Teachers' union defends texting by students

Text messaging is a response to changing technology and should not be seen as a threat to the literacy of pupils, secondary school teachers have said.

A report by the Department of Education's chief examiner in English said text messaging "seems to pose a threat to traditional conventions in writing" because of its use of phonetic spelling and lack of punctuation.

The examiner said it would appear to have had an impact on standards of writing as evidenced in the responses of candidates. The examiner also noted that many Junior Certificate students were giving the minimum answers to questions and were "unduly reliant" on short sentences, simple tenses and a limited vocabulary.

He also said that a significant number of candidates need to further develop their proficiency in the basic elements of personal expression through writing.

The Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) described the report of the State Examinations Commission for the Junior Certificate as balanced and fair but defended the use of texting saying it fulfils its function if it conveys meaning in a clear and unambiguous fashion.

In a statement, the ASTI said that language is a living process and has to be flexible and subject to change and to development.

"Rigidity or conformity with received standards is not the first port of call in judging a piece of writing or, indeed, speaking," the ASTI said.

"These conventions on spelling etc are quite recent as anyone who reads Shakespeare will know.

"Spelling, grammar, punctuation and, indeed, pronunciation, are agreed conventions which aid us in expressing our meaning. Language changes as the world changes: it cannot be set in aspic."

The ASTI also pointed out that Irish students have the second highest levels of literacy across 31 OECD countries.

More than three-quarters of the 37,000 students who sat higher level English got a C or higher.

"We do need to ensure that appropriate standards are maintained in spelling, punctuation and grammar but the modest and fair recommendations of the chief examiners should not lead us to forget that the sheer wonder of language is in its adaptability, its individuality and its variousness," the ASTI concluded.