Texting in the millennial generation

Text messaging has had a positive impact on our English language and has improved spelling and grammar for the millennial generation. This culture has appointed them inheritors of their own language (Delgado, 2014) and has prompted leaders to align themselves with the organization's vision (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013/2014) as some educators believe that texting should be incorporated in classroom instruction. Today's college students are a part of the millennials which are also known as "the texting generation" who were born between 1982 and 2002 (NIU, 2015). They are considered the most diverse and their uniqueness and defining characteristics have been shaped by technology (Gladfelter and Friedman, 2014). Communication has become more electronic in form and experts say that children write more in this generation than they did 20 years ago because of texting and social media and most of that writing is text-speak, which is a SMS language commonly known in mobile text messaging (Merrit, 2013). A study found that texting may improve children's spelling and grammar because of using abbreviation such as 'gr8' in short for 'great', makes students think about language phonetically (Carter, 2014). According to author Judith Burns, believed that from a study shows that the most creative texters were among the best spellers (Burns, 2014). Research done with the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning discovered that the association between spelling and text messaging may be explained by a "highly phonetic nature" of the abbreviation that children used and the alphabetic awareness required to decode words (Paton, 2011). However, criticisms have surfaced against millennials. They are accused of failing to form mature language skills and the ability to express complete emotions, thanks to cell phones. Experts believe that this form of language is a bad habit which causes individuals to forget proper language rules (Merritt, 2013). This raises concerns whether text messaging improves spelling and grammar among millennials and if it is beneficial to integrate texting in the classroom.

In the Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Science, authors Jessica A Gladfelter and Denise Friedman wrote a literary work, "Texting During Homework: The Millennial Generation's Ability to Thrive Despite Constant Technology Interruptions", argue that studies have shown that texting during class leads to interruptions which negatively affects grades. They believed that students cannot multitask effectively to balance texting and coursework which clearly increases cognitive load and supports the idea of multitasking being difficult. From an analysis of covarience (ANCOVA) that was conducted examined whether literacy skills were improved from texting, revealed that the writing skills of students who texted frequently in an educational setting displayed lower writing quality compared to students that did not text which determined that grammar and spelling were not improved from text messaging and grade point averages have been negatively correlated with the frequency of texting habits (Gladfelter & Friedman, 2014).

Arguing alongside authors Gladfelter and Friedman, the National Communications Association published an article in Science Daily called, "Texting and tweeting in the classroom: How do they impact student learning?" that claimed that texting interferes with student learning because of distractions. Students who tweeted or sent text messages with higher frequency on content not related to class work took poor quality notes. This group scored 17% lower on tests and recalled less about the classroom content which is evidence that engaging in messaging unrelated to class work hurts student learning (NCA, 2015).

Opposing both author's views, is a Tech Research Brief written by the Center of Technology Implementation called, "Using Texting to Promote Learning and Literacy", state studies have shown that even though texting is often viewed as a distraction, some schools are beginning to seek ways to peak students' interest in texting for educational purposes (NCA, 2015). Educational institutions are considering a leadership style which consists a high structure, high consideration which provides structure and guidance about how tasks (i.e. student learning with texting) can be completed to benefit the wants and needs of their students (Kreitner & Kinicki, 2013/2014). Texting is a popular pastime with many cell phone owners worldwide and organizations find it beneficial to create a culture to incorporate texting in classroom instruction. Recent research suggests that "textisms" are positively related to vocabulary and builds reading skills, such as word recognition and phonological awareness. Texting is viewed as writing and frequent texters are frequent writers (NCA, 2015).

With uniform views, author Andrew Harnick wrote an article in Desecret New National, "How texting can help your child become a Spelling Bee star." According to researchers at Coventry University, compared scores of students using text speak while texting who scored dramatically higher on spelling and grammar tests than those who did not text at all. According to Professor Clare Wood at Coventry University, told BBC that "when students create representations of a language, they rehearse letter sounds correspondences which is a skill that is taught formally as phonics, so texting offers students a chance to practice the understanding of how sounds and words relate to each other." Therefore, this is evidence that concludes that negative associations have not been made between texting and reading skills and that texting increases literacy skills and improves spelling not only by using text speak in formal schoolwork, but to become more innovative in word choice in academic settings because students have a unique grasp of the language (Harnick AP, Andrew, 2015).

Siding with both authors, Claire Carter wrote an article in "The Telegraph", called "Texting improves children's spelling and grammar", which dispels myths that scientists claim text messaging damages students' grasp for the English language but that the use of text speak using shortened words and abbreviations actually improved student spelling because they sound out words and phrases. Studies claim that sounding out spelling words can actually help students learn to spell the right words and there is a positive association between text slangs and spelling outcomes, according to a professor of Psychology in Education at Coventry University, Clare Wood. Data from the National Literacy Trust show that children are more likely to read on digital devices which has become a "persuasive" aspect of their lives (Carter, 2015).

Authors Gladfelter and Friedman, and studies with the National Communications Association argue that texting interferes with student learning due to distractions and neglects to improve students' literacy skills. In addition to this belief, these authors state that students have the inability to multitask with texting and focus less on classroom content which resulted in note taking of poor quality. On the other hand, studies from the Center of Technology of Implementation and authors Harnick and Carter opposed these views and agree that indeed texting improves spelling and grammar skills because students that used text speak associated letter and sound recognition which is of a "phonetic nature" actually scored higher on grammar and spelling tests than students that did not text at all the author further believe that texting should be incorporated into learning in classroom settings.

These arguments divide all of the authors who have performed research and have presenting evidence from different studies to support their claims.
However criticisms continue to be apparent with millennials of whether texting actually improves students' literacy skills and whether it would be beneficial to incorporate texting into educational curriculums.

Citations Burns, Judith. (June 13, 2014). Texting ‘can boost children’s spelling and grammar’. BBC News. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/news education-27816819 Carter, Claire. (June 13, 2014). Texting improves children’s spelling and grammar. The Telegraph. Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/10895575/Texting-improves-childrens-spelling-and-grammar.html Delgado, Michelle. (May 1, 2014). The Texting Generation. Millenial Manifesto.
Retrieved from: http://www.millennialmanifesto.literallydarling.com/the-texting-generation/ Gladfelter, Jessica A. & Friedman, Denise. (December 2014). Texting During Homework: The Millennial Generation’s Ability to Thrive despite Constant Technological Interruptions.

Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Science. Vol.2, No. 3&4, pp. 39-50. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/sites/default/files/Gladfelter%20%26%20Friedman%202014.pdf Harnik, Andrew AP. & Shepard, Nicole. (May 31, 2015). How texting can help your child become a Spelling Bee star. Desecret New National. Retrieved from: http://national.deseretnews.com/article/1778/Texting-helps-not-hinders-childrens-grammar-and-spelling-study-says.html Kreitner & Kinicki. Organizational Behavior. Copyright (2013/2014). Edition 10e. McGraw-Hill Education. p 70, 470.

Merritt, Anne. (April 3, 2013). Text-speak: language evolution or just laziness? The Telegraph. Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/9966117/Text-speak-language-evolution-or-just-laziness.html National Communication Association. (June 4, 2015). Texting and tweeting in the classroom: How do they impact student learning? Science Daily.
Retrieved from: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150604141531.htm Northern Illinois University, Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center (2015). Millennials: Our Newest Generation in Higher Education.
Retrieved from: http://www.facdev.niu.edu/facdev/resources/guide/students/millennials_our_newest_generation in_higher_education.pdf Paton, Graeme. (Jan. 20, 2011). Text messaging ‘improves children’s spelling skills’. The Telegraph. Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8272502/Text-messaging-improves-childrens-spelling-skills.html Center for Technology Implementation. (2014). Using texting to promote learning and literacy. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research. Retrieved from: http://powerupwhatworks.org/sites/default/files/Using%20Texting%20to%20Promote%20Learning%20and%20Literacy.pdf