'There is nothing cool about not being able to write and speak in good English'

“Awww!!!dz ryt here z ma pwity gurl swag>>recognise i'm back!!!i've misd ma crib!!!”


“Dt wz a gr8 parry d oder nght.”

“Yestda, dat I thot wuld b niz nded bd”

“I m wit u 4eva. Hv a 9ice wk.!

The above are just some examples of text messages, Blackberry chats and Facebook posts I see and come across. The senders range anywhere between 18 years of age and 30 years of age. A standard SMS message allows you 160 characters. Blackberry chats are unlimited and Facebook Wall Posts allow you at least 400 words.

It is understandable when you are trying to pass across a message using 160 characters but what excuse does anyone have to start sending or posting incomprehensible messages on Facebook and during Blackberry chats.

The culture instituted by the introduction of the 160 character message limit has now become so ingrained in our teenagers and youths that a lot of them do not have the capacity to summarise, write and post intelligible messages even when they are not hindered by character limits.

At the last WAEC examinations results, 90% of the students could not pass the English Language. Considering the fact that all other subjects are administered and marked in English, why then are we complaining about mass examination failure. Even science subjects such as Chemistry, Biology, Geography and Agricultural Science have to be set and answered in the English Language.

One of the most difficult aspects of my job is going through application or cover letters and resumes. You see students who have spent four years in the University who cannot write an application letter nor put together a resume. The average busy Recruitment Manager spends less than a minute to go through a three page CV and make the decision of calling or not calling the applicant for an interview. These are not things you teach at the university level. These are things that students are expected to have grasped by the time they are finishing secondary school.

In this age of the Internet, where Google and Facebook are the top two most visited sites on the net, no one wants to read and write any longer. But the truth of the matter is that whether we are reading and writing using old fashioned paper or reading and writing using the computer, the iPad, the phone or the Internet, the rules of reading and writing remain the same.

Sometimes in January this year, an aspiring 20-something year old journalist asked me to visit his blog. The blog was badly designed and the articles were badly written and edited. No one, except if they are like you too would want to read your badly written notes on Facebook or your poorly written blog. No one would want to read your wall posts filled with spelling mistakes or grammatical error for that matter.

Mark Zuckerberg designed and developed Facebook in 2004 for people between 19 and 25 years of age. Today, the fastest growing demographic on Facebook are those between 35 and 45 years of age. Wow! What does that statistic tell me? It tells me that Facebook has gone beyond being just a social media to a professional and business tool. Used properly, you can attract the right networks and opportunities for your future but I can assure you, you will put people off if you cannot communicate properly, answer messages properly and chat properly.

English Language is our lingua franca, it’s a beautiful language, it’s the second most spoken language in the world and it continues to be a global means of communication. Comprehension, Grammar, Spelling, Essay Writing and Summary are some of the things taught at School Certificate English. These things are learnt not by reading notes or even sitting down listening to a teacher in class but by constant practice through reading and writing.

There is nothing cool about not being able to write and communicate in good English neither is there anything old fashioned about being able to write and speak good English.