The video, “Texting is Killing Language, JK,” and the
article, “Can Texting Help With Spelling?” both seek to confront and analyze
the impact that text messaging has had on our society from a linguistic
perspective as well as an educational perspective focusing on grammar and spelling. Both take the stance that not only is texting
not having a negative impact on language, but may in fact be benefitting
students creativity, information processing and may even be a natural evolution
of a dialect.
To claim that texting is ruining us
as writers is lazy. Texting and the language, spelling, and
grammar we use for that specific medium of communication are tools, and it is
our responsibility to use them correctly and in the appropriate
situations. Fire is a tool. A chef will use it to create a wonderful meal,
an arsonist will use it to destroy a building.
Is it the fire that is to blame for poor usage? No. As
educators, it is our job, to first understand the rules of texting, and second to
educate students about how in different circumstances, and in different forms
of media the rules that must be followed are different. If we recognize text messages as a dialect or
new language, we can approach it from that angle and teach these rules.
I have seen in my experience
working with teenage students examples of students who understand how to apply
proper grammatical rules and students who don’t. They aren’t difficult to find. A student who uses “lol,” “UR,” or “l8er” in
a research paper does not know the proper way o follow rules for more formal
writing. That lack of knowledge may not
be the fault of the educator, but it is certainly our responsibility to
correct.
I completely agree with your assessment of texting vs. writing. I think that texting is a very valuable tool and instead of trying to diminish it, children should be taught how to use it safely and effectively. People need to begin to accept the direction that the world is going with technology and adapt to their surroundings.
ReplyDeleteI love your analogy of using fire in the proper way and in the improper way. I fully agree with you that we as educators will need to enforce and teach the rules on the proper times to use texting lingo. However, in my experience most children already have a general understanding of when it's appropriate and when it isn't.
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