Text Messaging Can Improve Student's Writing Skills

Recent studies have shed new light on the positive impact of text messaging language between teenagers and young adults within the classroom, which previous studies had not addressed.  Individuals assume that abbreviations, lack of punctuation and leaving words out when text messaging, negatively impacts a student's writing abilities, but numerous studies have concluded that it is just the opposite that occurs and it can actually improve a student's writing.  According to author Magdeline Lum, teenagers and young adults understand and are fully aware of the different types of English needed to be used in different situations of communication.  They know that the method of using language when text messaging is more laid back and is associated with shortened words to fit in the character space box, while formal writing requires them to write in proper and appropriate English.  They can differentiate between the two different types of English language because everything they have been taught in school, regarding the rules of writing and spelling, goes against the slang within the text messaging language.  This correlates with my previous blog post because teenagers are familiar with the expectations associated with formal writing within a classroom and professional environment due to their previous years of attending school and learning about it. 

Not only are teenagers and young adults positively impacted from text messaging language, but younger children, around ages 10-12, are also benefiting in the classroom from sending text messages frequently which is what the author, Chantel N. Van Dijk, discovered in his article.  His article reveled that the more children that omitted words in their informal writing within text messaging, the better they performed in grammar activities and assignments while being assessed.  Grammar is a very important aspect in the education of younger students because it includes the basic rules for writing formally.  Students being to learn grammar when they enter school and it becomes a foundation behind how to write.  Grammar and writing are both talked about in relation to language use.  Younger student's meta-linguistic awareness is significantly improved with utilizing communication through text messaging as well. 

Ahmed Al Shlowiy's article was written and focused on many of the positive elements within the relationship between text messaging language that teenagers and young adults regularly engage in, and how it can be related to the classroom learning environment.  Students have the chance to enhance their literacy and communication skills through text messaging, but it is not only through the writing process.  They are able to strengthen these areas through the tool of editing their messages before they send them to the recipients.  Editing text messages includes improving their writing abilities because they are constantly formatting their messages to make sure they are precise and specific because text messaging is a shorten form of writing.  Individuals modify what they have to say because they do not want to send the receiver a long paragraph.  This helps students in the classroom by encouraging them to get straight to the point in their writing and not beat around the bush.     

Active text messaging students can improve their writing skills.