the school teaching organizational form brought by the worldwide school reform. The goal of a learning community is to advance the collective knowledge and in that way to support the growth of individual knowledge （Scardamalia & Bereiter， 1994）.

二、Learning community construction in college English class

Promoting classroom learning community becomes a common teaching mode， American education experts and teachers constantly discussed on the theory and classroom practice strategies of classroom learning community in recent years. In 2005， Watkins reviewed published research on （1） classrooms as communities； （2） classrooms as communities of learners； and （3） classrooms as learning communities （Watkins， 2005a）. On the basis of about 100 relevant texts， he did a theoretical research of classroom learning community. Then he did a detailed analysis on classroom learning communitys learning objectives， learning tasks， activity patterns， teacher roles and learning resources， and provided guidelines for teachers to change the traditional teaching mode （Watkins， 2005b）.

Based on the analysis of classroom learning community's characteristics of “emphasizing on cooperation， interaction， practice， knowledge construction and sharing”， Liberman & Miller （2011） did five case studies to illustrate the important role classroom learning community plays in promoting teachers professional development and students learning progress. Saville （2012） introduced the successful application of the classroom learning community concept in James Madison Universitys psychology class， breaking the study limitation that classroom learning community theory was mainly used in primary and secondary schools pedagogical practice.

At present， the reform of classroom teaching in classroom learning community has been fully globalized. In the wave of curriculum reform in primary and secondary schools in Japan， how to create a “learning community” is treated as a philosophical question in school reform， and the construction of “classroom learning community” is praised as the central subject of “classroom revolution” （Manabu Sato， 2010）. In China， the new round of curriculum reform is characterized by advocating a explosive， independent and cooperative learning style. Therefore， “changing learning mode， constructing a classroom learning community” has become the theme in many primary and secondary schools pedagogical reform.

These years， network has become an important means for students to access to information resources and to communicate with others， so the construction of network learning community becomes a new development tendency of classroom learning community. To provide students from different grades and majors a convenient online collaborative learning opportunities， colleges should make better use of the network to establish an English learning platform.

三、Conclusion

Compared with traditional lecture-style English class， college English class learning community is more effective in improving students participation and their interests in learning English. Cooperative learning in small groups greatly increases the opportunity for students to communicate with each other. It is good for the cultivation of students language generation ability. However， traditional English teaching has irreplaceable advantages in strengthening and consolidating students basic English knowledge and improving their reading efficiency and skills. Therefore， how to effectively combine students cooperative learning and teachers lectures is a key question in the teaching design of classroom learning community in the future.

References：

[1]Scardamalia， M. & Bereiter， C. Computer support for knowledge-building communities [J]. Journal of the Learning Sciences. 1994 （3）： 265-283.

[2]Watkins， C. Classrooms as learning communities： a review of research [J]. London Review of Education， 2005a （3）： 47-64.

[3]Watkins， C. Classrooms as Learning Communities： Whats In It For Schools？ [M]. London： Routledge， 2005b.

[4]Liberman， A. & L， Miller. Learning communities： The starting point for professional learning is in schools and classrooms [J]. Journal of Staff Development，2011（32）：16-20.

[5]Saville， B. K. Creating learning communities in the classroom [J]. New Directions for Teaching and Learning，2012（132）：57-69.

[6]佐藤學，鐘啟泉譯.學校的挑戰——創建學習共同體[M].上海：華東師范大學出版社，2010.