Mobile-assisted language learning advantages in English writing fluency

Abstract

The inclusion of information and communication technologies in the foreign languages teaching-learning process is a challenge due to the possibilities it offers to modern life and the profession. Health professionals who attended to the English post graduated course at the Sancti Spíritus Medical University showed limitations in writing. The objective of this article is to expose the didactic benefits of creating a WhatsApp group as a tool for the writing fluency improvement in the English as a foreign language intensive postgraduate course for health professionals. A systematization of experiences was carried out with a group of health professionals attending to the English postgraduate course at the Medical University during the 2020-2021 academic year. To get information, the following methods were used: documentary analysis, qualitative interview, in-depth session and participant observation, during the application of the actions and triangulation for the qualitative interpretation of the information. The results show advances in motivation, group work and the authentic negotiation of meaning through instant messaging. The WhatsApp group was conceived as an effective way to improve writing fluency in the English language, as a foreign language, in health professionals who attend to postgraduate studies.