The Benefits of Cooperative Learning

Teaching English is a challenging profession not only because English is not our mother tongue but mainly because the students we teach are more advanced and skilled than some decades ago and the new methods and techniques we use at class have to be more integrative and interactive to arouse and maintain their interest. Teaching English in vocational universities also asks for specialized knowledge obtained through both academic study and practical experience, where our students passed certain requirements and met certain standards. Their level of proficiency in English is also assessed by a further linguistic certification as our students will be professionals with shared goals, values and practices. In order to get a professional development of English language we need to have a comprehensive understanding of what competences and expertise in language our students need. What essential skills, knowledge, values, attitudes and goals do they need in order to become skilled professionals and how can these be acquired? This paper tries to explore cooperative learning as a means of maximizing students’ learning.