1.After I filmed the short video in my gym class on different literacies, one of the women in there (who is a mom herself) was complaining about how the younger generation doesn't know how to spell or write anymore. They only know text messaging and/or IM language.
I responded by saying that this is one of the reasons why we are trying to create awareness to new literacies as educators-that we need to help students realize the difference between the language used for IM, for texting, for a formal letter, etc. Otherwise, they usually assume it is all the same, and, though they should know the difference anyway, if they were applying for a job, they need to know these different literacies.
Here is a perfect example of what I am talking about, though Justin would probably kill me if he knew I was posting this on here. Normally, I wouldn't care about grammar, punctuation, etc. It's just that reading this helped me realize just how real this issue is. My brother-in-law, Justin, is 21 and sent this email from Texas:
“Hey Y'all
It is good to hear everything is going good in Utah. Im glad the weather is
better for you. It is now starting to get really hot here. The last couple of
weeks its been perfect but the last couple days its been in the 90's and
the 90's here feels like the 100's there haha...”
Overall, he did a good job of writing, but the little details, like not adding the comma after the capitalized greeting and the “Im” are little mistakes that I am sure he just got lazy with, but the big one is how he throws in the “haha.” And the thing is, he does this all the way through his emails, every time. Again, granted it is a very informal letter, but he seems to think that this language is appropriate to splash around when sending out a mass, weekly email.
So again, the point is, I am sure they are not addressing in schools proper email, text, letter, etc. language in public schools, but until they do, kids may not be aware of the differences between these genres.
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I've been thinking the same thing - Tricia and I have had a few conversations about this. Jarom and I love reading Justin's letters! Lots of "haha"'s! LOL Like you said, who cares if they make these mistakes in casual letters and email, but I worry about his grammar when he comes home and starts applying for jobs. My sister is close to his age, and she does the same thing when sending email. She told me that sometimes she'll catch herself using "texting language" when she's working on school assignments. It is definitely becoming an issue for the next generation.
Tricia was telling me about a recent study she heard about that suggests that, in addition to causing bad grammatical habits, texting lessens teenagers ability to communicate with others, face to face. They are so used to having quick text conversations that they have a hard time expressing their feelings and having real, meaningful conversations with others.
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