Blurring The Lines: Contexts Of Language Use

By Author: FIRELEAVES
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Typically, both in the graduate classes where I con-duct the activity as an example and in the adolescent classrooms where my students experiment with the activity, students are engaged and interested in seeing Links Of London Bracelets how their language changes from one situation to another. As students reflect in their notebooks on what it means to "flip the switch," they begin to develop a conscious awareness of the language they use.

This type of activity introduces the idea to students that language varies by context, and it will help them to see that what is appropriate in one setting may not be appropriate in another. In technology-driven classrooms, however, this line can become blurred. In an online discussion forum, high school English teacher Valerie Mattessich wrote the following post:

I am starting reading-response blogs with my students and am torn between allowing them to use text-speak on their blogs, which will maximize authenticity, and requiring proper capitalization and punctuation, which will make me feel better as an English ...
... teacher but may ruin the whole point of blogging for them. Thoughts anyone?

The dilemma inherent in her post captures the feelings of many English teachers who understand that the language that students use in digital settings is different from that required in school. The pull between authentic writing and standard conventions is strong, and the conflict may best be explored by engaging the students themselves in a discussion about the nature of their writing.

For example, by setting up an online writing task where students are free to choose the code in which they express their thoughts, teachers can collect valuable data about students' choices. As a high school teacher, I regularly engaged students in online discussion forums, and one of our first activities post-writing was to examine the language used in the forum. We discussed the online atmosphere as an extension of the classroom, and I pointed to examples of students who chose conventions of text speak and those who chose to write solely in Standard English. We discussed how writing in each form might be perceived by readers and debated the acceptable use of text speak in this context. By inviting students to look critically at their writing, I brought the issues of vernacular and standard correctness to the forefront of their thinking, and in the process, I negotiated the appropriate code for their online work. Often students agreed that this online writing should adhere to standard form because of its connection to school. Interestingly, after making this decision students themselves became the police of their writing. Comments such as "Can we please capitalize I?" or "Clean up your grammar" were not uncommon in the posts of my sophomores. Without my involvement, students navigated the language and negotiated the code.
Though students often determined that Standard English should be the goal in their online discussion, students who regularly write in online spaces for pleasure may make the argument that text speak is equally appropriate in an online setting, regardless of the school-based context. Allowing the class to make the decision that text speak is permissible in online contexts related to class work may be somewhat worrisome for a teacher who developed an Links Of London Charms understanding of computer technology later in life, one who is what Marc Prensky would call a digital immigrant. However, doing so will privilege the students' language, giving it a space within the school curriculum. In turn, the online writing will be more authentic. Similarly, teachers may allow students to use conventions of text speak in their journals, brainstorming, or handwritten rough drafts. The purpose of these tasks is for students to translate thought into writing. Doing so in the code that comes most naturally to them may aid their thinking and ultimately support their writing. Accepting text speak as viable for these types of assignments provides another context in the classroom for students to engage using their primary discourse.