Here come the Digikids, the Net Generation with their intimate knowledge of electronic communications and, especially, the ubiquitous mobile phone and its SMS or short message service.

Australians are expected to send 20 billion mobile phone text messages this year, most composed by school students. Surveys show that at least 60 per cent of those aged 10 to 14 now have a mobile phone and most of them prefer SMS over talking to friends.

The ever-spreading SMS system has attracted its fair share of criticism, especially for the use of abbreviations such as LOL (laughing out loud), cu la8er (see you later) and hmwrk (homework).

But researchers at Coventry University in Britain have just revealed a strong link between pre-teen children's use of text abbreviations and their levels of literacy. They report that textism use is "driving the development of phonological awareness and reading skills in children".

The research found the frequency with which children used textisms could even predict their reading ability and phonological awareness. The proportion of abbreviations used in text messages was observed to increase with age, from 21 per cent of grade 4 pupils to 47 per cent in grade 6, showing that more sophisticated literacy skills were needed to use textisms.

One investigation for the study, which is continuing, was carried out on a sample of 63 children aged eight to 12. Within the group — 27 boys and 36 girls — 81 per cent had their own mobile phones while the rest had regular access to someone else's. The average age at which these children were given their own phone was 8.4 years, the youngest was 5.

Lead researcher Dr Clare Wood says phonological awareness refers to a child's ability to detect, isolate and manipulate patterns of sound in speech. For example, children who can tell which words rhyme, or what word is left if a letter is removed, have particularly high levels of phonological awareness.

An associate professor in developmental psychology at Coventry, Dr Wood says that for many children, texting appears to be a valuable form of contact with written English that enables them to practise reading and spelling on a daily basis.

In a report published in the American online Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Dr Wood and Dr Beverly Plester argue that literacy means more than reading and writing in traditional print genres. Rather, they describe it as the ability to decode information in various formats, including digital media, to take meaning from it and to encode information into those formats to communicate ideas.

"There are several ways that texting might be seen to affect literacy development," the authors write. "One is increased exposure to text and engagement with written language. A second is related to the phonological awareness that underpins many of the text language abbreviations or textisms that are used. A third is related to enjoyment of words, the playful mix of written and spoken language features that characterise text language."

They say that text messages have aspects of speech and written language.

The researchers also say this "crossing over of communication modes" has led 50 per cent of young adults to prefer to text rather than talk to their friends. Almost two out of three of the pre-teen pupils surveyed also generally preferred to send messages rather than speak on the phone.

Children may gain pleasure and confidence in communicating through writing when they can do so in a playful setting where the conventions that normally apply are set aside, the researchers say.

"Play minimises the consequences of one's actions and allows learning in a less risky situation . . . Texting may contribute to overall literacy experiences in several ways [but] it is clear also that it does not contribute to the demise of pre-teen children's literacy skills."

Not surprisingly, the study found a strong positive relationship between the age at which the children began sending text messages and when they received their first phone. The younger they were at texting, the younger they were when they were given a phone.

The researchers say that in such young children, traditional literacy skills are generally not yet firmly established. They believe the children's experience with what they call "computer-mediated communication" will be highly influential in their overall literacy development.

Source: The Age - http://tinyurl.com/yaypfrq