The group work activities in the writing ability

Abstract

Group work activities nowadays are a tool that helps develop all the receptive and productive English language skills, including writing ability. This research was developed with the aim to determine the relationship between group work activities and written ability in students of the sixth semester of Pedagogy of National and Foreign Languages of the Technical University of Ambato. To demonstrate the effectiveness of these activities, a Cambridge pre-test and post-test were applied. The group work activities were applied according to the level of the students, their age, and their preferences. The results varied in the research; it was established that the students at the beginning of the research did not have a good written level in Organization and Communicative Achievement according to the Rubric but eventually, they improved as group work activities were adapted. An improvement in the writing level was found through essays, argumentative paragraphs, and opinions. Group work activities varied from pair work, group work and the intervention of the entire class. Students who had a low level were able to engage in group work activities positively with peers whose level was higher or regular. In addition, communication within the classroom was improved, the students were more open to asking questions or expressing their opinions with much more confidence than at the beginning of the experiment. The results obtained with the post-test helped to confirm the advantages of applying varied group work activities according to Content and Language (Annex 1).