Texting as a language tool in academic writing: A study of EFL learners’ output at Qassim University, KSA

Abstract

Leaners in the EFL paradigm struggle to achieve communicative proficiency with writing being the skill most challenging to them. However, in the technologically driven generation of learners, the specialized register seen in their texting language affords them language flexibility with lack of proficiency being compensated with its features. This study verifies how far the academic writing of 48 Saudi EFL male learners across three years of undergraduate studies is affected by the text messaging (textese) register. A deep analysis of randomly selected class notes, assignments, and exam papers was underetaken. Results showed that the Saudi learners' textese is characterized by vowel dropping (48%) and phonetic replacement (32%) amongst other features. Textese was apparent higher with second year participants which occurred 580 times, followed by third year corpus which appeared 552 times. Their occurrence was least in the first year amongst the three groups. Their non-standard English occurred 549 times. Finally, the maximum occurrence of this deformed language is in the modified (and abbreviated) spelling, heightened use of phonetic spelling, abbreviated and acronymical forms amounting to free moving syntax. The absence of this in the exam papers establishes the fact that use of this truncated form of language does not adversely affect the learners’ exam performance, rather it is used much like the earlier generation used shorthand with the difference that in the former the user need not take any training. Thus, Textese is a language affiliate more than a language substitute for the Saudi EFL learners and may have beneficial learning outcomes in the long run.