BRITISH students in GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) English will have to answer questions about text messaging as part of a new examination. However, education campaigners described the move as the “ultimate in dumbing down”, according to the Daily Telegraph.
In the new exam, being introduced by the Assessment Qualifications Alliance (AQA), pupils will be asked to write an essay on the etiquette and grammar of texting, using common text shortcuts as examples, to account for 10 percent of their overall English GCSE mark.
The subject of text messaging will be taught from next September as part of the Studying Spoken Language module, which has been introduced as a GCSE reform designed to make the qualification tougher.
Many commentators have expressed concern that youngsters are losing the ability to write correct English because they are becoming so used to communicating in abbreviated text code.
Nick Seaton, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, expressed his dismay, claiming it represented a “shameful betrayal of the subject”. He said: “Surely with all the great literature that could be studied, it is a tragedy that pupils are being asked to do this as part of an English qualification. It is hardly believable and such a waste of time and effort. It is difficult to see what they will learn — it’s the ultimate dumbing down.”
But the AQA has defended the introduction of the new module, insisting text messages are an important part of modern language and therefore need to be studied. The new subject has even been described by the exam board as the “newest and potentially most exciting area of the new GCSE”. An AQA spokeswoman said: “Texting is a prevalent form of language in the 21st Century and it is right that it is given a place alongside other forms of language.”
