Text Messaging and the Positive Effects on Literacy - Essay Example

In 2008, 796 million adults worldwide (15 years and older) reported not being able to read and write (UNESCO, 2001). This number will hopefully decrease as more of the world has access to cell phones and mobile devices. Furthermore, why are we not using this new technology to helping children and adults make progress in their studies? The BBC reported that in September 2007, nearly 5 billion text messages (or SMS, Short Message Service) were sent in Britain, about 4,000 per second. (Plester, B., Wood, C., & Joshi, P., March, 2009). In a public forum, children stated that mobile devices carried a large influence in their lives. Some even stated that they extensively text message on a regular basis. When those young adolescents spoke up regarding the use of cell phones, we were not surprised when they stated that they are using text messages as a primary form of communication between friends and family. According to the Mobile Life Report, 52% of children consider text messaging their number one form of communication with their friends. (Dunstone, 2008) Another factor driving the widespread adoption of cell phone use is parents want their children to carry cell phones for safety reasons. In fact, parents often object to school policies that ban cell phones, staging rallies and threatening lawsuits (Wallace, P., 2011). So with such a wide spread implementation of cell phones being purchased by parents for their children, why is it so hard to understand that children and adults are going to be using mobile devices as a primary form of communication? As you will see in this paper, using cell phones can actually improve the literacy of the users when text messages are the primary source of communication used. Even though text messaging can cause children and adults to use the abbreviated text spelling, text messaging its the largest form of communication for children and adults alike. Some studies have evidence that suggests that text messaging is positively affecting literacy skills in adults and children around the world. As many parents and teachers know, keeping an adolescent focused on learning to read is a daunting task. According to the Institute of Education Science, school, districts had total expenditures of approximately $596.6 billion in 2007–08 in the United States. How much of that money goes into programs that are designed to keep young adolescents focused and motivated to learn? Why are the schools not using all the mobile technology at their fingertips? Students enjoy learning as long as it’s something that can keep their interest. Once the interest is lost then it’s hard to gain their interest back. A study in India has shown that learners were very enthusiastic in learning with mobile phones. They enjoyed learning literacy wherever they were with the mobile phones and notebooks (Ichiro Miyazawa, 2009). Mobile devices are keep adolescent and adult learner’s attention. Why are the schools so afraid to utilize them in the classrooms? Perhaps one reason is that children and adults are so focused on keeping in touch with their friends and family that they are being forced to use text messaging in their everyday lives. There is a chance the cell phone will be a distraction rather than an aid in learning. This is a possibility, but given a chance, cell phones may prove to be more of a useful tool than a distraction. Children and adults are curious about learning to use new mobile devices and will utilize any electronic resources they have available. This curiosity is what keeps the students in school and this is what teachers strive to do; keep their students motivated to learn. In 2002 an article was published that stated children can become functionally literate based simply on innate curiosity and some instruction. Illiterate adults may need to see a direct livelihood benefit from literacy to muster the motivation to obtain and maintain literacy skills however (Oxenham, et al., 2002). We know children and adults are using mobile devices and text messaging already. Add to this the fact that they are motivated to learn by using them. The next step is to verify how they will actually gain from them. According to Wallace, “Students with high academic abilities show similar patterns of ownership and use, with even higher rates of ownership. Almost 2/3 of students age 10 to 12 reported having a cell phone, a figure that leaps to over 90% for students age 14 to 17 (2011)”. With all the textism in modern day society, it is not a surprise that it will affect the literacy of adolescents and adults alike. Many believed that the use of the text message would hurt literacy due to the lack of spelling conventions. Recently, many researchers have been surprised by studies showing positive effects on literacy linked to everyday text messaging. A study in 2011 that focused on comparing good and poor readers on their amount of usage of mobile phones, the frequency and type of text devices they used, and the speed at which they could read messages in ‘text’ versus those written in formal English found a positive correlation between reading testisms and high reading skills in formal academic settings (Coe & Oakhill, 2011, par. 1-6). Another example of text message use showing positive gains in children’s literacy. A study in Iran comparing children that used the (SMS) and ones that used only the paper and book form of learning found that, based on the obtained results of this study, participants in SMS group could significantly outperform the ones in conventional/paper group . (Motallebzadeh, K., Beh-Afarin, R. & Rad, S., 2011). SMS has an effect on the retention of collocations among Iranian lower intermediate EFL learners. In addition to this, students have positive attitudes toward learning collocations via SMS. This was shown in their posttest scores. Now that we know that text message use alone is proving to have positive effect on children and adults literacy, there is more research proving that text messaging is actually helping children and adults reading and writing skills. Studies have proven that the gains in literacy which are being attained by the regular use of text messaging for both children and adults are long lasting and are real learning. When we look at the test score gains acquired during two months of using mobile phones during a study in 2011, they remained positive and statistically significant six months following the end of classes, suggesting that test score improvements reflect real learning (Aker, J.C., Ksoll, C. & Lybbert, T.J., 2011) Overall, it is remarkable that 78% of learners (125) reached to A level in the end. It is to be noted that 50% of A level became 15% from 1st month to 2nd month after the test for those not using mobile devices in their learning (Miyazawa, I., 2009) The study in India is another proven example that positive gains were attained when 250 learners remarkably improved their literacy skills (Ichiro Miyazawa, 2009). In a study of Taiwanese students attempting to learn English, students were randomly assigned to receive their vocabulary lessons as text messages on their mobile phones, or on paper. Post-test scores for the group using mobile phones were significantly better (Huang, L., 2008). Research with teenagers and young adults has shown largely neutral, or indeed some negative relationships between texting behavior (frequency of text-messaging and/or use of textisms), and poor language and literacy skills (De Jonge & Kemp, 2010; Drouin & Davis, 2009; Kemp, 2010; Massengill Shaw, Carlson, & Waxman, 2007; Rosen, Chang, Erwin, Carrier, & Cheever, 2010). The study by Plester in 2009 shows the existing experimental research on pre-adolescent children suggested that the use of textese is positively associated with traditional literacy skills. In this study, British children aged 10 to 12 years were asked to translate messages from standard English to textese, and vice versa, using pen and paper. They found a significant positive correlation between proportion of textisms used and children’s verbal reasoning scores and spelling scores. In another study (Plester et al., 2009) In concluding what we have found is positive gains and forward momentum in literacy caused by texting from adolescents and adults. The motivation to learn is a challenge that faces teachers and parents around the world. With the use of text messaging and mobile phones, it is an opportunity to utilize the technology that most modern individuals currently already possess. If a young adult enjoys using the SMS feature of their mobile device and it has been shown in studies to help keep an individual student of any age more focused and motivated to learn, there should be no reason that it can’t be used in the classroom of the future. Studies show that is a positive connection between children, their cell phones and literacy. These studies were not based on new users of cell phones and text messaging but was actually compared how one group that never text message and only learn with books and pencil and another group that uses a mobile device on a regular basis for text messaging. The studies have shown that the group that uses a mobile device to send text messages have positive attitudes toward learning collocations via SMS. Now that you have seen the facts about text messaging and you know that it is the most widely used form of communication between children and adults it is time we use mobile devices to improve literacy skills. Even though text messaging can cause children and adults to use the abbreviated text spelling, text messaging is the largest form of communication for children and adults alike. Studies prove that text messaging is positively affecting literacy skills in adults and children around the world. So next time you hear someone complaining about kids using their cell phones too much or how all those text messages are harming people from learning to read and write, just remember that those text messages are actually going to help them improve their literacy skills and learning abilities though out their lives. References Aker, J.C., Ksoll, C. & Lybbert, T.J. “ABC, 124: Can you text me now?” The Impact of a Mobile Phone Literacy Program on Educational Outcome, Retrieved 06 May 2011, from http://mitsloan.mit.edu/neudc/papers/paper_197.pdf Catherine Bushnell, Nenagh Kemp & Frances Heritage Martin (2011) “ Text-messaging practices and links to general spelling skill: A study of Australian children” Australian Journal of Educational & Developmental Psychology, Vol 11, 2011, pp. 27-38 retrieved 05 December 2011, from http://www.newcastle.edu.au/Resources/Research%20Centres/SORTI/Journals/AJEDP/Vol%2011/V11_bushnell_et_al.pdf Coe, J.E.L. & Oakhill, J.V. (2011). “‘txtN is ez f u no h2 rd’: the relation between reading ability and text-messaging behavior.” Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, Volume 27, Issue 1, pages 4–17. Charles Dunstone (2008) “Mobile life report 2008: Connect the World” The London School of Economics and Political Science, retrieved on 05 December 2011, from http://www.mobilelife2007.co.uk/Mobile_Life_2008.pdf Huang, L. (2008). “The Death of English (LOL).” Newsweek. Retrieved 06 May 2011, from http://www.newsweek.com/2008/08/01/the-death-of-english-lol.html Ichiro Miyazawa (2009) “Literacy Promotion through Mobile Phones” Project Brief Paper retrieved on 05 December 2011, from http://www.unesco.org.pk/education/documents/Project%20Brief%20Paper_ICT.pdf Khalil Motallebzadeh, Reza Beh-Afarin & Samaneh Daliry Rad (2011) “The Effect of Short Message Service on the Retention of Collocations among Iranian Lower Intermediate EFL Learners” Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol. 1, No. 11, pp. 1514-1520, November 2011, retrieved on 05 December 2011, from http://ojs.academypublisher.com/index.php/tpls/article/view/011115141520/3870 Plester, B., Wood, C., & Joshi, P. (March 2009). “Exploring the Relationship between Childrens Knowledge of Text Message Abbreviations and School Literacy Outcomes.” British Journal of Developmental Psychology, Volume 27, Number 1, pages 145-161. UNESCO Institute for Statistics, (2010). “Adult and Youth Literacy: Global Trends in Gender Parity” Institute for Statistics, Data Centre, stats.uis.unesco.org, September 2010, Number 3, retrieved on 05 December 2011, found at http://www.uis.unesco.org/FactSheets/Documents/Fact_Sheet_2010_Lit_EN.pd Wallace, P. (2011). “M-Learning: Promises, Perils, and Challenges for K-12 Education.” New Horizons for Learning. Retrieved 06 May 2011, from http://education.jhu.edu/newhorizons/Journals/Winter2011/Wallace. Read More