“My smmr hols wr CWOT. B4, we used 2go2 NY 2C my bro, his GF & thr 3 :- kids FTF. ILNY, it’s a gr8 plc.”  This is part of an essay a 13 year old Scottish girl handed in to her teacher.  The entire essay was written in text message language.

Is proper grammar being lost in schools because of texting?  The answer is yes.

It seems as though students today text more than they write actual papers for school. When it comes time to write a paper they use text message slang because they aren’t used to using proper punctuation and grammar.

Essays are supposed to be formal.  They are supposed to be grammatically correct, proper and spelled correctly.  If students are writing their papers in text language, how do they not see all the green and red squiggly lines under their words and do they even use spell check?  Students are starting to blur the lines between essay writing and text writing.

Even emails should be formally written.  “As an instructor, it is disheartening to see the number of emails that come to me where students use text language as opposed to proper language.” said Adam Peterson, an instructor at Northeast Community College.  An email to a teacher or boss should be as properly written as any essay.  Emails should also include proper grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Some say that it is alright for students to use text language as long as they understand when and where to use it.  This would be correct if students actually understood the difference.  However, that isn’t the case.  Some even complain when they get a bad grades on the assignment.

Text language goes beyond students, essays and emails.  LeapFrog has a learning device called Text and Learn.  This device is like a PDA for children.  It looks like a phone and even has the QWERTY keyboard.  With this toy, designed for children three years of age and older, children can learn the alphabet and shapes.  The Text and Learn also has a daily calendar to follow and yes, teaches children to how to text.

Text language is starting at such an early age.  At this rate, by the time a child reaches school years, and English classes, that child could be at a serious disadvantage when learning grammar and punctuation.

Now is the time that English teachers need to be hitting the grammar and spelling subjects harder than ever and putting them into practice because at the end of the day, students are just going to be texting anyway.