THE EFFECTS OF TEXT MESSAGING TO THE SPELLING

ABILITY OF THE BSBA-HRDM 1-2N STUDENTS OF THE

POLYTECHNIC UNIVERSITY OF THEPHILIPPINES, STA. MESA,
MANILA, SCHOOL YEAR 2013-2014

A Research Paper Submitted
in Partial of the Requirements in ENGL1023
(Writing in the Discipline)



By:
Abela, Michael Jay
Acosta, Ansherina
Deocareza, Jasmine Mae
Gacusana, Ayana Mae
Salvador, Rhenpaul
BSBA-HRDM 1-2N

To:
Prof. Sylvia Basilio

Polytechnic University of the Philippines
March 2014

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We are so blessed to have everyone who has been part of this very successful
research. A lot of thanks for all of your participation and cooperation!
First, to the students of BSBA-HRDM 1-2N; despite our hectic schedules and lots
of activities, you guys still manage to give few minutes to answer our surveys. We deeply
appreciate it!
To the members of our group; thank you guys for giving our deepest endeavor on
accomplishing this research and doing our own parts!
Next, to the families of our group members; were so thankful for your continuous
support and guidance to us!
Then, to our dear professor, Prof. Sylvia Basilio; were so blessed for having you
as our mentor and for giving us enough knowledge regarding this research!
And finally, to the Creator; who keeps on blessing us and keeps us motivated to
do our everyday tasks!
Thank you and God bless!






Table of Contents


Chapter 1: The Problem and its Background
Statement of the Problem1
Scope and Limitation..2
Definition of Terms.2
Chapter II: Review of Related Literature
Foreign Literature3
Local Studies...6
Chapter III: Methodologies
Research Design10
Respondents..10
Data Gathering..10
Statistical Treatment..11
Chapter IV: Presentation of Data Gathered
Tables12
Chapter V: Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations
Findings24
Conclusion25
Recommendations26
Bibliography.26




1

CHAPTER I: THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND


Introduction
The generation of today has been totally engaged to texting. Be it for emergency,
study needs, or simply just for fun. Texting practically helps us in our everyday life but it
can somehow affect us most specifically with our writing - enough for us to conduct a
research which focuses on the study of the effects of text messaging in our spelling
ability.
We all use our mobile phones for texting and it has been a huge part of our
everyday routine. This study aims to inform us on how text messaging affects us in our
study, the community and the whole country as well. For in this changing world of
texting era, most people arent really aware of what it can bring us.
Statement of the Problem
This research was undertaken to know the effects of text messaging to the spelling
ability of BSBA-HRDM 1-2N students of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines,
Sta. Mesa Manila. Specifically, the researchers sought to answer the following questions:
1. How much time do BSBA-HRDM 1-2N students spend in texting?
2. How do BSBA-HRDM 1-2N students text?
3. How many text messages do BSBA-HRDM 1-2N students send a day?
4. How does texting affect BSBA-HRDM 1-2N students spelling ability?
5. In what way does texting make BSBA-HRDM 1-2N students bad spellers?

2

Scope and Limitation
This study looked into how text messaging affects the spelling ability of the students
which depends on how often do they text and on how they do texting. Only 50 students
from the BSBA-HRDM 1-2N of the PUP Sta. Mesa, school year 2013-2014 were
involved.
Definition of Terms
Text Messaging- Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and
sending a brief, electronic message between two or more mobile phones, or fixed or
portable devices over a phone network. The term originally referred to messages sent
using the Short Message Service (SMS). It has grown to include messages containing
image, video, and sound content (known as MMS messages). The sender of a text
message is known as a texter, while the service itself has different colloquialisms
depending on the region. It may simply be referred to as a text in North America, the
United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and the Philippines, an SMS in most of
mainland Europe, and a TMS or SMS in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Spelling- Spelling is writing or stating the letters and diacritics of a word.
Words generally have accepted standard spellings which can vary regionally or
nationally. In the sense of a standard, spelling is one of the elements of orthography and a
prescriptive element of alphabetic languages.
Mobile Phones- An electronic telecommunications device, often referred to
as a cellular phone or cellphone. Mobile phones connect to a wireless communications
network through radio wave or satellite transmissions. Most mobile phones provide voice

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communications, Short Message Service (SMS), Multimedia Message Service (MMS),
and newer phones may also provide Internet services such as Web browsing and e-mail.
CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE


Introduction
The review of related literature of this study focuses on the negative impact of
text messaging to the students academic success. While the other review focuses on how
text messaging ruins the use of students to the languages as they apply them in writing.

Foreign Literature
Does Text Messaging Negatively Impact Student Academic Success?
Jacqui Murray | August 30, 2012 at 10:18 am PST
Cisco Blogs
Across the education landscape, student text messaging is a bone of contention
among teachers. Its not an issue in the lower grades because most K-5 schools
successfully ban cell phones during school hours. Where its a problem is within grades
6-12, when teachers realize its a losing battle to separate students from their phones for
eight hours.


4

The overarching discussion among educators is textings utility in providing
authentic experiences to students, the type that transfer learning from the classroom to
real life. Today, Ill focus on a piece of that: Does text messaging contributes to
shortening student attention span or destroying their nascent writing ability.
Lets start with attention span. TV, music, busy daily schedules, and frenetic
family life are likely causes of a students short attention span. To fault text messaging is
like blaming the weather for sinking the Titanic.
Texting has less to do with their inability to spit out a full sentence than their 1)
need for quickness of communication, 2) love for secrecy, and 3) joy of knowing a
language adults dont.
What about writing? In the thirty years Ive been teaching everyone from
kindergarteners to college. I can tell you that children are flexible, masters at adjusting
actions to circumstances (like the clothes they wear for varying events and the
conversations they have with varying groups of people). There is no evidence to support
that these elastic, malleable creatures are suddenly rigid in their writing style, unable to
toggle between casual texting shorthand with friends and a professional writing structure
in class.
In general, Im a fan of anything that gets students writing, and there are real
benefits to giving students the gift of textual brevity rather than the stomach-churning
fear of a five-paragraph structured essay. Ive done quite a few articles on the benefits of
Twitters 140-character approach to writing and my teachers gut says the same applies to
text messaging. Truth, studies on this topic are inconclusive.

5

Some suggest that because young students do not yet have a full grasp of basic
writing skills, they have difficulty shifting between textings abbreviated spelling-
doesnt-matter language and Standard English. But a British study suggested students
classify texting as word play, separate from the serious writing done for class and
results in no deterioration in writing skills.
Yet another study found that perception of danger from texting is greater than the
reality: 70% of the professionals at one college believed texting had harmful effects on
student writing skills. However, when analyzed, the opposite was true: Texting was
actually beneficial.
Its interesting to note that texting can be a boon to children who struggle with
face-to-face situations. These special needs students flourish in an environment where
they can write rather than speak, think through an answer before communicating it, and
provide pithy conversational gambits in lieu of extended intercourse. In the texting world,
socially-challenged children are like every other child, hidden by the anonymity of a
faceless piece of metal and circuits. Heres a heart-warming story by parents of an
autistic child who found their first true communication with their fourteen-year-old boy
via text messaging.
To blame texting for student academic failures is a cop-out by the parents and
teachers entrusted with a childs education. Treated as an authentic scaffold to academic
goals, teachers will quickly incorporate it into their best-practices pedagogy of essential
tools for learning.


6

Local Studies
Text Messaging Bastardizing Language?
Manila, June 10, 2002 (STAR) Bastardizing language.
This is what teachers have to say about text messaging.
With the Philippines being tagged as the "texting capital of the world," many
wonder how the proliferation of mobile phones has affected the Filipinos facility for
languages.
Reading students essays with words like "4u or 2gthr yrs 18r" and looking at the
signpost that reads "Ped Xing" (meaning pedestrian crossing), one can tell that cellular
text messaging or Short Messaging Service (SMS) has revolutionized the way Filipinos
talk, write and read. But doesnt text messaging further thwart or impede the facility for
languages?
Assistant professor Mildred Rojo-Laurilla, of De La Salle University-Manilas
Department of English and Applied Linguistics (DEAL), attempts to provide answers in
her research titled A Preliminary Investigation on the Linguistic Aspects of Text
Messaging.

Using the Dell Hymes theory of "Ethnography of Speaking" that studies how
culture, language and society interact, Laurilla is able to capture the existing and even
underlying relationships between and among variables examined.

7

Laurilla administered a questionnaire to 433 first-year English students from the
De La Salle University (297) and from the University of the Philippines-Los Baos in
Laguna (136).
Laurillas study establishes several facts. In the Philippines, the cellular phone
industry widely caters to the younger market. The study shows that most of the
respondents aged 16 to 21, majority of them 17- to 18-year-olds, have cellular phones (95
percent, DLSU; 71 percent, UPLB). Most of them are prepaid phone users, with an
average spending profile of P400 to P500.
Texting is part of the youths cellular phone use, but students are generally low
frequency texters (54 percent, DLSU; 71 percent, UPLB). Early to late evenings is the
most preferred time for texting, owing perhaps to the fact that they are already out of
school and use their time on leisurely activities, including texting.
Students admit to abbreviating (89 percent, DLSU; 100 percent, UPLB), citing
convenience as the number one reason for doing so. Other reasons given: it is the "in"
thing or fad, or that they do not know the spelling of the words.
In terms of language use, the 150 respondents who participated in the "actual
texting," prefer to use "texted English" or the abbreviated form of English if they send
messages or reply to messages that take the form of "pure" or straight English and the
texted or abbreviated English.
Fifty percent of the respondents did not respond to text sent to them via "pure"
Filipino and Filipino/English pure or texted code-switched forms. The rest of the
respondents had mixed preferences for the language to be used whether in pure Filipino,

8

pure English or pure Filipino/English code-switched forms or their texted forms when
responding to text sent to them via pure Filipino and English/Filipino pure or abbreviated
code-switched forms.
There seems to be ambivalence on the effects of texting on their language
competencies. Both DLSU and UPLB students believe that texting has no negative
effects at all on their language competencies, such as grammar and spelling. Majority of
both DLSU and UPLB respondents have a positive attitude toward texting (82 percent,
DLSU; 79 percent, UPLB).
Statistical tests show that there are no significant differences in the grammar and
spelling scores of both cellular phone owners and non-owners. It can be implied that the
students performance in terms of their language skills or competencies is independent or
not related at all to the fact that they own cellular phones.
Among cellular phone owners, their frequency of texting has no effect on their
grammar and spelling scores. Similarly, it can also be implied that language skills or
competencies are independent of the extent they use the technology.
Despite the respondents overexposure to the cellular phone technology, it does
not, in any way, cause them to do poorly in class, especially in grammar and spelling.
Laurilla suggested that "real" or more recognizable effects of texting on students
grammar and spelling competencies may be seen if the respondents were the more
vulnerable ones like high school or elementary students who are just beginning to
develop language and communication skills.

9

Laurilla partly dispelled the popular observation that cellular phones may bring
more harm than good to students. Results of her study indicate that college students are
able to discern the formal language the kind that is used in the classroom from the
non-conventional texted English.
Indirectly, the technology serves as an "image maker" for the youth, who are
impressionable and are finding their own identities. The college students are mature
enough to know their personal academic capabilities and what the technology means to
them.
(Laurilla finished M.A. Communication Studies at the University of North Iowa in the
United States. Aside from language and technology, she also specializes on gender
studies, popular culture, mass communications, mediated discourse and sociolinguistics.
She is currently completing her Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics at DLSU-Manila.
The paper will be presented at the 52nd Annual International Communication
Association (ICA) Conference on July 15-19 in Seoul, Korea.)
Source: Breakthrough, DLSU






10

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGIES


Research Design
This thesis used the descriptive method to describe data and characteristics used
to describe the population. The purpose is to acquire accurate, factual, systematic data. It
is used to achieve the objectives of this study. This seeks to describe a present existing
condition, which in this study were the effects of text messaging to the spelling ability of
the students in PUP.
Respondents
The respondents of this thesis are the students of BSBA HRDM 1-2N, PUP Sta.
Mesa. The students are consisted of 13 male and 37 female.
Data Gathering
The data were drawn from 50 students of the College of Business, Major in
Human Resource Development Management of the Polytechnic University of the
Philippines, Sta. Mesa who were interviewed by us, the researchers. The researchers used
the survey method to get their answers.




11


Statistical Treatment
Individual responses were tallied before they are put into tables ready for
statistical treatment. Percentage was utilized to quantify the data gathered for the
problems. The formula for percentage is:
(

)
Where:
p = percentage
n = number of respondents
50 = total number of respondents







12

CHAPTER 4: PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, AND
INTERPRETATION OF DATA GATHERED


Introduction
This chapter presents the findings, analysis and interpretation of data gathered
whose main objective is to find out the effects of text messaging to the spelling ability
of the students in BSBA HRDM 1-2N. The class consists of 13 boys and 37 girls at
ages ranging from 16-18 years old.
Table 1: Do you have a cellphone?

Answers

Total

Percentage

Yes

50

100%

No

0

0%

Analysis: Table 1 shows the frequency of the respondents having cellphone. 50
respondents or 100% answered yes meaning all of the respondents have cellphones.



13

Table 2: How much time do you spend in texting?

Answers

Total

Percentage


1-3 Hours

32

64%


4-6 Hours

7

14%


7-9 Hours

8

16%


Others

3

6%


Analysis: Table 2 shows the frequency of respondents time spent in texting. 32 or
64% of the respondent answered 1-3 hours consumed in their time for texting. 7 or 14%
of the respondent answered 4-6 hours, 8 or 16% answered 7-9 hours in spent in texting
and lastly 3 or 6% of the respondents answered others; thus they spend more than 9 hours
in texting every day.

14


Table 3: Do you shorten your words when texting?

Answers

Total

Percentage

Yes

10

20%


No

28

56%


Sometimes

12

24%


Analysis: Table 3 shows the frequency of respondents who shorten words when
texting. 10 or 20% of the respondents answered yes, 28 or 56% of the respondents
answered no meaning they complete the words when texting and 12 or 24% of the
respondents answered sometimes with the reason that they are in a hurry.





15


Table 4.1: Do you write compositions or other literary works?

Answers

Total

Percentage

Yes

34

68%

No

16

32%

Analysis: Table 4.1 shows the frequency of the respondents who writes
compositions or other literary works. 34 or 68% of the respondents answered yes and 16
or 32% of the respondents answered no.









16

Table 4.2: What kind of compositions do you write?

Answers

Total

Percentage


Songs

7

16%


Poems

11

25%


Journals

14

32%


Others

11

25%


Analysis: Table 4.2 shows the frequency of the respondents who answered yes in
Table 4.1.This table shows what kind of literary pieces our respondents write. 7 or 16%
of the respondents write songs, 11 or 25% of the respondents write poems, 14 or 32% of
the respondents write journals and 11 or 25% of the respondents answered others such as
novels, short stories or quotes. In this table does not result to 50 or 100% because of the
multiple answers by some of the respondents.

17

Table 5: Does texting affects your writing?

Answers

Total

Percentage

Yes

4

8%


No

37

74%


Sometimes

9

18%


Analysis: Table 5 shows the frequency of the respondents that texting affects their
writing. 4 or 8% of the respondents answered yes, 37 or 74% of the respondents
answered no and 9 or 18% of the respondents answered sometimes. This table shows how
texting isnt an obstacle for some of the respondents in writing literary pieces.





18

Table 6: Does text messaging harm students writing skills? Why?

Answers

Total

Percentage


Yes

19

38%


No

20

40%


Maybe

8

16%


Sometimes

3

6%


Analysis: Table 6 shows the frequency if text messaging can harm the writing
skills. 19 or 38% of the respondents answered yes, 20 or 40% of the respondents
answered no, 8 or 16% of the respondents answered maybe and 3 or 6% of the
respondents answered sometimes. For the ones who answered yes, said that students
always write the wrong spelling or they abbreviate words. No because and texting and
writing are two different things and it may help improve the students writing skills.

19

Maybe because students are used to shortening words which they may apply in writing.
Lastly the respondents answered sometimes because some can still write in a correct
format then eventually writing in a texting format.





















20


Table 7: Do you sometimes abbreviate when you intend to write in Standard
English?

Answers

Total

Percentage

Yes

23

46%


No

24

48%


Sometimes

3

6%


Analysis: Table 7 shows the frequency of respondents who abbreviate when
answered writing in Standard English. 23 or 46% of the respondents answered yes, 24 or
48% of the respondents answered no and 3 or 6% of the respondents answered
sometimes.




21




Table 8: How many text messages do you send per day?

Answers

Total

Percentage

1-9

8

16%


10-50

10

20%


60-100

9

18%


101-200

15

30%


Others

8

16%

Analysis: Table 8 shows the frequency of text messages the respondents send per day.
8 or 16%of the respondents answered 1-9 texts per day, 10 or 20% of the respondents

22

answered 10-50 texts per day, 9 or 18% of the respondents answered 60-100 texts per
day, 15 or 30% of the respondents answered 101-200 texts per day and 8 or 16% of the
respondents answered others meaning they send text messages higher than 200 per day.
Table 9: Do you abbreviate when you write text messages?

Answers

Total

Percentage

Yes

16

32%


No

18

36%


Sometimes

16

32%


Analysis: Table 9 shows the frequency of respondents that abbreviate when
composing text messages. 16 or 32% of the respondents answered yes, 18 or 36%
answered no and 16 or 32% of the respondents answered sometimes.



23

Table 10: Is texting make us bad spellers? If yes, in what way?

Answers

Total

Percentage


Yes

16

32%


No

26

52%


Sometimes

4

8%


It depends

4

8%

Analysis: Table 10 shows the frequency of the respondents opinion about texting
making us bad spellers. 16 or 32% of the respondents answered yes, 26 or 52% of the
respondents answered no, 4 or 8% of the respondents answered sometimes, as well as it
depends with the same number of total and percentage. To summarize the answer for
those who picked yes, texting make us forget the right spelling of words, making it
shorter.

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CHAPTER V: SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS


This chapter presents the summary of the findings, conclusions drawn and
recommendations outgrown from this study. This study is about the effects of text
messaging to the spelling ability of the students in BSBA HRDM 1-2N.

Findings
1. 50(100%) of the respondents have cellphone.

2. 32(64%) of the respondents said that they spend 1-3 hours in texting, 7(14%)
spend 4-6 hours, while 8(16%) of the respondents consume 7-9 hours texting and
3(6%) respondents spend 10 hours in texting.

3. 10(20%) of the respondents said that they shorten their words when texting,
28(56%) said that they do not shorten their words when texting and 12(24%)
sometimes shorten their words when texting.


4. 39(68%) of the respondents write compositions or literary works while 16(32%)
of the respondents do not write compositions or literary works.

5. 7(16%) respondents compose songs, 11(25%) write songs, 14(32%) write journals
and 11(25%) of the respondents write other forms of literary works.


6. 4(8%) of the respondents said that texting affects their writing, 37(74%) said that
texting do not affect their writing, 9(18%) of them said that texting sometimes
affect their writings.

7. 19(38%) of the respondents answers that texting harm their writing skills,
20(40%) said that texting do not harm their writing skills, 8(16) said that texting
can maybe harm their writing skills and 3(6%) of the respondents said that texting
can sometimes affect writing skills.

25

8. 23(26%) of the respondents sometimes abbreviate when they intend to write in
standard English, 24(48%) respondents do not abbreviate when they intend to
write in standard English and 3(6%) sometimes abbreviate when they intend to
write in standard English.

9. 8(16%) respondents send 1-9 text messages per day, 10(20%) send 10-20
messages a day, 9(18%) send 60-100 text messages a day, 15(30%) send 101-200
text message per day and 8(16%) send 200 and above text messages per day.


10. 16(32%) of the respondents said that they abbreviate when texting, 18(36%)
respondents do not abbreviate when writing text messages, and 16(32%)
respondents sometimes abbreviate when texting.

11. 16(32%) respondents agreed that texting makes us bad spellers, 26(52%)
respondents do not agree that texting makes us bad spellers and 4(8%) of the
respondents answered It depends.

Conclusion

The researchers believe that text messaging has a positive and quite negative
effect on the writing ability of the students. Based on the findings of the study, we can
conclude that with greater exposure to text messaging, a lesser possibility of damage is
caused on the writing ability of students. In the surveys conducted at Polytechnic
University of the Philippines Sta. Mesa Manila, the majority of students thought that text
messaging would have a positive impact on students writing and literacy. If taken as a
whole, these studies seem to indicate the opposite of the concern that text messaging is
bad for literacy. At this point in time, it is not possible to determine specifically the
effects of instant messaging on formal writing. However, in the next generation, one clear
conclusion is that instant messaging is becoming an important literacy in kids' lives, and
consequently one that needs to be recognized by teachers. In the end, these studies dont
support the concerns that texting is harmful to literacy.


26

Recommendations
1. Students should not abbreviate when writing text messages.
2. Students should read dictionaries or other books to enhance their writing skills.
3. Students should not shorten their words because they might apply it when writing
compositions.
4. Students should discipline themselves of how to avoid spelling errors.
5. The researchers only surveyed a tiny part of the students nowadays. It is highly
recommended to have a thorough research about the subject.

Bibliography
http://www.philstar.com/telecoms/164111/text-messaging-bastardizing-language
http://blogs.cisco.com/cle/does-text-messaging-negatively-impact-student-
academic-success/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spelling
http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/mobile_phone.html