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| Overview |
 With the increasing popularity of e-mail and online instant messaging among today’s teens, a recognizable change has occurred in the language that students use in their writing. This lesson explores the language of electronic messages and how it affects other writing. Furthermore, it explores the freedom and creativity for using Internet abbreviations for specific purposes and examines the importance of a more formal style of writing based on audience.
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| From Theory to Practice |
As NCTE Past President Leila Christenbury explains it, students like to communicate by instant messaging and e-mail—and since they've embraced it, why not use this writing opportunity as a teachable moment? "Kids have always played with words and used slang," states Christenbury in the Greenville News, "They know the language they use with each other at the mall is not the same language they use with their mother or grandmother in the kitchen." Addressing the times when students do use Internet abbreviations in an inappropriate writing situation is simply a task of discussing how audience and purpose affect language use.
Further Reading
- "Rest Assured--Students, Teachers, and Language Are 'Alive and Kickn'"
- This NCTE Council Chronicle article explains how "English Teachers
See 'Teachable
Moments' in
Technology-Inspired
Shorthand," sharing classroom practices from teachers across the country.
- "Do u rite gr8? Some English teachers say no."
- NCTE Past President Leila Christenbury explains her take on students' use
of Internet abbreviations in this Greenville News (South Carolina)
newspaper article.
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| Student Objectives |
Students will
- explore the relationship between purpose, audience, and appropriate language use.
- work collaboratively to define and discuss the appropriate use of Internet abbreviations and shortcuts.
- write original e-mail messages or letters demonstrating the effect of purpose and audience on language use and word choice.
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| Instructional Plan |
| Resources
Preparation
- Make copies of the Internet
Abbreviations and Shortcuts, or the Expanded
handout.
- Make copies of the Sample
E-mail Message, or create
your own document that requires a formal tone but instead relies
primarily on Internet
abbreviations.
- Make copies of the Electronic Messages Rubric.
- If e-mailing is allowed in the school, prepare an
e-mail address where students can send their documents.
Instruction and Activities
- Distribute the Internet Abbreviations and Shortcuts handout to each student,
or show the chart on an overhead projector. Allow students time to expand
each abbreviation.
- As you discuss the abbreviations and their meaning, allow the class to
add to the list. Remind students to share only abbreviations that are appropriate
for your classroom community.
- Share the sample e-mail
with the class using handouts or an overhead projector. As a class,
edit the document by expanding the Internet abbreviations and shortcuts.
Then discuss how the audience and the purpose of the letter
would
affect the choice of words.
- Present other scenarios to the class and help the
students to identify both the audience and the purpose for writing. The
students should then be able
to choose the proper language use for each scenario. As you talk about
the possibilities, remind students that a good message is balanced. Too many
abbreviations, even if the reader understands them, can be inappropriate or
confusing. The point is to match the message to the reader and make sure
that meaning is clear.
Some of these scenarios
might include the following:
- e-mailing a college or university to inquire about admissions
- e-mailing a classmate to ask about a definition you forgot to write
down in class
- e-mailing a friend to catch up on his or her life
- e-mailing a thank you note to a grandparent for a gift
- e-mailing an acceptance letter for a scholarship
- As a final step, ask students to write e-mail messages or letters for
one of the following situations. In the process of writing their messages,
students will need to think about audience, purpose, and language use—and
the issue of whether Internet abbreviations are appropriate, and if so, which
abbreviations. If e-mailing is allowed
within your school, have students e-mail both letters to the teacher-accessible
address. Otherwise, have students print and turn in their messages.
- Your best friend and your grandmother (or another adult family member) want
to know what you thought of the movie (or television show) that you saw last
weekend.
Both
are considering
going to see the show (or watching a rerun of it) tonight, and they want to
know if you recommend it for them and why.
- You missed class yesterday because of a field trip or sporting event at
another school. Now you need to find out what you missed. Write to a friend
from the class and to your teacher to find out what happened and what you
need to do to catch up.
- You're looking for a reference book to help you with a paper or a project
that you're working on. A friend had a great book that might help, but you're
not sure if it covers the topic you're studying. You need to find out two
things: whether the friend's book will help, and if there are any other resources
that you might look at as you work on your paper. Write a message to your
friend and the school librarian asking for suggestions.
Be
sure
to explain
what you're
researching
so that your readers will know what books to suggest.
Web Resources
- Collection, List, Dictionary,
Glossary of 1,335 Abbrevations and Acronyms Useful For Internet, IRC, Chat,
Email & SMS
http://www.net-comber.com/acronyms.html
- Jim Shook provides a tamer list of expanded abbreviations. Still be sure
to check the list for any abbreviations that are inappropriate for your classroom
community.
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| Student Assessment/Reflections |
Generally review each e-mail to see if each student understands how audience and purpose affect the writer’s word choice before grading or assessing. Return work to students and discuss the issues further if you notice any issues that need to be revised. Alternately, students can exchange drafts and work with partners or in peer groups to sharpen the connections between audience, purpose, and language use. After students have had a chance to revise, use the Electronic Messages Rubric to evaluate the finished drafts.
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4 - Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
5 - Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
9 - Students develop an understanding of and respect for diversity in language use, patterns, and dialects across cultures, ethnic groups, geographic regions, and social roles.
12 - Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
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