Effects of Using Acrostic Poems on Elementary School Students’ English Composition

Abstract

This study explores the effects of acrostic poems on elementary English classes. The study was comprised of a sample of 86 fifth grade students who wrote acrostic poetry, to analyze and identify certain codes and cluster them into categories through writing questionnaires and interviews. The findings of this study show that the participants progressively became confident writers if engaged in the poetry-writing task. Initially, the students began with meaningful expression writing, without copying the writing pattern. They then proceeded to generate meaning metaphorical writing using three conceptual metaphors. From here, the students combined various vocabularies using mimetic words, initializing expressions, and exclamatory remarks. The participants were able to improve their engagement in English writing and thus developed an awareness for their strengths and weaknesses in the English language. They gradually developed independent writing skills and teamed up with their peers. With regards to change in perception on writing, the participants had initially felt anxiety writing English acrostic poems, but their confidence improved with increased more practice. During the writing process, they asked for help, worked with their peers, looked up the dictionary, and searched for the information they needed. Therefore, most participants felt that writing acrostic poems was helpful.