Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of using a poetry-based intervention which aimed to improve the phonemic awareness of Grade 1 learners. A quasi-experimental pre- and post-test design was utilised in this study to “examine whether there is a causal relationship between independent and dependent variables” (Rogers & Révész, 2020, p. 2). In this study the independent variable was the poetry-based intervention and the dependent variable was the learners’ phonemic awareness. The intervention was framed around the phonemic awareness guidelines listed in the Grade 1 Home Language Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) (DoE, 2011, p. 14-.15). A Quasi-experimental design “lacks random assignment” (White & Sabarwal, 2014 p. 1). This design is utilized when randomization is not feasible or practical. Ten Grade 1 learners were non-randomly assigned to a comparison group or experimental group during the two-week-long poetry-based teaching intervention. The comparison group did not participate in the intervention; the group participated in the pre- and post-testing and their results were compared with those of the experimental group, which participated in the intervention. This was done to examine the impact of the poetry-based intervention on improving the phonemic awareness of Grade 1 learners. Data was collected using a pre- and post-test, learning artifacts and observations. The data collected was both qualitative and quantitative. The quantitative pre and post-test data was analysed using the difference and difference method for comparative analysis. The qualitative data attained from the pre- and post-test responses, learning artifacts and observations were analysed using the constant comparative method by (Maykut & Morehouse, 1994). The pre-test results revealed that there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups before the implementation of the intervention. This means that both groups were equivalent at baseline, they attained the same scores in the pre-testing. Following the implementation of the intervention and post-testing, a comparison of the results for both groups revealed that the experimental group performed better than the comparison group; there was an increase in their test scores and a decrease in scores for the comparison group. The qualitative analysis of learners’ test responses and learning artifacts as well as observation data corroborated these results. The results indicated that the poetry-based 5 intervention was effective in improving Grade 1 learners’ phonemic awareness. This shows that the use of poetry, and specifically limerick poems, are an effective and efficient learning and teaching tool that can be used to improve phonemic awareness in Grade 1 learners. Key words: phonemic awareness, limerick poems, rhyme, alliteration, poetry, quasi-experiment.
M.Ed. (Childhood Education)