Bsed group d thesis

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CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND
Introduction
The fast paced growth of cellular phones has provided a lot more
conveniences today for all of us. Different applications are featured in almost all
smartphones. Technology has advanced enough more than we can imagine. Many
people today find it hard to live without their mobile phones or cannot stay away
from their computers and constantly viewing their newsfeed and notifications.
Modern cellular phones have countless applications that allow them to act not only
as mobile phones but also as music, video, and game players, cameras, global
positioning systems, and devices that provide access to the Internet and a host of
applications.
According to the International Telecommunications Union (2009), a United
Nations agency, there are currently around 4.6 billion mobile phone subscribers
across the globe, which is more than 50% of the world's population.
Texting has become an integral part of our lives; it has rapidly developed
throughout the world. It is most often used between private mobile users as a
substitute for voice calls situations. Popularity has grown to a sufficient extent that
the term texting has enticed the people. The rapidly growing rate of phone
technology at this modernized generation is kind of disturbing. It seems that
anywhere you can see people glued to their phones’ screen, fingers typing away. On

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sidewalks, school premises, even at the crowded places. Majority of these people are
teenagers.
Teenagers have adopted text messaging as their primary form of text-based
communication, preferring it even over e-mail. The introduction of SMS or Short
Message Service helps people around the world to communicate to their friends,
families and relatives instantly unlike before that they need to wait until a week or
two to receive a letter coming from their acquaintances. Today, messages are sent
instantly in a blink of an eye.
Many users often to shortcut their messages to save a little. Students prefer to
use the text messaging featured in cellular phones as a way to communicate for the
reason that it is hassle free and has a small charge. With these, people especially
students are most prone to addiction. Addiction in texting can affect the students’
ability in spelling. Philippines have been crowned as the texting capital of the world
due to the large volume of SMS traffic exchange in the country.
Almost all students nowadays have a smart phone. It is easy for them to
communicate online in two to three clicks using their smart phones. Smartphones
and Telecommunications companies made it easier to connect online through wifi
and mobile data connection.
Based on the study of Myhra (2010), “Negative Effects of Texting in the
Classroom”, the over-use of texting has been damaging to the way students write
formally in the school premises and even in the society. The character limitations of

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text messages have caused students to form their own style of writing and
terminologies. This style has caused them to carry it over to formal academic writing
projects. Students’ writings are little to no depth, terrible grammar, and are
abbreviating almost every word they write. Texting has negatively affected the way
students write.
Lutz (2010) stated that in the past, spelling was usually taught as a separate
subject; memorization was thought to be the key to its mastery. Invented spelling
refers to young children's attempts to use their best judgments about spelling and
children progress through certain stages of spelling development. Knowing this
progression allows teachers to compel development through their instruction.
“Aoccdrnig to rscheearch by the Lngiusiitc
Dptanmeret at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer
in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny
iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the
rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can
sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the
huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the
wrod as a wlohe.”
Translation: According to research by the Linguistic Department at
Cambridge University, it doesn't matter in what order the letters in a word are, the
only important thing is that the first and last letter be at the right place. The rest can
be a total mess and you can still read it without a problem. This is because the human
mind does not read every letter by itself, but the word as a whole.

4
This paragraph has been widely circulated in the Internet since 2000 and it is
still referred to, either as a point of interest or to defend inconsistent (poor) spelling,
or choosing not to teach it.
Do people read whole words in an instant, or by sounds? The fluent reader
quickly perceives whole words, but the path to fluency is through mastering the
connection between letter combinations and the sounds they represent. The fact is
that our letters stand for sounds, not ideas. While some still debate "whole language"
versus "phonics" instruction, experts recognize that language has structure and
texture, and our students need to develop both.
Learning to spell helps to cement the connection between the letters and their
sounds, and learning high-frequency "sight words" to mastery level improves both
reading and writing. The correlation between spelling and reading comprehension is
high because both depend on a common denominator: proficiency with language.
The more deeply and thoroughly a student knows a word, the more likely he or she is
to recognize it, spell it, define it, and use it appropriately in speech and writing.
Statement of the Problem

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Text messaging, or texting, is the act of composing and sending brief,
electronic messages between two or more mobile phones, or fixed or portable
devices over a phone network.
The study aims to identify the effects of text messaging in the spelling skills
of the students. The study intends to answer the following questions:
1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:
1.1. Age
1.2. Gender
1.3. Course
1.4. Year level
2. What are the text messages commonly used by the respondents?
3. What are the exact meaning of these messages?
4. What are the text formats of the respondents in answering questions?
5. How many among the selected college students uses complete sentences in
texting and answering?
5.1. User
5.2. Non - user
6. What is the spelling ability of the respondents?
Objectives of the Study

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The study aimed to determine the effects of text messaging in the spelling
skills of the selected college students of La Concepcion College. To better
understand the said study, the researchers formulate six objectives:
a. To know what are the commonly used text messages of the respondents;
b. To extract the exact meaning of the text messages;
c. To identify text formats of the respondents in answering questions;
d. To list down how many among the selected college students uses complete
sentences in texting and answering;
e. To know the spelling ability of the respondents; and
Hypothesis
HO: There is a significant effect in the use of text messaging among young
adults.
Significance of the Study

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The result of the study is a great factor for the academic institutions and
teachers in planning and providing strategies to improve the spelling skills of
students which will result to the institutions high promotion of outstanding
graduates.
In addition, this study is undertaken to elicit information and findings that
may prove useful to the following:
Students. Who are the subjects of this study; for they will be able to know
the significance of proper spelling of words and be aware of the effects of text
messaging on their communication skills. They can avoid excessive usage of
misspelled words as well as improving their literacy skills. They can create good
statements and conversations with other people because incorrect spelling of words
can create misunderstanding to the ones who communicating to. Learning the effects
of text messaging can help by improving the literacy skills of students which helps
them verbally express their thoughts and ideas effectively.
Parents. To be more aware of their child and its spelling difficulties and be
more knowledgeable of guiding them.
College Faculty. Who better understand the spelling skills of the students;
they may contribute by enhancing their teaching strategies to overcome the effects of
text messaging to students.
School Administrators. They may use this study as a reference setting high
standards of the school to provide the students excellence in their literacy skills.

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Writers. The findings of this study will help the writers to know and how to
lessen the effects of text messaging towards the spelling skills of the students.
Future Researchers. They may also derive certain information regarding the
subject matter that they can use, develop and turn into any advancement or new
knowledge that can be contributed to the society.
Scope and Limitations
This study was focused on the effects of text messaging in the spelling skills
of the respondents. It does not include the synonyms and antonyms of words.
The researchers chose to conduct the study at La Concepcion College in three
reasons, (1) the accessibility of the location, (2) the number of students who are users
of cellular phones; since La Concepcion College is a private institution, the
researchers assume that most of the students have a cellular phone, and (3) the
researchers’ limited resources.
The respondents were limited to bona fide college students of La Concepcion
College and were composed of the twenty (20) students each per different divisions.
Definition of Terms

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Non – user - one who does not make use of complete sentences in sending text
messages.
Orthographic – the methodology of writing a language. It includes rules of spelling,
hyphenation, capitalization, word break, emphasis and punctuation.
(Webster’s Third New International Dictionary 1,594)
Perception – the way of conceiving the correct spelling of jumbled letters.
Short Message Service (SMS) - a system for sending text messages from one
mobile phone to another. (http://dictionary.cambridge.org)
Spelling - the forming of words from letters according to accepted usage. (Webster’s
Third New International Dictionary 2, 190)
Spelling Performance. It is the ability to spell efficiently and achieve a desired
result.
Text messaging – it is the act of composing and sending brief electronic messages
between two or more cellular phone.
Textspeak - language regarded as characteristic of text messages, consisting of
abbreviations, acronyms, initials, emoticons, etc.
(http://www.oxforddictionaries.com)
User - a person who uses complete sentences in sending text messages.
CHAPTER II

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REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter presents the literatures and studies reviewed by the researchers
in relation to their own study.
Local Studies
Bainto and Esquejo (2010) conclude that texting habits affect the declining
spelling proficiency of students, text languages often confuse the students with the
correct spelling of the words leading to usually misspelled words.
Aclao et. Al (2013) stated that text messaging or texting is economical and
fastest means of exchanging written messages, hence, become popular and
affordable to students. Its limited characters make texters follow a system of texting
called “textese” as to its effects to users.
According to Joguilon (2010), texting has not just become a tool for
communication, but as an entertainment as well.
Abela, et al. (2014) found on their research is that instant messaging is
becoming an important literacy in kids' lives, and consequently one that needs to be
recognized by teachers.
Foreign Studies

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Palasick (2014) said twenty years ago, text messaging did not exist. Now, an
entirely new language has formed as a result of this new media. Humans are good at
adapting to the limitations that are given to them; therefore, as text messaging has
evolved, linguistics have evolved to keep up. The way that texting language evolves
is inherently and intricately tied to the medium itself.
Lee, cited by Myers (2012) suggests that reading traditional print media
exposes people to variety and creativity in language that is not found in the
colloquial peer-to-peer text messaging used among youth or 'generation text'. She
says reading encourages flexibility in language use and tolerance of different words.
It helps readers to develop skills that allow them to generate interpretable readings of
new or unusual words.
Wood (2014) said that texting can offer children the chance to practice their
understanding of how sounds and print relate to each other and put down to the fact
that text abbreviation was largely phonetically based.
Waldron, according to Kemp (2014) playing around with language in the
informal setting of texting provides the chance to practice alternative ways of linking
sounds and letters, an ability which is well known to underlie strong reading and
spelling skills.
According to McWhorter (2013), texting is developing its own kind of
grammar. For example, take LOL. It doesn’t actually mean “laughing out loud” in a
literal sense anymore. LOL has evolved into something much subtler and
sophisticated and is used even when nothing is remotely amusing.

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Crystal (2008) cited in Gorney (2012) explains that textspeak is like decoding
a message; they require a different interpretation of the language because of the
technology and the speed that messages can be delivered. There is a different
adaptation of symbols and punctuation that the traditional language does not use, and
it's a whole new way of thinking about language that has never been used.
Bryant and Nunes (2009) stated that most of children’s learning is generative.
They learn not just about specific facts or specific actions, but how to deal with quite
new experiences and new situations. Learning to read and spell is much the same.
What children learn about reading and spelling words should, in the end, make it
possible for them to read and spell reasonably well words that they have never seen
in written form before.
Cooper (2011) stated that in any classroom, you may find children at various
stage of spelling development and also using other conventions inconsistently. For
example, a child might be the transitional stage in spelling but apparently ignoring
punctuation altogether and still expressing him/herself with immature or nonstandard
language.
According to Joshi, et al., cited by Westwood (2014), students should be
taught about the lawfulness of spelling, even while irregularities are acknowledge.
Students can be encouraged to recognize, learn and use the patters in English
spelling through systematic, explicit instruction and activities. Such instruction
requires careful planning, but is much more effective than memorizing words in a
rote fashion.

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Stone (2013) explains that spelling is the manipulation of symbols according
to agreed-upon patterns that produce predictable results. Spelling errors also fall into
sets of predictable patterns. Success in spelling is not a product of intelligence. Many
people struggle to spell due to coping strategies developed in place of explicit
instruction.
Levine, cited in Lanir (2011) Spelling, or orthography, is a neurologically
demanding sub-skill of writing, involving a range of linguistic skills. Spelling
proficiency requires the acquisition of phonological knowledge, morphological
awareness, and orthographic rules. So, in order to spell, we need to have control
over the sounds and structure of a language and its spelling system.
Palmer (2000) cited in Ott (2007) opined that ‘every word has a story, and
that the stories are often enshrined in the spelling’.
Bowe (2014) states that in order to learn creative abbreviation strategies, you
need a good understanding of how sounds and letters are put together. For example,
when you replace or remove sounds, letters or syllables, this requires an
understanding of how the original word should sound.
Muhammad (2011) states that text messaging has been criticized for a
perceived negative impact on spelling skills of students and its increasing appearance
in formal school papers.
According to Cingel, cited in Nauert (2012), when tweens write in textspeak,
they often use shortcuts, such as homophones, omissions of non-essential letters and
initials, to quickly and efficiently compose a text message. “They may use a

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homophone, such as gr8 for great, or an initial, like, LOL for laugh out loud. An
example of an omission that tweens use when texting is spelling the word would, w-
u-d.” Cingel says the use of these shortcuts may hinder a tween’s ability to switch
between textspeak and the normal rules of grammar.
Wood and Waldron as cited by Kemp (2014) stated that the evidence in their
research suggests that grammatical violations in the text messages of children,
adolescents, and adults do not reflect a decline in grammatical knowledge. Young
people seem well aware that different types of communication require different ways
of writing. As long as young writers can maintain this awareness, then the violations
of grammar common in digital communication need not be perceived as a reduction
in writing skill, but rather as the addition of an alternative, casual style to the writer’s
repertoire.
According to Paton (2011), the association between spelling and text
messaging may be explained by the “highly phonetic nature” of the abbreviations
used by children and the alphabetic awareness required for successfully decoding the
words.
According to Moats (2005), many young readers are puzzled by the rules and
exception of spelling. Research shows that learning to spell and learning to read rely
on much of the same underlying knowledge.
Leipzig (2010) in his article, introduces "Word Study", an alternative to
traditional spelling instruction. It is based on learning word pattern rather than
memorizing unconnected words. It is also designed to build word knowledge that can

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be applied to both reading and spelling (Henderson, 1992; Zutell, 1998). Because it
is closely tied to reading instruction, it also develops students' abilities in phonics,
word recognition, and vocabulary. (Baker, 2000)
Edwards (2014) stated that Spelling is a major barrier to learning to write.
For many children, motivation and confidence, once lost, can never be recovered and
therefore, how all adults support spelling is crucial to success.
Montgomery (2006) argues that spelling and writing need to be given more
consideration in teaching and remedial settings especially if dyslexic pupils are to be
helped back up to grade level, and other pupils are to make more effective, quicker
progress. Helping teachers and student-teachers to understand the valuable
contribution spelling and handwriting makes to literacy development in primary and
secondary schools, this book shows them how to overcome existing barriers to
learning.
Theoretical Framework

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This study is anchored on Max Coltheart’s Dual – Route Theory of
Efficient Spelling.
Dual – Route theory states that the human mind has the capacity to store
information in its memory and at the same time retrieve it when needed. According
to Coltheart (1978), dual-route theory assumes that two separate and independent
routes for storing and retrieving information are essential for spelling: phonological
route and orthographic route. Phonological route involves establishing and recalling
the correspondence of sounds, letter clusters, and syllables with graphemes, while
orthographic route involves direct access to lexical-units (whole word in a mental
dictionary) stored in memory.
Dual-route models propose that to spell words following regular letter-sound
spellings, people tap into phonological route. However, when a word is irregular,
meaning the word has a very different spelling from the way it is pronounced, people
tap into the orthographic route where they rely on visual memory.
Dual-route theory, as represented by the findings of the studies cited by
Sawyer and Joyce, suggests that efficient spelling draws on competencies in both the
phonological and orthographic systems, and that poor spelling may result from
limitations in either both systems.
Research Paradigm

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INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT
Figure 1
The figure shows the research paradigm that governs around this study. The
input includes the data from the survey questionnaire given to the selected college
students of La Concepcion College. The process shows that the input data were
critically evaluated, analyzed and interpreted to come up with a conclusion about the
spelling skills of the students. The output shows the spelling skills of selected
respondents.
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the methods and the procedures followed by the
researchers in conducting the investigation. It utilized the Descriptive- Correlation
• List of text
messages
• Urgency of the
text message
• Economical
factors on the use
of text messages
• Analyzing the words
used in text
messages.
• Interpreting the text
messages
• Spelling skills of
selected college
students of La
Concepcion
College.

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method, it describes the phenomena being studied and identifies the relationship
between two variables. It is looking for variables that seem to interact with each
other.
The researchers made a random sampling where samples are selected through
simple counting so that everybody has chance to be the respondents.
To gather needed data the researchers prepared a researchers’-made
questionnaire. Aside from the instrument other system of data gathering were also
employed.
Research Design
This study will utilize the descriptive method of research to determine the
effects of text messaging in the spelling skills of the respondents in attaining their
spelling performance of college students of La Concepcion College, City of San Jose
del Monte, Bulacan.
A descriptive study, according to Posinasetti (2014), is one in which
information is collected without changing the environment (i.e., nothing is
manipulated). It is used to obtain information concerning the current status of the
phenomena to describe "what exists" with respect to variables or conditions in a
situation.
Population and Sample

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The researchers focused on the selected college students of La Concepcion
College as the respondents. A simple random sampling technique is use in the form
of structured survey to gather information about their spelling skills in relation to
spelling performance among selected college students.
Random Sampling technique is a sampling method in which all members of a
population have an equal and independent chance of being selected. This sampling
technique was used to choose the respondents of this study. The selected respondents
are consist of one hundred (100) college students among overall population; the
researchers got twenty (20) respondents from five (5) different divisions in La
Concepcion College.
Research Instruments
The researchers used a researchers-made questionnaire as instrument to
gather the respondents’ data. This questionnaire is consists of two parts. The first
part consist of questions that determines the respondents’ basic information such as
age, gender, course, and year level. The second part consist of words that will be
spelled correctly by the respondents. The survey intended to determine the
respondents’ performance in spelling difficult commonly misspelled words. The

20
given misspelled words from the first column must be spelled correctly by the
students in the second column. The questionnaire had twentyfive (25) words to be
spelled correctly. All the difficult commonly misspelled words used on the
researchers’ questionnaire were from Anne Stillman’s book, “Grammatically
Correct: The Writer’s Essential Guide to Punctuation, Spelling, Style, Usage and
Grammar 1st Edition.” This book presented a list of difficult words that were
commonly misspelled by writers. The researchers randomly picked the difficult
commonly misspelled words from the list provided and then divided them into their
corresponding category.
Data Gathering Procedure
The researchers measured the gathered data through the use of a Researchers-
Made Questionnaire. The researchers secured a permit of the school for them to
conduct the study. The researchers conducted the survey immediately after securing
a permit. As soon as the respondents are finished answering, the researchers
collected the questionnaire to ensure that all of the items were answered.

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Data Analysis
After collecting the survey questionnaires from the respondents, and with the
help of a statistician, the researchers will now analyze and interpret the data being
presented.
Statistical Treatment of Data
For the statistical treatment of the data gathered, the researchers utilized the
percentage and ranking method and Pearson’s r method to quantify the data gathered.
To identify the level of spelling performance and awareness in identifying common
difficult spelling errors of the respondents, the researchers used the formula:
Percentage and Ranking
P = f x 100
Σf
Where:
P = percentage

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f = frequency
Σf = summation of frequency
Pearson’s r
Correlation is a statistical technique that can show whether and how strongly
pairs of variables are related.
N∑xy-(∑Xx)(∑y)
r =
Where:
N = number of pairs of scores
∑xy = sum of the products of paired scores
∑x = sum of x scores
∑y = sum of y scores
∑x2 = sum of squared x scores
∑y2 = sum of squared y scores

23
Bibliography
Books
Bryant, P. & Nunes, T. (2009). Children's Reading and Spelling: Beyond the First
Steps. New Jersey, USA. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Edwards, S. (2014). Supporting Spelling, Helping Hand. London, United Kingdom:
David Fulton Publishers Ltd.
Cooper, K. (2011): “Literacy Assessment 4th Edition”. Kentucky, U.S.A.: Cengage
Learning
Montgomery, D. (2006). Spelling, Handwriting and Dyslexia: Overcoming Barriers
to Learning. London, United Kingdom: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group

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Ott, P. (2007). How to Manage Spelling Successfully. London, United Kingdom:
Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
Stone, L. (2013). Spelling for Life: Uncovering the Simplicity and Science of
Spelling. London, United Kingdom: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
Westwood, P. (2014). Teaching Spelling: Exploring commonsense strategies and
best practices. London, United Kingdom: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.
Unpublished Works
Abela, M.J., et al. (2014). “The Effects of Text Messaging to the Spelling Ability of
the BSBA-HRDM 1-2N Students of the Polytechnic University of the
Philippines. Unpublished Research. PUP, Manila.
Muhammad, J. G. (2011) "Exploring the Effects of Text Messaging on the Spelling
Skills of Ninth and 12th Grade Students", Governors State University,
Illinois, USA
Palasick, K. E. (2014). “LOL MY THESIS: An Exploration of the Written and Oral
Linguistic Effects of Text Messaging”, Vassar College, New York, USA
Articles and Book Chapters
Gorney, E. (2012). "The Language of Texting: Altering English or a Language of its
Own?." Undergraduate Review: a Journal of Undergraduate Student
Research 13 (2012): 39-42. Web. Retrieved on August 12, 2015 from
http://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/ur/vol13/iss1/9

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Kemp, N. (2014). The Conversation: “Text-messaging isn’t, like, ruining young
people’s grammar”. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/text-
messaging-isnt-like-ruining-young-peoples-grammar-28145
Moats, L. (2005). How Spelling Supports Reading. American Educator, Winter
2005/06, 12-43
Paton, G. (2012). The Telegraph: “Text messaging 'improves children's spelling
skills” Retrieved from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8272502/Text-
messaging-improves-childrens-spelling-skills.html
Electronic Sources
America Online AOL, (2007): Instant Messaging Trends, Retrieved from
http://www.executiveblueprints.com/tips/070929instantmessagingtrends.ht
Bowe, E. (2014): Melbourne Child Psychology. “Texting and Spelling”, Retrieved
from http://www.melbournechildpsychology.com.au/blog/texting-spelling/
Lanir, L. (2011): DECODED Science. “Exposure to Misspellings Confuses Spelling
Proficiency”, Retrieved from http://www.decodedscience.com/exposure-to-
misspellings-confuses-spelling-proficiency/6104
Leipzig, D.H., (2010). “Word Study: A New Approach to Teaching Spelling”,
Reading Rockets, Retrieved on August 16, 2015 from
www.readingrocket.org/article/word-study-new-approach-teaching-spelling

26
Lutz, E. (2010). “Invented Spelling and Spelling Development”, Reading Rockets,
Retrieved on August 16, 2015 from www.readingrocket.org/article/invented-
spelling-and-spelling-development
McWhorter, J. (2013). TIME: “Is Texting Killing the English Language?” Retrieved
from http://ideas.time.com/2013/04/25/is-texting-killing-the-english-
language/
Myers, J. February (2012). Science Daily: “Texting affects ability to interpret
words." Retrieved from
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216165751.htm
Myhra, J. (2010). TechNation: “Negative Effects of Texting in the Classroom”
Retrieved from http://56wrtg1150.wikidot.com/negative-effects-of-texting-
in-the-classroom
Nauert, R. (2012). PsychCentral: “Texting May Undermine Language, Spelling
Skills”, Retrieved from http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/07/29/texting-
may-undermine-language-spelling-skills/42309.html
Porath, S. (2011). Academia: “Text Messaging and Teenagers: A Review of the
Literature”, Retrieved from
https://www.academia.edu/1156350/Text_Messaging_and_Teenagers_A_Re
view_of_the_Literature
Wood, C. (2014): “Texting 'can boost children's spelling and grammar'” Retrieved
from http://www.bbc.com/news/education-27816819

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