A Needed Language Barrier

School kids today have many things in their daily life that we didn't have when I was growing up. One of the things that many teens have today is a cell phone and texting capabilities. This texting technology has created a new form of shorthand, with many abbreviations and acronyms used so frequently in texting.

This texting language has become so second nature to some students that teachers have seen it popping up within school assignments. Eighth grader Audrey said, “It’s like you have two languages in your head. Sometimes, the language you use for texting bleeds into the work you do for school.”

Teachers say in this day and age it is crucial that teens understand there is a required difference in writing styles between their academic and their social work. Teachers can add this new style to the fight for proper writing skills, right along with street talk, slang, and other types of daily social communications that have come down the road each decade. One teacher states, “I feel that all of the online opportunities and the time spent with such opportunities puts students at a disadvantage when it comes to producing sophisticated writing. As a result, there is a much greater responsibility put on teachers to help rectify the situation so that students will be prepared for the rest of high school, as well as post-high school writing.”

With the increased use of cell phones over the years, and with the age of those users getting younger each year, the improper use of language in school papers has increased. One language teacher said “It’s really not that students are using texting lingo like ‘lol’ (laugh out loud) in their papers. The problem is with the improper use of punctuation, lower casing letters and shortening words.” It is said that some of the most common misuses are things like using a lower case "i" as a stand alone, or using "r" for "are" and "u" for "you." Along with that, punctuation has become increasingly worse, with periods rarely used.

Whiles many of us who grew up outside of this cell age may use such abbreviations in texting ourselves, we understand that when it comes to real writing, it is not acceptable. Unfortunately, many kids are not making that distinction. It is important that students understand there are different rules for different scenarios. Some call this ability to change modes of communication as "code switching." One communications teacher stated “We actually discuss with students the concept of code switching as a desired skill to be developed. Students must be adept at many communication codes and understand when it is appropriate to use each one and have the skills necessary to easily switch from one code to another.” “I believe there are great advantages for all of us in becoming adept at new codes, like text lingo, and retaining skill with former codes, such as formal writing, reading and speaking skills,” she said.

As a teacher or a parent, it is important to stress these differences, and to help enforce the use of the proper use of these skills with the children.

Jeff McCormack resides in Virginia Beach, VA. where he works as a web designer by day. In his off time he is a husband, father, mail order book store manager, and musician. Aside from being a freelance writer for this Education Jobsite blog, he also seeks to assist in career choices and information by contributing to other Nexxt blog sites.