Some linguists are worried that the proliferation of text messaging among students may hurt the development of formal English. Johnson does not agree.
“I don’t buy it,” Johnson said. “I think students can distinguish between different contexts. What they would say with their friends is different from what they would say to an instructor.”
Text messaging may be an important tool to help students learn the difference between different English and behaviors that are appropriate for different situations.
“Sure, text messaging can help teach that difference,” Johnson said. “I would put the emphasis on explaining the importance of context.”
In fact, Johnson says that text messaging may have a positive effect on language, especially with English as a second language students. —Teaching through Text Message; Cell Phones Emerge as Learning Tool (Rebel Yell)
I tend to agree. If instructors teach that text-message lingo and academic English are two points on a sliding scale (not necessarily the most extreme points), that’s a good way to help students learn about the importance of audience and rhetorical context. I try to make it very clear that my expectations for blog entries are slightly more formal than in-class timed writing exercises, but I really don’t mind shorthand or typos in the comments that students leave on peer blog entries.
Of course, I do ask students to demonstrate that they are capable of leaving an in-depth comment from time to time, and naturally I hope that when students are doing any sort of course work that they will be practicing the appropriate writing skills.
Thanks, Eric.
Hi Dennis:
Sharing a brief article I came across yesterday about texting in Irish schools with you. They have one of the highest cell phone concentrations among their population in the world. Your comment, “Students will need to develop a new composition strategy, optimized for the needs of a more remote reader who cannot depend on the author’s presence to sort out ambiguity; nevertheless, we are fighting a pointless battle if we try to shame students out of using text-speak” was well-taken given the ubiquitous nature of mobile devices. The article raises questions: How will schools’ curricula adapt to these linguistic realities? What standards should be maintained for electronic communications? Is text-message syntax acceptable?
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Ireland’s text-mad youth losing writing abilities
DUBLIN (AP) ? The youth of Ireland are becoming increasingly poor spellers and writers, and their love of text messaging on cellphones is a major reason why, according to the Education Department.
In a report published Wednesday on national test results in English for about 37,000 students aged 15 and 16, the department’s Examination Commission said cutting-edge communications technology has encouraged poor literacy and a blunt, choppy style at odds with academic rigor.
“Text messaging, with its use of phonetic spelling and little or no punctuation, seems to pose a threat to traditional conventions in writing,” said the report written by the department’s chief examiner, whose identity is kept confidential to safeguard the integrity of tests.
The report branded today’s teens “unduly reliant on short sentences, simple tenses and a limited vocabulary.” Too many test-takers, it said, were “choosing to answer sparingly, even minimally, rather than seeing questions as invitations to explore the territory they had studied and to express the breadth and depth of their learning and understanding.”
Ireland is among the world leaders in cell-phone use ? in part because of traditionally high costs for conventional phone lines ? and surveys indicate that a majority of children have their own mobile phone by age 12, with the most enthusiastic texters sending more than 250 a week.
I left this comment on the Rebel Yell website: