How Does Texting Affect the Writing Skills of Students?

As we all use texting as a way to communicate, we might not be aware that we are sometimes using slang rather than proper English. Why do we use slang anyway? We use slang maybe because proper English isn’t really expected on both parties.

One way that text messaging affects the writing skills of students is that it encourages them to spell words the wrong way. Jason Tomaszewski, an EducationWorld associate editor refers to this way as “cyber slang”. They also get used to text shortcuts and might accidentally being putting them into their home works, assignments and writing projects. This way, students get used to the shorthand way of texts and don’t want to put the effort into writing a letter or paper. Jason said that “while this communications boom has been praised for its educational benefits, some argue that a negative side effect is beginning to take hold in our classrooms. Cyber slang is suspected of damaging student’s writing acumen.” (Tomaszewski, 2011)

Although some are saying that texting “creeps” the students’ ability to write, there are still some things that teachers can do to help their students understand that even they text, they can still have effective writing skills. “Probably the most important thing that teachers can do is to emphasize to students the concept of audience. Students need to understand the importance of using the appropriate language in the appropriate setting, and that who one is writing for affects the way in which one writes.” (O’Connor, 2004)

References

Amanda O’Connor (2004) Instant Messaging: Friend or Foe of Student Writing Retrieved from             http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/strategies/topics/literacy/articles/instant-messaging/

Jason Tomaszewski (2011) Do Texting and “Cyber Slang” Harm Students’ Writing Skills?   Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/arcives/texting_impacts_student-writing.shtml