It may seem like a foreign language to some, but to kids — it’s plain English.
Text lingo is the newest and most popular form of communication among young people.
A recent survey found that 20 per cent of all Grade 3 students and 54 per cent of all Grade 6 students in the Bruce Grey Catholic School Board text and or email.
Superintendent of Education Catherine Montreuil says text lingo is here to stay, and this isn’t something schools should resist or be concerned about.
Instead, she says schools need to teach students that when they are texting — they use one form of language.
And when they are writing — they use another form.
Montreuil is confident students will learn to manage the technology in formal and informal ways.
She calls text lingo an opportunity for schools to teach kids how to be wise consumers of technology and make good moral decisions with it.
Montreuil adds the lure of text messaging and net surfing has many educational advantages.
She says many reluctant readers willing surf the net, engage in social media talk and end up reading more than they ever would online because of the technology.
