One of the dilemmas we as English teachers face nowadays is the manner in which today’s student opts to communicate in Chat language, also known as Textese or SMSish. It seems the more we try to rectify this phenomenon, the more our young ones pour in the LOLs, IDKs and BrBs. The technological world does not seem to be helping either as it churns out Facebook, Mxit, BBM, Whatsapp and similar applications on every other day. With news of Txt speak becoming acceptable in examinations in countries such as New Zealand, one would want to know if conventional English is doomed.
Not if we all strike an agreement. As with spoken slang, both sides (teachers and students) need to reach a compromise. We both need to agree that both forms of language exist and are acceptable within their individual territories. Although one has borne the other, they are not the same. There should be no attempt by one form to replace or muscle in on the other.
Let me give an example. When writing a literature essay on Animal Farm or the Merchant of Venice, Txt speak needs to stay well away. Should the student attempt to sneak it into such a piece of writing, it goes without saying that the teacher will have no mercy. On the other hand, a student engaged in a group discussion on Twitter cannot be expected to use complete words and sentences when he or she has to work with one hundred and sixty characters per tweet. Any attempt by the English teacher to enforce strict grammatical rules in such an instance, will only lead to animosity.
So clear boundaries must be made about which situations or contexts are appropriate for each of the two language forms. As long as students know this and they do not neglect the traditional reading and writing culture, they will merely become bilingual and competent in both forms of register. There will not be any need for teacher or student to split hairs about this issue!
