Blackout poetry strategy and writing skill

Abstract

The aim of this research was to determine the influence of the blackout poetry strategy on the improvement of the writing skill of 3BGU students of the "Alicia Marcuard de Yerovi" school (19 females and 5 males) in Salcedo. A quantitative approach based on an experimental method was used. The instruments for data collection were a pre-test and a post-test of the Cambridge Preliminary English Test A2 (KET), where two sections were evaluated with a Cambridge rubric, with three criteria: content, organization and language, on a scale of 1 to 5 for a total of 15 points. The mean score on the pre-test was 2.99, while the mean score on the posttest was 7.39. The experiment included 12 interventions, in which students created new texts after selecting some words from the original text and crossing out the rest, giving them an opposite or similar meaning. Data analysis and hypothesis testing were carried out using IBM SPSS. As a result, the effectiveness of the strategy was demonstrated in several aspects: Firstly, grammar, as the students could use the original text as a guide and follow it to write the other one. Secondly, students improved their vocabulary by having to replace the selected words with synonyms or antonyms. Thirdly, reading comprehension was developed, as at the beginning they had to read to understand the text and take that idea as a starting point. Finally, pupils felt confident and free to use their imagination and creativity.