A Cross-Sectional Study of Textese in Academic Writing: Magnitude of Penetration, Impacts, and Perceptions

Abstract

This cross-sectional study examined the distribution of electronic texting patterns in academic writing and effects of textese on EFL learners' writing performance. It also explored teachers' perspectives on this phenomenon. Data were gleaned from 60 undergraduates enrolled for a license degree in English language and literature and 10 of their professors who were familiar with writing skills of this body of informants. A corpus of texts derived from exam scripts, assignments, and lecture notes was analyzed, and the teachers were interviewed. The results revealed that learners tend to transfer some patterns of instant messaging (IM) into their writing. However, this remains rather limited to morphosyntactic features and some other paralinguistic features and local-based contents. The phenomenon was pervasive across the sample in a descending order; learners at the entry level e-texted more than their seniors did. Besides, heavy texters used this deformed variety of English to compensate low writing proficiency in terms of spelling, word selection, and sentence structures. Additionally, texting was apparently evident in note-taking more than in answer sheets and assignments. The study concludes that textese is not a surrogate for the Standard English but an addition to it with a variance of scope and purpose of usage.

Saudi undergraduate EFL learners’ attitudes toward using textism in their academic writing

“…Amidst several media reports showing concern over the possible use of textism in academic writing, academics (e.g., Boştinǎ-Bratu, 2015;Sockett, 2014) have become increasingly alarmed about the future of academic writing among the younger generation who use textism with great frequency. Several studies (e.g., Al-Kadi, 2019;Grace et al, 2015;Odey et al, 2014;Shah et al, 2021) have been conducted to address this concern. The results among native speaking undergraduates were largely assuring since students were sensitive to the appropriate use of textism and did not find it suitable for use in academic writing (Grace et al, 2015;Rosen et al, 2010).…”

“…However, the picture changed when non-native speaking university students were concerned. A set of contradictory results emerged (e.g., Al-Kadi, 2019;AlSalman & Saeed 2017;Odey et al, 2014;Shah et al, 2021), which left the question of whether undergraduates would use textism in academic writing unresolved.…”

Writing Difficulties for Research Scholars Pursuing PhDs in Engineering

“…As an extension of the existing research and as a step towards gaining further insights, this paper intends to identify specific language difficulties that scholars face while writing research papers in these sub-branches of engineering: information technology, electronics and communication engineering, mechanical engineering, and textile engineering. To draw a roadmap for the investigation, the researchers drew on prior research that has undertaken academic writing challenges in some other context (Abdulkhalek & Al-Khulaidi, 2022;Al-Kadi, 2019;Xiao et al, 2015). Besides, the authors, who are language teachers, have put their experiences into the investigation regarding familiarity with engineering students' academic difficulties in writing.…”