January 22nd, 2011 
davidguide Coventry, England, United Kingdom (AHN) – Texting has been criticized for contributing to worsening spelling and grammar use among young people. However, a study by Coventry University dispelled that common belief.
The use of the short messaging function on cellphones instead contributes to students’ spelling development, the university’s researchers said.
The basis of that claim is a study on 114 children aged nine and 10 who were recruited from primary schools in the Midlands. The kids, who were not mobile phone users, were divided into two groups.
One group was given mobile phones that the students could use during weekends and school holidays over 10 weeks. The other group had regular access to a cellphone.
Members of both groups were given reading, spelling and phonological awareness exams before and after the study. The students’ reading and spelling were also tracked weekly.
Students from both groups logged higher test results after 10 weeks of mobile phone use. The researchers attributed the difference to texting being highly phonetic in nature and the students’ alphabet awareness being enhanced when they decode the text messages they received.
Prof. Clare Wood, lead researcher, said the study indicated use by youth of mobile phones does not benefit nor harm their literary development, contrary to popular belief.
The study will be published in the February issue of the Journal of Computer Assisted Learning.
View full post on Education Stories
Posted in 
Tags: 
