ABSTRACT
Texting language, often referred to as textese or textism, has a notable influence on the writing skills of students, both positively and negatively. As students frequently engage in digital communications such as social media, messaging applications, and online forums, they become accustomed to using informal language styles and strategies.
Through exploratory sequential research design, this study evaluated the use of textese in social media engagement among Grade 11 students from the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) strand and its implications to English academic writing. The results revealed that students frequently used specific texting strategies in their online communication, including emojis, addition and omission of punctuation marks, non-normative capitalization, initialisms or acronyms, contractions, and truncated simplified syntax or abbreviation. In contrast, less frequently observed strategies included clippings, number/letter homophones and word value characters, apostrophes, phonetic spellings, and logograms or letter-numeral hybrids. These results reflect how digital communication practices can pose challenges for students when engaging in formal academic writing.
Additionally, the study determined the extent of textese use in academic outputs such as essays, research papers, reflection, and position papers. The results suggest that textism sometimes appears in these tasks. Students’ experiences showed a merging of informal digital language practices with formal academic writing, highlighting the necessity for instructional guidance to help them differentiate between these language registers. In response, the researcher developed a set of guidelines based on learners lived experiences to promote context-aware language use.
Keywords: Evaluation, Textese, Functionality, Implications, Guidelines
INTRODUCTION
There is always a constant need for people to generate, organize, and pass information from one party to the next. Today, all communicating entities employ technology for their communication needs. With the use of smartphones and computers, people can communicate and receive feedback through calls, text messages, and emails. In view of this, Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) is a powerful tool that has changed the ways of people’s daily life, work, communication, and learning.
In addition to improving the effectiveness of both personal and professional communication, this shift has created new chances for online learning, distant work, and international cooperation. Indeed, it has reshaped conventional communication methods and is still a major influence on contemporary society. CMC activities can be asynchronous, for example, in the form of writing emails, or posting responses to a discussion board online, or can be virtual synchronous conversations held in chat rooms, text messaging, and so on.
In the context of language learning, numerous studies and books have explored the role of computer-mediated communication (CMC), particularly in writing and composition. Much of this work highlights how digital platforms like emails, online forums, chat apps, blogs, and collaborative tools, make it easier for learners, teachers, and peers to interact through writing.
At the same time, the spread of Short Message Service (SMS) has brought about new ways of using language that break away from traditional rules and transform everyday communication. Popular among younger generations, SMS has grown into a style of its own, creative and dynamic, though often challenging the norms of standard English.
Today, many high school students interact by sending short messages through mobile phones and instant messaging services, commonly referred to as texting. What makes texting particularly interesting is the emergence of a distinct language variety known as textese, marked by nonstandard spelling and grammatical shortcuts. Despite the growing body of research on texting and textese, only a few studies have examined how learners with communicative difficulties engage with this form of language.
Ekundayo (2016) highlighted that textese and emailese can serve meaningful purposes in writing tasks. The use of shortcuts can be particularly useful in notetaking, drafting minutes, or producing shorter word forms when working under time constraints in both academic and business contexts. It has been argued that textese influences users’ writing skills in negative ways. Koross and Kipkenda (2016) support this idea, noting that many lecturers in Kenyan universities believe textisms negatively affect students’ writing skills. They pointed out that constant exposure to the shortened and informal style of text messaging can make it harder for students to follow proper grammar rules and construct well-formed sentences, especially in academic and formal writing.
At a public senior high school in the municipality of Balayan, Batangas, it is common to observe students frequently using their mobile phones. Rather than dedicating their time to academic tasks and fulfilling subject-related requirements, many students engage in texting or browsing social media. Consequently, many students experience difficulties with grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure, which can negatively affect their academic performance.
In response, the Department of Education (DepEd) emphasizes that no learner should be left behind, making inclusive learning a central priority of the K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum. Aligned with this long-term goal, the present study evaluated textese in students’ social media engagement and its implications to English academic writing. Specifically, it investigated students’ textese strategies, small group language functionality, engagement functionality, and low filter functionality. In addition, the study identified the academic implications of textese evident in students’ interactions and outputs, as well as their experiences in using textese within the context of academic writing.
The guideline, as an end output, will support instruction, making it easier to address issues related to language use and reinforce writing standards across different subjects. Ultimately, this is also intended to enhance overall literacy by cultivating students’ ability to switch between informal and formal registers depending on the context, while also ensuring that their academic writing remains coherent, professional, and aligned with educational objectives.
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