Boosting the English writing competence through the use of discourse connectors

Resumo

Introduction. Discourse connectors are linguistic elements which main aim is to join sentences and provide fluency to the text. Objective. The present study investigates the relationship between discourse connectors and the improvement of the writing competence in the students of third semester at Carrera de Pedagogy de los Idioms Nationals y Estrangers, October 2020 – February 2021 academic period. Methodology. The research was qualitative and quantitative, cross-sectional correlational type with an experimental design and a literary review of the variables. The population consisted of 30 students from Carrera de Pedagogy de los Idioms Nationals y Estrangers, 12 women and 18 men, they were between 20 and 24 years old. To collect the information, a survey with 23 questions was elaborated which was validated by two experts in the writing field. They rated validity, relevance and coherence.  The results from the survey allowed to establish the strategies and activities to teach the discourse connectors. Participants were also given an independent writing pre-test taken from the University of Cambridge and assessed with a rubric provided by the same university. Then, with the information obtained, a didactic guide was developed and the students had the opportunity to learn and practice the discourse connectors for two months. Finally, a post-test from the same university was applied to measure the relationship of discourse connectors and the improvement of writing competence. Results. With the help of the statistics the pre and post writing test were compared. The study showed that students use the correct punctuation and spelling and choose the correct DCs. Moreover, they choose the correct place of DCs within the sentence. Furthermore, their paragraphs contain topic sentences with controlling idea, supporting ideas and conclusions. Consequently, they improve their writing competence.