SMS Language: A Grace or A Curse? Perceived Effects and Transfer of Texting Features in Moroccan EFL Students' Formal Writing

Abstract

Writing has always been an important language skill for students to develop throughout their academic career, and students must pay close attention to accuracy, appropriateness, and language standards during the writing process. Students’ increasing use of technology in daily life raises the question of whether such standards can be maintained in the modern era. This study investigates students’ and teachers’ perceptions of the influence of SMS language on the formal writing of second-semester English Department students at Ibn Zohr University, and examines whether features associated with SMS language are present in students’ formal written samples. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted. The sample consisted of 86 students and 15 teachers. Data were collected through questionnaires (student and teacher) and analysis of students’ formal written samples, and were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively using SPSS. A majority of students reported transferring SMS-related habits into their formal writing at least occasionally, and a number of SMS-associated features (notably spelling irregularities and reduced use of punctuation) were identified in the writing samples, though not to an overwhelming degree. All fifteen teachers reported perceiving a negative change in students’ formal writing since the widespread adoption of mobile texting, and the great majority indicated that they penalise such features when encountered. Because the design is correlational and cross-sectional, these findings are best understood as evidence of a strong, shared perception — among both students and teachers — that SMS language negatively affects formal writing, rather than as proof of a causal relationship. The findings carry a number of implications for Moroccan EFL students and teachers.