Bachelor of Education (English Language) – Secondary Strand

The Influence of the Practice of English in Smartphone Instant Messaging (IM) Application onESL Learner’s Writing Proficiency

以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以

Bachelor of Education (English Language) –Secondary Strand

以以以以以以以以 (以以以以) – 以以Course Title:

2012S2 ENG4900 (04E) Honours Project

Lecturer(s):

Dr. Hsueh Chu CHEN, Rebecca

Research Title:The Influence of the Practice of English in Smartphone Instant Messaging (IM) Application on ESL Learner’s Writing Proficiency

以以以以:以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以

Due time/date: 23:59 p.m. 9/5/2014

Student Name: Wong Yat Chung

HKIEd Student No: 10340484

Signature of Marker:

__________________________

Signature of Moderator (if any):

_________________________

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Date: _____________________ Date: ____________________

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Research TitleThe Influence of the Practice of English inSmartphone Instant Messaging (IM) Application

on ESL Learner’s Writing Proficiency

IntroductionNowadays in Hong Kong, when one walks down the street, takes

the MTR or even eats in a cafeteria, he/she might notice that cell

phones are not used for voice calls exclusively anymore. As

described by Reardon (2008, p.1) about the case in the United

States, “text messaging is the trend in mobile communication having

surpassed voice calls in popularity”. With the emergence and the

popularity of smartphone in recent years, more and more people are

using Instant Messaging (IM) application, such as Whatsapp, WeChat,

Facebook messenger and Line etc. to communicate with each other. As

a student teacher of English language in a secondary school in Hong

Kong, the language habit students practice during texting arouses my

attention and makes me wonder if such habit does any good (or harm)

in their written English in the class. This research paper will

present to you a study on the effect of the practice of English in

Smartphone Instant Messaging (IM) Application on a group of local

ESL Learner’s writing proficiency.

Literature Review

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以As a multilingual city where Cantonese is the mother tongue

of most Hong Kong University students and English their second

language, Lee (2007) discovers that invented Cantonese spellings and

code-mixing are frequently used by these university students in Hong

Kong with various reasons during instant messaging in computer

mediated communication (CMC) (i.e. with the use of Facebook, MSN,

ICQ with computer as a platform). Lee (2007) also argues that

“learning to produce texts in IM involves an entirely different

process from that of formal language learning in the classroom.” A

similar case study conducted by Florida (2012) which examines the

extent of mobile technology application in two ESL classes in

Gyeongju University in South Korea also reveals that direct or

literal translation regardless of the difference in language syntax,

frequent use of “Konglish” (Korean English) and code-switching from

English to Korean happen among the local ESL learners. Both

researches in Asia, despite the fact that the target groups were

practicing different languages, drew my attention and I wanted to

investigate if my students also practiced similar habits and

understand the difference between the process of generating text in

an informal context and that in a formal one.

Lee’s research is important to my study even though her focus

is on CMC and university students in Hong Kong, whereas mine is on

smartphone communication and students of a local secondary school.

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以The reasons are threefold. Firstly, such computer mediated

communication 6 years ago is readily realized by the use of

smartphone applications nowadays because of the strong functionality

of smartphones. In other words, CMC is no longer the only way to

realize electronically mediated communication (EMC). Instead, people

can use a smartphone to achieve CMC. For example, with regard to IM,

people can use Facebook Messengers application in a smartphone to

text-message others who are either using the same application in a

smartphone or in a computer. Secondly, smartphone not only becomes

an alternative tool to realize CMC but also plays an even more

important role than a computer in accomplishing IM due to its

mobility, i.e. people carry a smartphone to text-message each other

at anywhere and at any time, i.e. when they are lying on bed or even

going to toilet. Thirdly, the popularity of smartphone makes it more

easily accessible to students of secondary school in addition to

university students. During my teaching practicum in 2013, more than

three-fourth of my form 1 students revealed that they had their own

smartphones and they spent time on text-messaging using smartphone

frequently. Therefore, I believe that more important and up-to-date

information regarding the language use in IM with smartphone

application by local secondary students can be collected and

analyzed.

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以Besides, Lee’s another article (2007) examines the reason

influencing language choice in IM in a multilingual setting. She

suggests that there are seven factors affecting people’s language

choice when IM, including user familiarity with the language, perceived

expressiveness of the language, user identification with the language, perceived practicality

of the writing system, perceived function of IM, technical constraints of inputting methods

and speed. These factors are insightful to my research study on

students’ English use in formal context, i.e. English composition,

and informal context, i.e. IM in Smartphone application, in Hong

Kong, for the reasons that students might use different “Englishes”

(conventional or English with improper grammar/ word choice) in

different settings. For example, because of the input method and the

premise that IM requires respondent to text and reply messages in a

quick manner, students tend to use “bad English”, whereas in

classroom setting students may be given more time to generate text

using paper and pencil, thus more conventional English is tended to

be used. However, will students mix up the use of language, i.e.

word choice, in the two entirely different approaches in text

production and use word choice that is appropriate in IM but rather

considered as inappropriate in a classroom setting? Will the intense

habitual use of improper English affect students’ production of

conventional English language in the classroom? Questions as such

will be investigated in this study.

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以In Powell and Dixon (2011), the effects of short messaging

system (SMS) text messaging on adults’ spelling (written English) in

the UK are investigated. Suggested from their findings, the exposure

to non-conventional “textisms” (e.g. ‘2nite’) had a positive effect

on adults’ spelling. Similar result can also be found in Wood,

Jackson, Hart, Plester and Wilde (2011), who conclude that text messaging does not

adversely affect the development of literacy skills within the age group of 9- to

10-year-old children, and that the children’s use of textisms when text messaging

is positively related to improvement in literacy skills, especially spelling. By

referring to the study methods by these researchers, the term

“written English” used in my research project can be defined as

English spelling or some English expressions. This article also

gives me some insights on how teacher can bridge the gap between the

use of English during daily IM and that during classroom context.

Up to this point, this section could be concluded by

showcasing its research gap between this research project and other

researchers’ ones. While Lee (2007)’s project is on the language use

in Computer Mediated Communication with University students in Hong

Kong, this research project intends to target on a group of local

secondary school students for the relationship between the use of

English through Electronic Mediated Communication realized on

smartphone platform and students’ English writing proficiency. Also,

there is a research gap between this project and Florida (2012)’s in

two ways. They are, firstly, that her target groups are two ESL

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以University classes in South Korea whose mother tongue is Korean

whereas the target group in this project practice Cantonese, despite

of the fact that both languages used are Asian languages; and

secondly she does not explore the consequence of the habit of

frequent use of Konglish (Korean English) on students’ writing

proficiency. This research project is therefore to fill such gap and

seeks to provide suggestion to secondary students and secondary

school teachers for English learning through mobile technology when

understanding the effects that IM brings to our students.

Objectives and research questionsIn this research project, with a target group of 35 students

of a Form 3 class in a local secondary school in Hong Kong, the

following objectives were intended to achieve:

1. Investigating students’ habit of using English during IM (i.e.

frequently use or rarely use?)

2. Examining the habit of using invented Cantonese spellings,

direct L1 translation and code-mixing, as well as

3. Observing the effect of such habits on students’ written

English proficiency.

These aims are used to generate the following specific research

questions:

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以1. How frequent do the target group use English when texting

using Smartphone application?

2. To what extent do they use invented Cantonese spellings,

direct L1 Translation and code-mixing when texting with each

other, and why?

3. How does the habits of using English during IM affect

students’ written English proficiency?

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MethodologyThree data collection methods were adopted, namely

questionnaires (M1), error correction test (M2) and follow-up semi-

structured interviews (M3), to collect the necessary information to

respond the research questions listed in above. The procedures of

each methodology will be listed after the explanation of the

background of the respondents in the next paragraph.

The target group of students were studying form 3 at my TP

school. The school was a CMI school where most of the students

belonged to Band 3 according to the Secondary School Places

Allocation (SSPA) System in Hong Kong. A majority of the students

were local Hong Kong students whose mother tongue was Cantonese, yet

there was a significant number of students who were new immigrants

from mainland China whose mother tongue could be dialects other than

Cantonese, i.e. Hakka. Usually, students from mainland China were

diligent and had high motivation to learn. However, they began

learning English much later than their local classmates did, i.e. at

Primary 3. This could be evidenced by the questionnaires results of

M1 about the demography and English learning background below (See

Result – M1). This could also explain why was that even the target

group of students belonged to the elite class of the school and that

they achieved well in subjects such as Chinese, Mathematics and

Science, still, their English proficiency was not high, and

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以generally they were of low confident in learning and mastering the

language.

M1 – Questionnaires and the sampling method (see Appendix 1).

35 questionnaires were distributed to one of the form 3 class

at my TP school during the 3rd week of my teaching practice. This

group of students was targeted for the next 2 methodology as well.

The questionnaires composed of 4 sections (Section A, B, C and D)

and the information that was intended to collect is listed below:

Section A: Respondents’ basic information

Section B: Respondents’ view about the English language system

and their reflections on their own writing

proficiency

Section C: Respondents’ habits of using smartphone, of using

English in IM, and their view about utilising IM in

the learning of English writing

Section D: Respondents’ willingness in providing their chat

history for studying their actual habits of using

English in IM for further studies as well as for

setting up M2

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以A list of questions were set for collecting necessary information

for each section, which the readers could refer to the appendix for

the sample questionnaires.

M2 – Error Correction Test (see Appendix 3 for the Test Paper)

After the preliminary analysis of the data collected from M1,

and some of their chat history in IM applications (see Appendix 2),

based on my understanding on this group of students through the

teaching practice, Error Correction Test were adopted instead of a

Writing Test. The reason for adapting an error correction test

rather than a proper written test is that the majority of the

students in this class were not capable to produce a piece of

English writing on their own. They could produce a text only when

the teacher has provided sufficient word hints which allow students

to fill in blanks (see sample pages for the daily writing exercise

of the respondents in Appendix 7 below). It would hinder the

accuracy of the text results and efficiency of the collection of

data if a writing text was set with too much word hints and

teacher’s assistance in the way they usually did at school. As a

result, instead of examining students’ writing proficiency at text

level, we could still indirectly assess their writing proficiency at

sentence level. Yet, we should bear in mind that such assessment has

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以its limitation, and it would be presented at the section Discussion

below.

In the Error Correction Test, a conversation between two

persons on an IM application on smartphone was given. The context

was set as a person asking another person out for dinner as well as

for homework issue. For each dialogue, English words and sentences

(both correct and incorrect) are put and the respondents were asked

to rewrite all the dialogue into proper English. These English items

were set based on the language features Lee (2007) and Powell and

Dixon (2011) explained in their papers, as well as the respondents’

chat history.

According to Lee (2007), who in her paper presents the study

of the text-making practices associated with the use of IM (ICQ and

MSN Messenger), the features of CMC English used by ESL learners

that are specific to the Hong Kong CMC context includes:

1. The use of Chinese and English (at sentence level) (e.g. ‘How

should I put it? 這這這這這這這!’)

2. Invented Cantonese spellings (e.g. ‘這這這這以這這’ as ‘這這這這 HO 這這’)

3. Code-mixing (within a sentence) (e.g. ‘這這這這這這這’ as ‘這這這這 so

easy!’)

Meanwhile, Powell and Dixon (2011), whose paper is working on what

effects would there be to children and adults in the exposure to

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以‘textisms’, also complement Lee’s study and they suggest 2 features

of CMC English (in short messaging system SMS) used by common ESL

learners and native English users, such as:

4. Contraction (e.g. ‘homework’ as ‘hw’)

5. Abbreviated, non-conventional ‘textisms’ (e.g. ‘tonight’ as

‘2nite’)

From respondents’ chat history provided, we could also spot out some

other grammar errors as users’ English language features such as:

6. Direct L1 translation (e.g. ‘ I am eating noodle’ as ‘I eating

a noodles’, in Figure 1 of Appendix 2)

7. Typo and spelling mistakes (e.g. ‘Crazy’ as ‘Carzy’, in Figure

3 of Appendix 2; ‘Japan’ as ‘Janpen’, in Figure 4 of Appendix

2)

8. Tense and word choice (e.g. ‘I cannot pass the stage in the

game called 這這這這’ as ‘I can not complete the app call 這這這這’)

By considering the Language features suggested by scholars as well

as the actual practice of the English language in IM by the

respondents, an error correction test with written conversation that

contain language features against proper English usage was set to

examine respondents’ ability to single out the errors and correct

them into proper English. A table of the language features and the

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以examples from the error correction test is presented in category and

frequency below:

Type of language features

Specific language features

Number of corresponding items in the paper (frequency)

Examples

(question number)

L1-based

feature

Cantonese word

represented in

English spelling

or vice versa

2 (1) Nei 這這這這這這 eat

dinner

(3) …? Easy 以 la

Cantonese filler

in English

2 (3) …? Easy 這 la

(7) …! I give you

mine yesterday

wor! …Direct L1

translation

2 (1) Nei 這這這這這這 eat

dinner 這?

(2) 這 who 這? …English

vocabulary and

grammar-based

Short form 2 (2) …? 這這這這這 hw 這…

(7) … Sholdn’t u

lett me to see

see?Typo/ spelling

mistakes

3 (3) Homewerk? …

(7) … Sholdn’t u

lett me to see

see?Tense 2 (7) Came on! I

give you mine

yesterday wor! …Word choice 1 (5) Tomorrow

borrow me copy

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以copy

English

expression

(regarding

respondents’

vocabulary bank)

1 (4) … 這 die hard

English

Sentence

Grammatically

correct sentence

1 (6) No way! Do

your own homework!Total number of

items:

16

Each of the item cost the respondents 1 mark. The respondent should

correct the item if it is regarded as incorrect in proper English,

or they should not correct it if the item is a correct item. 1 mark

for “Sentence Formation” would be given to the respondents whenever

they could rewrite the dialogue into a mostly correct English

sentence. Since Question (6) (the last item in the table above) is a

grammatically correct sentence, no mark would be given to the

respondents if they change any of the words in it. However, if they

are still able to form a grammatical sentence, 1 mark of “Sentence

Formation” would also be rewarded. Therefore, the full mark for this

Error Correction Test is 22, with a benchmark of 12 (11 or below

shall be considered as a Fail).

All students in the class were invited for this test,

regardless their habit of using English in texting for the sake of

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以later result comparison between “Long-term frequent English user in

IM” and “Non-English user in IM”.

M3 – Follow-up Semi-structured Interviews and sampling method

After the data collection for M1 and M2, 2 group interviews were

conducted with a total number of 16 students. The details for the

group assignment are as follows:

The M2 respondents’ class number, their responses in M1 on their

frequency in using English words and sentences during text-messaging

and their duration of using a smartphone were put together with

their test results (see Appendix 8). 11 students who responded in M1

that “they used English vocabulary for at least once a day” as well

as “have been using smartphone for 3 – 4 years” and “have been using

smartphone for more than 4 years” were classified as Long-term

frequent English user in IM. 8 students who responded in M1 that

“they never used either English vocabulary or sentence in IM” were

identified as Non-English user in IM.

For the group of Long-term frequent English user in IM, 2

students of each of the following categories were invited for the

follow-up group interview:

Category Frequent English words and sentences user

with test result of 12 or higher*

2 Ss

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以1:

Category

2:

Frequent English words and sentences user

with test result of 11 or lower

2 Ss

Category

3:

Less frequent English words and sentences

user with test result of 12 or higher

2 Ss

Category

4:

Less frequent English words and sentences

user with test result of 11 or lower

2 Ss

Total number of students invited: 8 Ss

*12 is the benchmark (50% of the total score of 22 in M2 test)

For the group of Non-English user in IM, 8 out of 8 were

invited for another group interview.

The highlighted students in Appendix 8 were the ones who

attended the group interviews. In the following paragraph, I will

briefly describe the interview questions set for this Methodology

(see Appendix 4 for the list of interview questions for both

groups):

15 Interview questions were set based on the respondents’

responses in M1 and their test results in M2, for seeking more

information on individual reasons for their habits of using English

in IM and their reflection on whether such habits relates to their

error correction test results in M2. Questions of the kind includes:

2. Why do you *frequently/ seldom use English during texting?

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以10. Do you think that the habit of using English in IM/

without the habit of using English in IM is related to not

being able to correct the errors in the paper?

11. Do you think that the habit of using English in IM/

without the habit of using English in IM affects your

overall English writing proficiency?

Besides, questions that seek the answer from respondents about their

view on applying IM in daily classroom teaching were also adapted:

13. What do you think about learning English writing through

IM?

14. Can you think of an alternative way of learning English

writing?

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Results and Discussion (see Appendix 8 for all the details of the findings)I. Results of questionnaires (M1)

34 questionnaires were received and the data collected was

coded in Excel as frequency, percentage and figures, and then

presented in graphs and tables in Appendix 8.

II. Results of Error Correction Test (M2) 29 valid Error correction test paper were collected.

Based on the scoring system developed, as described in

Methodology section for M2 above, the average test scores for

all respondents, and for respondents of each category were

calculated and put together for comparison.

III. Results of Follow-up Semi-structured Interview(M3) The results of this methodology aims at supplementing the

results of M1 and M2 by comparing the responses of the “Long-

term high frequent English users in IM” and “non-English users

in IM” on the habits of using English in IM, the factors that

affect their test results as well as their opinions on adopting

IM in English writing learning. Please see Appendix 8 for more

details.

Based on the analysis of the findings, it could be concluded

that the practice of English in smartphone Instant Messaging (IM)

Application shows positive influence on ESL Learner’s writing

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以proficiency. Section A below shows a summary and the interpretation

of the findings for further discussion.

A. Summary and the interpretation of the findings

The results were analysed and interpreted for answering the

research questions listed in the Objective Section:

Research Question 1: How frequent do the target group use English

when texting using Smartphone application?

“Section C (1 & 2) Part III – Respondents’ habits of using

English in IM” in Result of M1 revealed that more than half of

the respondents had the habits of using English words (74%) or

English sentences (59%) to text in IM (Figure 8 and 9), and the

highest frequency for the usage of English words in IM was “at

least once per each conversation”, 26% among all respondents,

and the highest frequency for the usage of English sentences in

IM was “at least once a day”, 23% among all respondents. This

reveals that the samples as a whole had the habits of using

English in IM with moderate frequency. Among 29 of the

respondents, there were 14% of them belongs to “Long-term

frequent English users in IM”, 14% belongs to “short-term

frequent English users in IM” and 28% belongs to “non-English

users in IM” (Figure 10).

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以Research Question 2: To what extent do the target group use invented

Cantonese spellings, direct L1 Translation and code-mixing when

texting with each other, and why?

i. The types of English used when texting

Figure 11 shows the distribution of the types of English

that all the English users in IM would use when texting with

different parties. The graph shows that respondents chose

different types of English to text with different parties.

When respondents texted with their friends, “English words

with typing mistakes” was reported to be used with the highest

frequency, i.e. 100%. When respondents texted with their

classmates, “English words that sound like Cantonese words or

your mother tongue” (invented Cantonese spellings) was

reported to be used with the highest frequency, i.e. 57%. When

respondents texted with their parents, “Proper English”,

“Textism” and “English with grammatical mistakes” were

reported to be used with the highest frequency of 33%. Among

the top 3 parties that most respondents texted with, the top 3

types of English with the highest sum of percentage were

“English words that sound like Cantonese words or your mother

tongue” (invented Cantonese spelling, 165%) “English words

with typing mistakes” (145%), and “English with grammatical

mistakes” (141%). Results of M3 shows a consistency with the

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以results of M2 above, in that the “Long-term high frequent

English in IM” responded in Q7 that invented Cantonese

spelling (e.g. “wor”, “la”) and English words with typing

mistakes (e.g. “homewerk”, “lett me”) were used by them and

their friends.

ii. The reasons for the frequent/ seldom use of English in IM

The “Long-term frequent English users in IM” in “Q2 –

Reasons for the frequent/ seldom usage of English during

texting” in Results of M3 gave the reasons for the use of

English in IM. The major reasons for the use of English in IM

were to supplement the use of Chinese for communication with

their friends, and to refer to proper names that were in

English (Table 8). Being considered as part of their daily

language, simple English words such as “haha”, “OK”, “Yes” and

“No” were reported to be used when texting. Yet, there were no

mentioning about the use of English sentences throughout the

interview among the “Long-term high frequent English users in

IM”. This could explain the report of a higher percentage of

usage of English words in M2 than that of English sentences.

For the “non-English users in IM” in M3, the main reason

for not using English in IM was the peer influence. Many

reported that it was because of their friends who did not use

English to text did they not using English words in IM, e.g.

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以“their friends would think they were mental”. Some also

revealed that the Chinese input methods were well enough for

communication. The use of English only appeared when the

conversation topics were about English assignments at school.

Research Question 3: How does the habits of using English during IM

affect students’ written English proficiency?

i. Effects on respondents’ confidence in their own writing

proficiency and the English language system

A majority of the respondents (68%, figure 15) revealed

that their habits of using improper English in IM deteriorated

their English writing proficiency, with “Grammar” as the most

significantly influenced part (57%, figure 14). However,

contrastingly, when asked in vice versa, there were at least

44% of the respondents (figure 17) responded that the use of

improper English in IM helped raise their English writing

proficiency, i.e. with 67% of the respondents (figure 16)

believed that “Sentence Pattern” of their English writing

proficiency raised. This shows that the existence of both the

positive and negative effects of the habits of using improper

English in IM on their writing proficiency were not mutually

exclusive, i.e. the respondents believed that even though

there was a certain extent of negative effects, there were

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以also potential benefits of the use of improper English in IM

to the respondents’ English writing proficiency.

Table 4 above shows that the more experience and higher

frequency in the use of English in IM, the higher average test

score for respondents on their perception on the English

language and their own writing proficiency. Similar results

were shown in that the more experience and higher frequency in

the use of English in IM, the higher average test score for

respondents on the opinions on using English to text and

adopting IM to learn English writing.

ii. Effects on students’ actual English writing proficiency

Since almost 85% of the respondents had been learning

English for more than 6 years, we could assume that the

respondents were having a similar English learning background,

and the effect of the discrepancy between respondents’ years

of learning English on the test results in M2 was small, i.e.

most of the respondents from all 3 categories namely “Long-

term frequent English users in IM”, “Short-term frequent

English users in IM” and “Non-English users in IM” were

assumed to be having more than 6 years of English learning

experience, so the possibility that the discrepancy among the

respondents’ years of learning English would affect the

25


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以fairness of the test results could be eliminated. This also

eliminates that possibility that the longer they learn the

language, the higher results would the respondents got,

because almost all of the respondents had been learning

English for more than 6 years. Among the 3 groups of

respondents, the more experienced and higher frequent they had

been using English in IM, the higher the average test score

for M2 – Error Correction Test they obtained (Figure 21). All

of the results statistically show a positive relationship

between the habits of using English in IM and the respondents’

perception on the English language and their writing

proficiency, as well as their actual English writing

proficiency.

B. Limitation a. The design of Methodology 2

The major limitation for this research was that the Error

Correction Test in M2 could not directly assess respondents’

English writing proficiency. The methodology was modified and

refined to suit the English level of the respondents so that

they did not need to compose a piece of English writing. As a

result, despite of the fact that the Error Correction Test

required respondents to rewrite test items into proper English

sentences, some important elements of the English writing

26


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以proficiency could not be assessed. For instance, respondents’

ability in using referencing device, i.e. demonstrative pronoun

“this”, to refer to objects appeared in the same text would not

be assessed because the test design only allow the assessment

of the respondents’ writing proficiency at sentence level,

rather than a text level.

Besides, as some of the questions were made to assess the

respondents’ ability to recognize and correct the Cantonese-

related errors, it would be unfair to those whose mother tongue

was of other Chinese dialect. This was also 1 of the drawback

of the design of the indirect assessment on the respondents’

English writing proficiency.

Thus, an improvement for the research of similar topic in

the future could be made so that respondents will be assessed

directly on their writing proficiency, that is a controlled

writing test that requires the respondents to produce a piece

of writing with a given topic that is familiar to them.

b. Sample size was limited

The sample size for this research was only a class of form

3 Band 3 students at 1 local secondary school in Hong Kong.

Therefore, the results cannot be used to represent the general

situation in this city, i.e. the findings only represented a

tiny group of ESL learners whose English proficiency was rather

27


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以weak as compared with other ESL learners locally and globally.

Even the situation for different groups of ESL learners, i.e.

form 6 students, at the same school would also be different

from this group of students, let alone the situation of other

schools.

For further studies, a larger sample size could be adopted

so that a more general picture on the practice of English in IM

on ESL learner’s English writing proficiency can be seen.

C. Teaching Implication

Before we discuss about the practicality of adopting IM in

actual teaching and learning at school, it is worth mentioning the

findings in results of M1 Section C(1)&(2) IV (Respondents’ view

about adopting IM for learning English writing). The result shows

that respondents generally held a positive view on using English to

text and welcomed the adoption of IM to learn English writing.

When the data of the respondents’ years of English learning was

compared with the average test score in M1 Section B (Figure 4), we

see a successive decrease in the positiveness of respondents’ view

on English language and their own English writing proficiency with

the years of English learning. That means the more they learned the

language, the more they thought negatively on the language and their

own writing proficiency. However, Figure 19 shows that the longer

28


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以the years of English learning, the higher the test score for the

respondents’ view on adopting IM in learning English writing. These

figures show that the more negative they reflected upon the language

and their own writing proficiency with the duration of their English

learning experience, the more the respondents hoped that there would

be a new method to learn English writing, i.e. adopting IM.

The results in M3 also echoes the results shown above. Q 13 – 14

in Table 8 (see Appendix 8) shows that “long-term frequent English

users in IM” welcomed the adoption of IM to learn English writing

because they believed that it would be interesting, convenient and

easy when it comes to learning using their own smartphone. Some also

suggested that applications on smartphone platform also provided

help for them to learn to write English, i.e. Google translate.

From the responses in the findings of the questionnaires and the

interview, we could see a potential way of helping this group of ESL

learners learn how to produce English writing. Instant Messaging on

smartphone application would be a totally new and down-to-earth

experience for these students. It apparently will motivate them to

take the chance to learn the language. This is especially important

to this group of ESL learners, given that they viewed more negative

and negative year by year of traditional way of learn how to write

in English at school.

29


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以While there would be benefits in adopting IM for students of

such kind, there would also be concerns over its adoption in actual

practice. First of all, some technical problems will need to be

dealt with, such as “data access” of each smartphone that students

own. If assignments were made for students, on top of enjoying the

benefit of boundlessness in place and time of IM in practicing

English, all of the students should own a smartphone that should

have been connected to the Internet. Yet, results in M1 shows that

not every one owned a smartphone. Some also believed that writing

with their own hands help remember English words better than typing

them on phone. Therefore, before we ensure the benefits of adopting

IM in actual learning in further studies, the benefits in

traditional ways of learning English writing should not be

neglected. Up to this point, we could only conclude that IM could be

a new way of learning that supports the traditional English learning

at school (not even as a supplement of the latter).

Conclusion

Despite of the fact that the target groups of students were of

Band 3 students and generally had a relatively weaker English

proficiency than the University students respondents as compared

with the studies in Lee (2007), statistically, the results shows

that the more experience and higher frequency the respondents used

30


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以different types of English in IM, the stronger English writing

proficiency would they had, as shown in the summary of the findings

in Discussion above. With the limitations of the sample size and the

design of this studies, this research could not directly prove that

in general situation the practice of English in IM would have a

positive effect on ESL learners’ English writing proficiency.

Because of this reason, the teaching implication stated above also

could only be applicable to this group of respondents, or students

of similar education background, i.e. weak English proficiency in

general.

Nevertheless, we still cannot neglect the effect of smartphone

technology on ESL learners’ English learning experience. If in

further studies that consistency is shown with this research, that

is the practice of English in IM does bring a positive influence on

ESL’s English writing proficiency, then it will definitely open a

brand new door for all ESL learners to learn English writing, with a

much easier, more convenient and close-to-life way.

Word length: 5427 words

(Exceeding 8.54% of the word limit of 5000)

31



References

Florida, J. (2012). U-Learning for Global English: A Case Study on

Mobile-Assisted ESL Learning. In T. Bastiaens & G. Marks (Eds.),

Proceedings of World Conference on E-Learning in Corporate,

Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education 2012 (pp. 991-

1001). Chesapeake, VA: AACE.

Lee, C. K. M. (2007). Affordances and Text-Making Practices in

Online Instant Messaging. Witten Communication, 24(3), 223-249.

doi: 10.1177/0741088307303215

Lee, C. K. M. (2007). Text-making practices beyond the classroom

context: Private instant messaging in hong kong. Computers and

Composition, 24(3), 285-301. doi:10.1016/j.compcom.2007.05.004

Powell, D. and Dixon, M. (2011), Does SMS text messaging help or

harm adults' knowledge of standard spelling?. Journal of

Computer Assisted Learning, 27: 58–66. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-

2729.2010.00403.x

Reardon M. (2008) Text messaging explodes in America. CNET Tech

News. 23 September. Available at: c (last accessed 27 May 2013).

Wood, C., Jackson, E., Hart, L., Plester, B. and Wilde, L. (2011),

The effect of text messaging on 9- and 10-year-old children's

reading, spelling and phonological processing skills. Journal of

32


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以Computer Assisted Learning, 27: 28–36. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-

2729.2010.00398.x

33



Appendix 1: M1 – Questionnaires

34



The Hong Kong Institute of Education以以以以以以

Bachelor of Education (English Language) – SecondaryStrand

以以以以以以以以 (以以以以) – 以以

Questionnaire for the Honours Project以以以以以以以以

Research Topic:The Influence of the Practice of English inSmartphone Instant Messaging (IM) Application on ESL Learner’s Writing Proficiency


This questionnaire aims at exploring how the habit of using English in instant messaging on smartphone platform affects learner’s English writing proficiency.

這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這。

Declaration: All the information provided in this research will be used for

research purpose ONLY and it will remain CONFIDENTIAL. Your active participation in expressing your opinion in this research is highlyappreciated.

You have the right to CHOOSE whether to participate in this questionnaire or not.

You have the right to WITHDRAW from this study AT ANY TIME and you should be noted that you will NEITHER be penalized NOR be taken anyfollow-up action.

這這:

35


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以這這這這這這這這這以以這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這，。。這這這這以以這這這這這這這這這這。這這這這這這以以以以這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這，以以這這這這這這這。

36


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以There are FOUR sections in this questionnaire: A, B, C and D. Please attempt all questions unless specified.

這這這這這這､這､這､這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這。，。

Section A – Background Information of the respondent以以 – 以以以以以以以以

Direction for Section A:以以以以以以:

Please answer the following questions by ticking (√) the relevant block or writing down your answers in the spaces provided. You might use EITHER English or Chinese.以以以以以以以以以以 √ 以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以，。以以以。

1 Name:

這這 ________________________________________

2 Class (Class

number):

這這 (這這)：

_____________________________ (

)

3 Sex

這這

Male 這

Female女

4 Nationality

這這

Chinese 這這

Other 這這 (Please specify 這這這): __________

_

5 Language you use

at home

這這這這這這這

Cantonese 這這這

Putonghua 這這這

English 這這

Other 這這 (Please specify 這這這): _________

_

6 English is my

second language

這這這這這這這這這

Yes 這

No 這

7 The duration I

have been learning

English:

這這這這這這：

1 – 2 years 這這這一

3 – 4 years 這這這這

5 – 6 years 這這這這

more than 6 years 這這這這

37



Section B – Respondent’s perception about the English languagesystem and his/ her writing proficiency

以以 – 以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以

Direction for Section B:以以以以以以:

This section contains statements that describe how you perceive the English language system and your English writing proficiency. Please rankthe statements by circling the corresponding number:

以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以一。以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以：

6: I STRONGLY agree with this statement; 5: I MOSTLY agree with this statement; 4: I AGREE with this statement; 3: I disagree with this statement;

2: I MOSTLY disagree with this statement; 1: I STRONGLY disagree with thisstatement.

6 這這這這這；5 這這這這這這這； 4 這這；3 這這這這這； 2 這這這這這這這這； 1 這這這這這這。

I STRONGLY disagree withthis statement.以以以以

I STRONGLYagree with

thisstatement

以以以1 Good English writing proficiency is

important for my study at school.這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

2 Good English writing proficiency is important for my future career.這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

3 Good English writing proficiency is important for communicating with localpeople.這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

4 Good English writing proficiency is important for communicating with foreigner.這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

5 Good English writing proficiency is important for communicating with

1 2 3 4 5 6

38

Please proceedto the nextsection


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以people from mainland China.這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這。

6 I know what good English writing is.這這這這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 I have no problem in writing good English.這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

8 I feel comfortable to write in English.這這這這這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

9 I am good at writing good English. 這這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

10 Writing English is an enjoyable activity.這這這這這這這這這這這這這這一。

1 2 3 4 5 6

11 I have tried my best to learn how to write good English.這這這這這這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

12 Learning to write good English is easy.這這這這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

13 English is one of my favorite subjectsat school.這這這這這這這這這這這這這這一。

1 2 3 4 5 6

14 I have experienced sense of success inEnglish subject.這這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

15 I know what bad English writing is. 這這這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

16 I write bad English during writing class.這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

17 I usually find out that I have made more mistakes than expected after I received teacher’s feedback on my English writing. 這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這，。

1 2 3 4 5 6

18 When I write, I can usually spot most of the mistakes that I have made.這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這，。

1 2 3 4 5 6

19 While I am writing, I can usually self-correct most of the mistakes if they are discovered.這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這，。

1 2 3 4 5 6

39


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以20 I enjoy writing English in writing

class. 這這這這這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

21 I feel a sense of achievement when I finish my English writing.這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這，。

1 2 3 4 5 6

40

Please proceedto Section C

以以以以以以以


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以Section C – Respondent’s habit of using Instant MessagingApplication on smartphone platform and the use of English

under this circumstance以以 – 以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以

C(1) – Background information以(一) – 以以以以

Direction for Section C(1):以(一)以以以以以以:


1 I owned/ have owned a mobile phone這(這)這這這這這這這一

Yes 這 No 這 (Skip to 4 這這這(這))

2 I owned/ have owned a smartphone這(這)這這這這這這

Yes 這 No 這 (Skip to 4 這這這 4 這)

3 I have been using smartphones for:這這這這這這這這這這：

1 – 2 years 這這這一 3 – 4 years 這這這這 more than 4 years 這這這這

4 The brand of my current phone is: 這這這這這這這這這這這這:

Prefer not to say 這這這這 Nokia 這這這 Apple 這這 Samsung 這這 Motorola 這這這這

Mi 這這這這 Sony 這這 Blackberry 這這 Other 這這 (Please specify 這這

這): ____________________________

5 The system of my current phone is:這這這這這這這這這這這這這這：

Android IOS (Apple) Windows Phone Windows Mobile Not clear 這這這 Other 這這 (Please specify 這這

這): ____________________________

41



C(2) – Respondent’s habit of using Instant MessagingApplication on smartphone platform and the use of English

under this circumstance 以(以) – 以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以

Direction for Section C(2):以(以)以以以以以以:


1 The application(s) I am using to realize instant messaging include:這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這：You may choose more than one這這這這這這一

Whatsapp WeChat 這這 QQ Facebook Messenger Line Skype

Viber MSN ICQ Default SMS application

這這這這這這這這 Other 這這 (Please specify 這這

這): ____________________________

2 I usually use these application(s) to chat with my:這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這： You may choose more than one這這這這這這一

Parents 這這 Friends 這這 Classmates 這這 Siblings 這這這這

Teachers 這這 People from other online

social network 這這這這這這這這這這 Other 這這 (Please specify 這這

這): ____________________________

3 The keyboard used on my phone is: 這這這這這這這這這：

42

Please proceedto Section C(2)

以以以以以以(以)以


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以 Stand keypad

這這這這 Full-size keypad

這這這這這 On-screen keyboard

這這這這

4 The input method(s) that I usually use to text include:這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這，：

(You may choose more than one 這這這這這這一) Default English

這這這這這這這 Chinese Simplified

Handwriting這這這體這這這

Chinese Simplified Handwriting這這這這這體這這這

Chinese Pinyin這這這這這這這

Chinese Mandarin Phonetic Symbols這這這這這這這這這

Chinese Traditional Handwriting這這這這這這這這體

Traditional Chinese Canjie這這這這這體這這這

Traditional Chinese Simplified Canjie這這這這這體這這這

Chinese Stroke這這這這這這這

Other 這這 (Please specify 這這這): ______________________________

5 The input method(s) that Iusually use has/have the following function這這這這這這這這這這這這：

(You may choose more than one這這這這這這一)

Words Suggestions 這這這這 Auto-correct function 這這這這 Learning my writing style 這這

這這 Swype to type function 這這這這 Other 這這 (Please specify 這這

這): ____________________________

6.1

If using some English words = using English, I usually use English to text.

這這這這這這這一以以」= 這這這這，「」這這這這這這這這這這這這這

Yes 這 No 這

43



6.2

Continue #6.1, how often do you use English to text?這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這，？

At least once per each sentence這這這這這一

At least once per each conversation這這這這這這這一

At least once per time I usethe IM applications這這這這這這這這這這這這這一

At least once a day這這這這這一

Never這這

7.1

If using some English sentences = using English,I usually use English to text.

這這這這這這這一以以」= 這這這這，「」這這這這這這這這這這這這這

Yes 這 No 這

7.2

Continue #7.1, how often do you use English to text?這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這，？

At least once per each sentence這這這這這一


At least once per time I usethe IM application這這這這這這這這這這這這這一


Never這這

8 What do you think the reason why people using English when texting with others?

44


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以這這這這這這這這這這這這這這以以這這這這

(You may choose more than one 這這這這這這一) Show off their English

這這這這這這這 For fun

這這 They practice their

English 這這這這

They need to do so 這這這這

They don’t know how to type the words in theirlanguage這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這

Typing English is faster andmore convenient than typing other languages 這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這

Some English expressions convey more accurate meaningthan its counterparts do 這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這

Some English words are popular nowadays這這這這這這這這這

Other 這這 (Please specify 這這這): ____________________________

45



9 What do you think the reason why people using English when texting with you?這這這這這這這這這這這這這以以這這這這

(You may choose more than one 這這這這這這一) Show off their English

這這這這這這這 For fun

這這 They practice their

English 這這這這

They need to do so 這這這這

They don’t know how to type the words in theirlanguage這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這





10 Why do you use English when texting?以這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這

You may choose more than one:這這這這這這這一：

Show off my English 這這這這這這這

For fun 這這

I practice my English 這這這這

I need to do so 這這這這

I don’t know how to type the words in my language這這這這這這這這這這這這這這





46


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以11 Below is a proper English sentence:

這這這這這這這這這這這這一：

“I went to Wellcome yesterday and bought some apples.”昨昨昨昨昨昨昨昨昨昨昨昨「。」

Part ATo whom do you use the following sorts of English when texting?這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這，？

*Leave the box blank If you don’t have the habit of texting the one mentioned in the option.*這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這，。**You may choose more than one in Part A **以 A 以以以以以以以一

Part B How often do you use these English when texting?這這這這這這這這這這這這這這？*Choose only ONE in Part B *以 B 以以以以以11.1 Proper English 這這這體

i.e. “I went to Wellcome yesterday and bought some apples.”

11.2 English words with typing mistakes 這這這這這這這這

i.e. “I went to Wellcom yestqrdsy asnd bough some apples”

A.* Parents 這這 Friends 這這 Classmates 這這 Siblings 這這這這 Teachers 這這 People from other online

social network這這這這這這這這這這

Other 這這 (Please specify 這這這): ____________________

B. At least once per each

sentence這這這這這一

At least once per each conversation







47


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以這這這這這這這一

At least once per time I use the IM application這這這這這這這這這這這這這一


Never這這



Never這這

11.3 Textism 這這這這

i.e. “I wen 2 Wellcome ytd nbought some apples.”

11.4 English words that soundlike Cantonese words or your mother tongue

這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這

i.e. “ngor kum yak hui jor Wai Hong mai ping gwor. (Cantonese)

這這這這這這這這這這這「」 (這這這)A.*

Parents 這這 Friends 這這 Classmates 這這 Siblings 這這這這 Teachers 這這 People from other online








Never這這









Never這這

48



11.5 English with grammatical mistakes 這這這這這這這這*

i.e. “I go to Wellcome yesterday and buy some apple.”

11.6 Direct L1 translation這這這這這這這這這*

i.e. “I yesterday go Wellcome buy apples.”









Never這這









Never這這

49



12 What do you feel about theusage of the improper English mentioned in #11 when texting?這這這這這 11 這這這這以以體這這這這這這，：

(You may choose more than one這這這這這這一)

It’s OK because people will understand me這這這這這這這這這這這，

I shouldn’t use them這這這這這這

I don’t care這這這這這

I welcome such usage這這這這這這這

It’s trendy這這這這這這這

It’s practical這這這這這這這

It’s efficient這這這這這這這這

13 Do you think such habit deteriorate your English writing proficiency?

這這這這這這這以以以這這這這這這這這這這這？

A: Yes 這 (Please answer Part B) No 這這

B: Which aspects of your writing proficiency have deteriorated because of the habit?這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這一？

Spelling 這這這這 Grammar 這這 Sentence Pattern 這這這這 Vocabulary Bank 這這這

14 Do you think such habit help you raise your writing proficiency?

這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這？

A: Yes 這 (Please answer Part B) No 這這

B: Which aspects of your writing proficiency have raised because ofthe habit?這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這一？

Spelling 這這這這 Grammar 這這 Sentence Pattern 這這這這 Vocabulary Bank 這這這

15 To what extent do you agree the following statements?這這這這這這這這這這這這這？

50


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以Please rank the statements by circling the corresponding number:以這這以以以以以以以以以以以以以以：

6: I STRONGLY agree with this statement; 5: I MOSTLY agree with thisstatement;

4: I AGREE with this statement; 3: I disagree with this statement; 2: I MOSTLY disagree with this statement; 1: I STRONGLY disagree with

this statement.

6 這這這這這； 5 這這這這這這這； 4 這這；3 這這這這這； 2 這這這這這這這這； 1 這這這這這這。

I STRONGLY disagree with this statement.以以以以

I STRONGLYagree with

thisstatement

以以以1 I enjoy texting with people.

這這這這這這這這這 1 2 3 4 5 6

2 I enjoy using English to textpeople.這這這這這這這這這這這這

1 2 3 4 5 6

3 IM encourages me to use more English.這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這

1 2 3 4 5 6

4 I am happy if my friends textme in English.這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這，。

1 2 3 4 5 6

5 My teachers can utilize smartphone technology to helpme write better. 這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

6 I am willing to use IM application to practice English writing.這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 Students should practice English writing through texting on their phones.這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

8 Students can learn English writing better using the platform of IM applications on smartphone.這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這。

1 2 3 4 5 6

51



52

Please proceedto Section D

以以以以以以以


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以Section D – Follow-up Questions

以以 – 以以以以

1 I am willing to share my selected recent chat history in theIM application in which there is a usage of English for the research purpose.

這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這。

Please be noted:1. Your information provided will contribute to the study

of mobile technology to English learning greatly. The information you have provided would not be publicized and shall not affect your study at school.

2. You have the right to choose whether to participate or not, and such decision shall not affect your study at school. Your active participation is highly appreciated.

這：1. 這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這。，。2. 這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這，。

Yes 這這 No 這這這

NAME: ____________________________

CLASS (CLASS NUMBER) :___________________ ( )

SIGNATURE: __________________________

This is the end of this questionnaire. I sincerely appreciate your time and cooperation in completing this questionnaire. Please check to make sure that you have not skipped any questions.

這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這，。。。

THANK YOU

以以

53



Appendix 2: Respondents’ chat historyrecord

54



Figure 1 Figure 2

Figure 3 Figure 4

55



Figure 5

Figure 6 Figure 7

56



Figure 8Figure 9

57



Appendix 3: M2 – Error Correction Test

58


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以Name: _________________ Class: ______ ( ) Date: ______________ Mark: _______

Transform sentences (1.) to (6.) to proper English sentences. Write your answers in the blanks provided below.

以以以 (1.) 以 (6.) 以以以以以以體以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以。。

59

JohnnyChats Info

Johnny:

(2.) 這 who 這這這這這這這 hw 這…

Johnny:

(4.) 這這這這這.. 這這這這這… 這 die hard…!

(1). Nei 這這這這這這 eat dinner 這?

17:05

17:01√√

(3.) Homewerk? Easy 這 la. 這這這這這這這這，17:02 √√

(5.) 這這這這這這這這，２. Tomorrow borrow me copy copy17:08 √√

17:01

Johnny:

(6.) No way! Do your own homework! 17:09

(7.) Came on! I give you mine yesterday wor! Sholdn’t u lett me to see see?

17:09 √√

(e.g.). Wai! 這這這這這?

17:01√√

Johnny:

No -___-! 17:09

=_= 這這這這這這這這這，這!17:11 √√



(e.g.). Wai! 這這這這這?

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

(1). Nei 這這這這這這 eat dinner 這?

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

(2.) 這 who 這這這這這這？ hw 這…________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

(3.) Homewerk? Easy 這 la. 這這這這這這這這，

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

(4.) 這這這這這.. 這這這這這… 這 die hard…! ________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

(5.) 這這這這這這這這，２ . Tomorrow borrow me copy copy ________________________________________________________________

60



________________________________________________________________

(6.) No way! Do your own homework!

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

(7.) Came on! I give you mine yesterday wor! Sholdn’tu lett me to see see?

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

61



Appendix 4: M3 – Interview questions

62



The Hong Kong Institute of Education以以以以以以

Bachelor of Education (English Language) – SecondaryStrand

以以以以以以以以 (以以以以) – 以以

Interview for the Honours Project以以以以以以以以

Research Topic:The Influence of the Practice of English inSmartphone Instant Messaging (IM) Application on ESL Learner’s Writing Proficiency


This questionnaire aims at exploring how the habit of using English in instant messaging on smartphone platform affects learner’s English writing proficiency.

這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這。

Declaration: All the information provided in this research will be used for

research purpose ONLY and it will remain CONFIDENTIAL. Your active participation in expressing your opinion in this research is highlyappreciated.

You have the right to CHOOSE whether to participate in this interview or not.

You have the right to WITHDRAW from this study AT ANY TIME and you should be noted that you will NEITHER be penalized NOR be taken anyfollow-up action.

這這:

63


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以這這這這這這這這這以以這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這，。。這這這這以以這這這這這這這這這這。這這這這這這以以以以這這這這這這這這這這這這這這這，以以這這這這這這這。

64


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以Interview questions: (Long-term frequent English user / Non-English

user)

A. Introduction of the interview *(depends on the interview

group)

B. Interview Questions

1. Can you tell me your name, class number and the number of

years your have been learning English?

2. Why do you *frequently/ seldom use English during

texting?

3. Do you think the error correction task easy or difficult?

Why?

4. Do you think the text looked familiar to you?

5. Do you text with your friends with similar topics?

6. What topics do you usually talk about during IM?

7. *Look at your test paper, do you/ your friends use any of

these English examples (the error items) when texting?

Can you tell me which one you or your friends would use?

8. Were you aware of these errors items (circled in RED

after marking) during the test?

9. Why do you think you could not correct the errors?

10. *Do you think that the habit of using English in IM/

without the habit of using English in IM is related to

not being able to correct the errors in the paper?

11. *Do you think that the habit of using English in IM/

without the habit of using English in IM affects your

overall English writing proficiency?

12. What factors do you think that it affects/ does not

affect your English writing proficiency?

13. What do you think about learning English writing

through IM?

65


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以14. Can you think of an alternative way of learning

English writing?

15. Would you like to add anything more?

C. Appreciation of their efforts in this research

66



Appendix 5: M3 – Interview Script (G1)

67


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以Interview Script - Group of Long-term frequent English user in IM (G1)

Participants:

T: Teacher

A: Student A; B: Student B; C: Student C; D: Student D; E: StudentE; F: Student F; G: Student G; F: Student F

Language used: Cantonese.

Script (translated into English):

(Students took their seats according to the arrangement by T, who put their individual marked test paper of M2 on the chairs)

T: Welcome everyone. Thank you for coming to this interview. For research purpose, I am going to take audio recording for the time being. Is there anything concerning the recording method you would like to raise?

Ss:

No.

T: Okay. Let me restate the topic we are studying again. The topic I would like to know more about from you is “The influence of the Practice of English in smartphone instant messaging application on ESL Learner’s Writing Proficiency”. You are invited to come to this group because all of you told me in the questionnaires you had done previously that you havebeen using smartphone for “3 – 4 years” or “more than 4 years”, and you also responded that you would use English words or English sentences for “at least once a day” or “at least once per time I use the IM applications”. Thus, I would like to spend about 30 minutes to ask you a few questions based on the questionnaires you did before and your results inthe error correction test paper. Please take a look at your marked test paper as a reference.

Question 1T: Ok. So if there is no question, then let’s move to the first

question. Can you tell me your name, class number and the number of years you have been learning English? If you have been learning English for more than 6 years, than just say more than 6 years. What about A first?

A: OK. I am A, no. 3. I have been learning English for more than 6 years.

B: I’m B, no. 8. I’ve been learning English for more than 6

68


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以years.

C: I’m C, no. 24. I’ve been learning English for more than 6 years.

D: I’m D, no. 26. I’ve been learning English for more than 6 years.

E: I’m E, no. 7. I’ve been learning English for more than 6 years.

F: I’m F, no. 36. I’ve been learning English for more than 6 years.

G: I’m G, no. 23. I’ve been learning English for more than 6 years.

H: I’m H, no. 2. I’ve been learning English for more than 6 years.

Question 2T: Great. Thanks. So all of you have been learning English for

more than 6 years. Now, let me ask you a question. You have been using smartphone for at least 3 years and you responded that you use English words or English sentences for at least once a day in text-messaging. What is the reason for your frequent usage of English in IM? Can A go first?

A: OK. I sometimes use English when texting with my friends. I use words like “OK”, “Yes” and “No”, “Go shopping”.. because it’s just the way we usually talk in our daily speech. But mainly I use Chinese when texting.

T: Good. What about B?B: Yes.. me too. They are normal words we use usually. Sometimes

we use English name when referring to proper name like “SpongeBob” too.

C: I use English words when talking about phone games with friends… Words like “P&D”, “points”, “hp”… But mainly Chinese.

D: I don’t usually text. I play phone games mainly. When I text Iusually text to ask friends out for playing ball games. Sometimes I ask friends about homework and I would use Englishto refer to the words used in the questions.

E: I don’t use English very frequently. Usually, when I use English in texting, I usually talk about brand names, shops, like “NB” for “NewBalance”.

F: I use Chinese to chat with my friends. However, because I don’t know how to type Traditional Chinese and some of my friends don’t understand Simplified Chinese, I would use English to text. But to be honest I don’t text on phone frequently.

G: I text with my friends and ask them out to hang around. Sometimes we would use English words. But most of the time we use Chinese.

H: Me too. Sometimes I and my friends would use English words

69


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以like “haha”, and “yes” or “no”. And.. I don’t remember I woulduse other English words...

Question 3T: OK. Thank you. Let’s look at another question. Do you think

the error correction task easy or difficult? What about H first?

H: Err… the task is not very difficult actually. I understand most of the questions, but I couldn’t get some of the answers.

G: Yeah.. not very difficult. I finished all questions, but just not getting the correct answers.

F: Umm, not difficult. I understand most of the questions which are in Cantonese, but turning it into English is difficult.

E: I tried all questions but I left some space for the items thatI didn’t know how to do. I think it’s not very difficult.

D: Me too. Not very difficult, but I don’t get the correct answer.

C: I think it’s a bit difficult. Especially the last two questions… there are so many English.

B: It’s OK to me. I know how to correct most errors there.A: Me too. It’s not difficult at all.Questions 4, 5 and 6T: OK, good. So it seems that most of you don’t find it very

challenging. Do you think the text looks familiar to you? A: Yes. Haha. Sometimes I chit chat with my friends like that. B: Yes, especially when in a “Whatsapp group”, except the

language. Usually we chat in Chinese, we won’t suddenly say inEnglish “這這這這 eat dinner?” (Question 1 in the test paper) when talking about things in Chinese.

C: Sometimes we talk about homework. But most of the time we talkabout phone games more.

D: No. I seldom asked friends out to have dinner. But I do sometimes talk about homework.

E: Yes to me.F: Yes.G: Err.. yes. I would ask friends out for ball games, as I said

before.H: Yes.. something similar, and we would chit chat about many

things too. Question 7T: Ok. Can you look at you test paper? Do you or your friends use

any of these English examples when texting? How about A first?A: Ummm, “這 who 這?”, “hw”, “la”… and haha, I think I would use “I

give you … yesterday” with wrong tense as well.T: Interesting. You notice that it is not in correct tense. Can

you correct this mistake in the test? A: No. I overlooked it. But I know the correct answer.

70


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以T: OK. What about you, B?B: Umm, “這這這這 eat dinner”. But when I use “eat dinner” I don’t mix

it with Chinese. I would just say “eat dinner?”.T: OK. How about you, C?C: “hw”, “homewerk”, “lett me”.T: But why these items?C: It’s convenient… and I don’t need to remember how to spell

“homework”.T: Alright. How about the others?D: “eat dinner”, “give you mine yesterday”, “la”, “wor”, “u”E: “這 who 這”, “hw”, “eat dinner”, “u”, “la”, “wor”.F: No, I don’t use them. I use proper English.G: “eat dinner”, “hw”, “tomorrow borrow me copy”H: “eat dinner”, “give you mine yesterday”, “u”Questions 8 and 9T: OK. That’s very well. Most of you responded that you would use

variety of these feature of English when texting. Let me ask you more about the test paper. I circled the error items in red in the question for you. Were you aware of these errors items when you were working on the paper? How about H first?

H: No. I missed quite a number of them….G: I spotted most of them but I didn’t give the correct answer

for some of the items.F: I spotted most of them and I think I got most of the correct

answers as well.E: I spotted most of them, but I can’t get some answers

correctly. D: Me too. I spotted most of them, but I don’t know why my

answers were wrong… I thought I was right.C: No, I could only finish half of the paper.B: Yes, I could correct most of the items. They are very direct.

I only don’t know why “borrow me”(question 5 in test paper) iswrong here.

T: What do you think the answer should be?B: If I had known, I would have written on it. T: Anyone got it correctly?F: “Lend me”T: Yes. It’s “lend” rather than “borrow” here.B: Oh… I didn’t know it.T: It’s ok. What about A?A: Yap. I got most errors and I can correct most of them. T: Great. But what do you think you could not correct the

remaining errors?B: I think it’s because I don’t even know it is wrong.T: Don’t you learn in your textbook?B: I don’t remember…

71


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以T: OK. What about A? Do you have any idea?A: I think I am just careless, because it seems that I got most

of the errors correctly except I forgot to change the tense of“give” into “gave” (Question 7)

B: I didn’t get the item “sholdn’t u lett me to see see”. I changed that into another sentence…. Because I don’t know how to use this question.

T: So you mean your knowledge about grammar is not good enough tocorrect this answer?

B: Umm, yeah.T: OK. What about other?C: I didn’t get most of the errors because I think my English is

not good at all. I don’t even know they are wrong.D: I think I am careless as well. I should have known the tense

of “Came on!” and “I give you mine yesterday” but I didn’t correct them.

E: I didn’t correct “Nei”. I thought it is an English word ratherthan knowing that it means “you”.

F: I got them all… Emm, I think this test is just like what we sometimes do in school.

G: I know there were mistakes but I don’t know the correct answer. I guess my English is not good.

H: I didn’t spot most of the errors. I thought they were correct when I did the test.

Questions 10, 11 and 12T: Alright. So for most of you, the reasons that you didn’t get

the correct answers were mainly because you don’t see they were errors. Some of you were just careless and had overlookedthe errors. Ok. Let me ask you another question regarding the test result. Do you think that the habit of using English in IM relates to the fact that you were not able to correct the errors? Can H start first?

H: Umm… no. I think it’s rather because of my poor English than my habit of using English when texting. Even though I text, I seldom use the words appeared here (in the test paper). If my English is better, I think I can do better in the test.

G: Me too. When texting, I just use a few simple English words. Here you want us to correct the whole sentence. It’s different.

F: No. I think it’s more because of my own English to have this test result rather than my habit of using English in IM. If your English is good, you would use good English when texting,and you know how to do the test as well.

T: OK. How about E?E: I think it’s because I actually use some of the items here

when texting, making me know how to correct the items in the

72


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以test paper. I didn’t know how to correct that “Nei” is becauseI don’t use such “Cantonese sound in English word” when texting.

D: I think it’s because of my bad English rather than my habit ofusing English words too.

C: I think so too. B: I just think that if my English is better, than I would be

able to do better. I think it doesn’t relate to my texting habit.

A: Err.. I think it’s somewhat related. I miss the past tense “gave” because when I text in English in IM, I don’t quite care about the tense, and now I overlooked it.

T: Interesting. A, do you think the habit of using English in IM affects not just this test result, but also your overall English writing proficiency?

A: Umm, I think a little bit… But when my friend text me in English, I learn English words as well, mainly brand name though… But overall speaking… Ummm a bit natural… I guess there are both good and bad points.

T: OK. What about the other? Do you think it affects your overallEnglish writing proficiency?

Ss:

(went silent)

T: OK. I’ll leave you to that. Questions 13, 14 and 15T: Let me ask you another question. What do you think about

learning English writing through IM? A, can you say anything about it?

A: That’s good. It’s quite convenient in that we don’t need to write on the paper.

B: Yes, haha, and we can do wherever we want to.C: On phone? That’s good. I can google translate the words and

copy it down in the apps.D: I’m OK with that. But I don’t have “wifi” (Data access) so I

can’t text outside. E: Yeah. I am fine with that. I think it would be quite easy.F: Umm, I prefer write it on the paper. I think I can remember

English better by writing.G: I think it would be quite fun to do homework through sending

messages.H: It’s interesting. I want to try.T: Wow. It seems that most of you quite welcome learning English

writing through IM. Other than this method, can you suggest usan alternative way of learning English writing?

Ss:

(went silent)

73


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以T: Or, let me rephrase the question. Do you prefer a traditional

way of learning English, or using this new mean to learn English writing?

F: I think a traditional way is better? Because I feel like I canremember the English words easier than just typing it out.

E: Umm, I think it’s up to teachers’ decision. (other agreed)T: OK. So, basically it’s the end of the interview. Do you have

anything more to say regarding the topic we talked about today?

Ss:

No.

T: Fair enough. That’s the end of the interview. Please give me back your test paper. Thank you very much for your time and input in this research. They are very valuable and useful for improving the teaching and learning of English education. Thank you and good bye.

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Appendix 6: M3 – Interview Script (G2)

75


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以Interview Script - Group of Non-English user in IM (G2)

Participants:

T: Teacher

A: Student A; B: Student B; C: Student C; D: Student D; E: StudentE; F: Student F; G: Student G; F: Student F

Language used: Cantonese.

Script (translated into English):

(Students took their seats according to the arrangement byT, who put their individual marked test paper of M2 on thechairs)

T: Welcome everyone. Thank you for coming to this interview. For research purpose, I am going to record your voice. Is there any problem regarding this?

Ss: No.T: Okay. Let me restate the topic we are studying again. The

topic I would like to know more about from you is “The influence of the Practice of English in smartphone instantmessaging application on ESL Learner’s Writing Proficiency”. You are invited to come to this group because you told me in the questionnaires you had done previously that you have been using smartphone for at least 1 year. The item you chose were either “1 – 2 years”, “3 – 4 years” or “more than 4 years”. However, allof you responded that you never use English words or English sentences when texting. Now, I would like to spendaround 30 minutes to ask you a few questions based on the questionnaires you did before and your results in the error correction test paper. Please take a look at your marked test paper as a reference. Do you have any questions?

Ss: No.Question 1T: Alright. Now let me ask you the first question. Can you

tell me your name, class number and the number of years you have been learning English?

F: Oh. I don’t quite remember.. it’s been very long. T: If it is more than 6 years, then just say more than 6

years. How about A first?A: OK. I am A, no. 22. I have been learning English for more

than 6 years

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以B: I am B, no. 4. I have been learning English for more than

6 years.C: I am C, no. 15. I’ve been learning English for more than 6

years.D: I am D, no. 11. I’ve been learning English for around 5

years.E: I am E, no. 4. I’ve been learning English for more than 6

years.F: I am F, no. 13. I’ve been learning English for more than 6

years.G: I am G, no. 32. I’ve been learning English for more than 6

years.H: I am H, no. 33. I’ve been learning English for 4 years.Question 2T: Ok. Thank you. Now I would like to ask about your texting

habit. Most of you have been learning English for more than 6 years and some of you are learning English for a few years. However, all of you responded that you don’t use English in texting. Can you tell me why you don’t use English during texting?

G: Who goes first?T: It’s up to you. How about H first this time?H: Umm. I don’t usually text. When I text, I usually text

with my friends. But they won’t use English.G: I text in English very rarely… I usually text in a

“Whatsapp group” but no friends would use English to type.F: I don’t text frequently. I use smartphone to play games..

and I don’t need to use English because I can type Chinesewith my phone.

E: I don’t need to type in English. My friends would think that I am mental if I suddenly type in English when text-messaging them.

D: My friends don’t use English to text.C: I use smartphone to play games mainly… I won’t use English

to text.. I can use Chinese and it’s more convenient.B: I text with my friends in Chinese mainly. Unless it’s

about English homework or some words I needed to use English, I won’t use English at all.

A: I play games with my phone mainly. I don’t use English because I don’t need to.

T: Ok. I got that most of you don’t use English to text with different reasons. Umm, let me ask a follow-up question. When you say your friends would not use English to type, or you don’t use English to type, do you mean that you useno English letters at all? What do you think, A?

A: I seldom text people. And… but when I text I most of the

77


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以time use Chinese to type.

B: Umm.. I would use words like “Ok”, “yes” or “no”.. T: Ok. What about some English words?B: No. I won’t use.T: Ok. What about C?C: Words like “Haha”. And.. nothing more. Similar to B.D: Umm, me too.E: Me too. I would use “ok” or “yes/ no”.F: My friends won’t use English. And I also use short English

words like “ok”..G: Me too.H: I seldom text. Questions 3 and 4T: Fair enough. Let’s move to the next question. Do you think

the error correction task easy or difficult? Why?F: Very difficult… (Some of them agreed with F)T: But why do you think it was difficult? Do you think the

text look familiar to you?F: Some of them do. But I won’t text in this way. I use

Chinese only. G: Yeah. Chinese only. Who would type like this? I won’t and

none of my friends do.T: What about you, H? You said you learn English for just a

few years. Do you think the error correction (test) difficult?

H: Umm yes. I don’t know English… and I don’t quite understand many of the items.

T: How about D? You got 14 marks and you have just learnt English for only 5 years.

D: It’s not very difficult…T: Do you have more thing to say? You got quite a high mark

in this group and you just learned English for a few years.

D: Umm, these items look familiar because we see them (the error items) in our homework and (hence) we can correct them.

T: What about you, A?A: I won’t be able to do it, whenever it is in English.C: Yeah. A doesn’t do English homework. T you should know it.T: Yes but why? You have been learning English for more than

6 years. Don’t you understand any of the English words in the paper?

A: No. T: Ok. What about others? Do you want to add anything?

(Students said no)Questions 5 and 6

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以T: Ok. So, look at the test paper again. Do you text with

your friends with similar topics? What do you usually textwith your friends?

G: No. Mainly Games, i.e. P&D, Tower of Saviors (name of the Games examples).

F: Umm. Not usually homework but asking friends out to play basketball or football.

T: What about ladies? E?E: Umm, chatting with friends.. we chat about lots of

things.. shopping or seeing movies..D: Umm.. I seldom text. If it’s about homework, I usually

call my classmates instead of texting them.B: Yeah. Just call them.Question 7T: Ok. It seems that sometimes you would text your friends

mainly for games discussion, asking friends out and chit chatting. Although you said you and your friends would seldom use English when texting. Can you look at the test paper again? Do you or your friends use any of these English examples when texting?

G: Err.. we really won’t use these English at all. Well… I think “la” (pointing at question 3 of the test paper) here. I think I sometimes use it when texting. But… well most of the time I would type the Chinese one (“這”).

T: Ok. What about the others?E: Umm.. I don’t use “hw” (example in question 2 of the test

paper) but words like “fb” for “Facebook” and “ws” for “Whatsapp”.

T: Ok. Do your friends use “fb” and “ws” too?E: Yeah. I think everybody is using them, aren’t we? (No one

agree with her)T: Interesting. Ok, let’s move on to the next question.Questions 8 and 9T: Let’s talk a little bit about the test paper. I circled

the error items in red in the question for you. Were you aware of these errors items when you were working on the paper?

A: I didn’t know how to do the paper at all.B: I spotted some (error items). But when you asked me to

rewrite the whole sentence for the remaining items, I don’t think I can do so.

C: Yes for half of the paper…. But when there were only English, I couldn’t correct them. I thought they were correct items.

D: Ummm, for me I could find most of the items when I was working on the paper.

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以E: I could find some. But I corrected them but I corrected

them wrongly.T: Do you mean that you know how to correct them?E: Haha, no, but I know they (the error items) are wrong.T: Ok. How about F?F: I could spot most. But I could not correct most of the

errors I spotted as well. G: Umm me too.H: I don’t know where the mistakes were actually..T: Why do you think you could not correct the errors? H?H: Umm, I think my English is not good and I don’t even know

they are errors. (T took H’s paper)T: But do you not really know the mistakes? I see you correct

“Nei” as “your” in your paper (question 1).H: I know this is wrong. But I spelt “you” as “your”. I

forget how to spell “you” at that moment.T: Why do you think you can’t correct it, and the other

items?H: My English isn’t good and I don’t think I can find the

other mistakes.T: It’s alright. Let’s look at the next question.Questions 10, 11 and 12T: Do you think without the habit of using English in IM

relates to your ability to spot and correct the error items in this paper?

G: I don’t think so. If your English is good, you can see theerrors and correct them.

F: Yeah… even though I don’t see some items in used when sending messages before, I understand the conversation. It’s just I can’t correct the errors.

T: Ok. How about H? Do you understand the whole conversation?H: Not really, especially when there was English words.T: Ok. What about the others?C: No relationship between I think. If your English is good,

you can correct them. It’s nothing about your habit of using English in texting…

T: Interesting. Then what do you think if someone use more English to text? Do you think their English is better?

C: Yes. Using English… only people who know enough English would use English to text.

T: Ok. Is there anyone would like to add regarding this question? (No response) If no, then let me ask you anotherquestion. Do you think that not using English to text in IM would affect your overall English writing proficiency? A?

A: Umm, no.

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以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以B: No, because I don’t care about my English writing

proficiency after all. C: Haha.. me too. No one cares about English writing. I think

if your English is good, you would use English to text. D: No. We can still learn English on books and our homework.T: Ok. And you, E?E: No.F: No.G: No.H: No.Question 13T: It seems that most of you don’t think “without the habit

of using English in IM” would affect your test result, as well as your overall English writing proficiency. However,what do you think of learning English writing through text-messaging? Do you think that it provides you chance to practice English when you use English in IM? Let’s start with A.

A: No. I won’t use English when texting. I know very little English..

T: But do you think it helps you learn English when you text in English?

A: No, because I don’t feel like I would use English to text.T: Alright. What about B?B: I think it’s OK to use English to learn English writing…

but you won’t use English suddenly when texting with your friends.

C: Yeah. No one would use English suddenly to text…D: I think I would try typing in English. But I don’t think

my friends would show me.E: It’s not necessary to use English. I don’t want to learn

English…F: It’s good to use English in texting, if there is someone

to text with me. But in reality, there is no one texting with me in English.

G: No English in texting please.H: No.Question 14T: Ok. If your English teacher requires you to do your

writing homework through texting, what do you think about it?

H: What to write? I don’t know many English.G: It’s fine for me. I think it won’t be difficult.F: Yeah, me too. I think it would be easier and more

convenience. But not all of us has access to the Internet through our phone (Data plan).

81


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以E: No please… I really won’t use English on phones.D: I am OK.C: Err.. Ok..B: It depends on the teachers’ instruction… Do I have any

say?A: I don’t think I know how…T: Alright. Can you suggest any alternative way of learning

English writing?Ss: (Silent)G: I think the way of learning English writing we are using

is fine.T: What is it?G: Doing worksheets given by our English teacher.Ss (Agree with G)T: Ok. So basically this is the end of the interview. Do you

have anything to add regarding the topic we are discussingtoday?

Ss: (Shaking their heads)

T: Ok. Great. That’s the end of the interview. Please return me your test paper. Thank you very much for your time and input in this research. They are very valuable and useful for improving the teaching and learning of English education. Thank you and good bye.

82



Appendix 7: Sample pages for the dailywriting exercise of the respondents

83



84

Confidential

Confidential



85



86



Appendix 8: Results of M1, M2 and M3

87



A. Results of questionnaires (M1)34 questionnaires were received and the data collected is

presented in graphs and tables below.

Section A: respondents’ basic information

The proportion of gender of the target

group of students is presented as a pie

chart (Figure 1) on the right (Male: 35%;

Female: 65%).

When asked if English was their second language, 100% of the

respondents responded that they were

not native English speaker, i.e.

English is my second language. 100% of the respondents also

responded that Chinese (East Asian) was their ethnicity.

The bar chart below showcases the situation of language use at

their home. Respondents responded to the question of what

language(s) they would use at home and the percentage of frequency

of each language is

listed below. The

chart shows that

almost all respondents

used Cantonese at

home (91%). There is

88

Figure 1 Proportion of Gender of the Respondents

Figure 2 The situation of language use by Respondents at home

Male65%

Female35%

91%

0% 15% 3% 3% 9% 3%

Language(s) used at home


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以also some percentage showing that non-Cantonese dialects, i.e.

Putonghua, were used by this group of respondents as well.

For the last question in

Section A of the questionnaire,

all respondents have been

learning English. A majority of

the respondents (85%) revealed

that they had been learning English for more than 6 years. Almost

one tenth of the respondents (9%) responded that they have been

learning the language for 5 -6 years. There was only a small number

of percentage representing newer English language learners (6%).

Section B: respondents’ view about the English language system and

their reflections on their own writing proficiency

There were 21 questions for the captioned section. They

represented different positive views on the English language system

and that on respondents’ own writing proficiency (except for

questions 16 and 17, which represent negative ones). Each of the

question carried marks ranges from 1 – 6. When the respondents

responded as “strongly agree” for the question, 6 mark would be

awarded, and 1 mark when responded as “strongly disagree” (for

question 16 and 17, a reversed scaling is applied, i.e. 1 mark for

“strongly agree” and 6 marks for “strongly disagree”). Therefore,

89

Figure 3 Percentage of the Years of English learning

1 - 2 Years

3 - 4 Years

5 - 6 Years

More than 6 Years

0% 6% 9%

85%

Years of learning English


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以the highest possible marks were 126, and the lowest possible marks

were 21. The scores were converted into percentage for later

comparison. There were 33 valid data and the test results are as

follows:

The sample as a whole revealed that the respondents held a

rather positive view on the English language system and their own

writing proficiency, as shown in the following table where the

average score was slightly higher than the Median, as well as a

passing score of 63.00 (50% of the total score of 126.00):

Table 1 Respondents' test score on the positiveness towards the English language system and their own English writing proficiency

Maximum Score 106.00 84%

Average Score 73.70 (SD = 17.44; 58% of the total

marks of 126.00)

58%

Median 72.00 57%

Passing Score 63.00 50%

Minimum Score 39.00 31%

When the data of the respondents’ years of English learning was

compared with the average test score above, we saw a successive

decrease in the positiveness of the respondents’ view on the English

language system and their own English writing proficiency with the

years of learning English, where the two variables were strongly

correlated, r(33) = .93.

90

Very positive

Very negative



1 - 2 Years* 3 - 4 Years 5 - 6 Years More than 6 Years0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%

0

10

20

30

40

50

0%

69%65%

57%

0

24.7519.5 16.97

Comparison between Years of learning English & respondents' average test

score in Section B

% Average Test Score SD _

Figure 4 Comparison between Years of learning English & respondents' average test score in Section

*Noticed that none of the respondents belonged to “1 – 2 years of English

Learning” category.

Section C (1 & 2): Respondents’ habits of using smartphone, of using

English in IM, and their view about

utilising IM in the learning of English

writing

I. Respondents’ habits of using

smartphones

In section C(1) of M1, all

of the respondents responded in

Q1 that they “owned / have owned

a mobile phone” (100%) with 91% of them in Q2 responded that

they “owned / have owned a smartphone”. For the smartphone

91Figure 5 Percentage distribution of the respondents' Years of smartphone experience

1 - 2 Years50%

3 - 4 Years32%

> 4 Years15%Not given

3%

% Distribution of the respondents'

Years of smartphone experience


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以users among the respondents, in terms of their years of

smartphone experience, 32% of them belonged to “3 – 4 years”

and 15% of them belonged to “> 4 years”, and they are

considered as “Long term users” in M2, where 50% of them (“1 –

2 years”), the “Short-term users” (see figure 5).

II. Respondents’ habits using IM

a. Recipients of the instant messages

In section C(2), respondents in Q2 responded about

with whom they usually chatted using IM. Figure 6 shows

that “Friends”(94%), “Classmates” (88%) and “Parents”

(50%) were the top three parties respondents usually

texted with:

b. Q4: The input method(s) that respondents usually used to

text

The chart below showed that Chinese Traditional

Handwriting (50%), Chinese Pinyin (47%) and Default

92

Figure 6 with whom did the respondents use IM

50%94% 88%

47% 41% 29%3% 3%

Q2: I usually use IM applications to chat with my…


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以English (41%) were the top 3 input methods used by the

respondents when texting:

c. Q5: The input method(s) that I usually use have the

following function(s):

The results revealed that the input method(s) that

the respondents used were compacted with functions such

as “words suggestions” (82%), “learning my writing style”

(29%), “auto-correct” (26%) and “swipe to type” (21%).

III. Respondents’ habits of using English in IM

a. Q 6.1, 6.2, 7.1 & 7.2: Respondents’ reflections on their

frequency of using English in IM:

The result revealed that there were more than half

of the respondents saying that they had the experience of

using English to text in IM (NEVER texting with English

93

Figure 7 Input method(s) that the respondents used when texting

41%21% 21%

47%

3%

50%

3% 18% 26%6%

Q4: The input method(s) that I usually used to text include:


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以words (26%), in figure 8; NEVER texting with English

sentences (44%), in figure 9). However, among the

respondents who did use English to text, most of them

only text with English words in moderate frequency, i.e.

26% showing they texted in English “at least once per

each conversation”. The data shrinks when it comes to

texting with English sentences, i.e. the highest

frequency shifted from “at least once per each

conversation” (18%) to “at least once a day” (23%).

94

Figure 8 Respondents' habit of using English WORDS to text

At least once per each sentence

3%At least once per each

conversation26%

At least once per each time I use the IM apps

18%

At least once a day24%

Never26%

Not given3%

Q 6.1 & 6.2: If using some English words = using English, I usually use

English to text

At least once per each conversation

18%At least once per each time I use the IM apps

12%

At least once a day24%

Never41%

Not given6%

Q 7.1 & 7.2: If using some English sentences = using English, I usually

use English to text



b. The proportion of the “Long-term frequent English users

in IM”, “Short-term frequent English users in IM” and

“non-English users in IM”

For the comparison in later part of the

following sections, respondents were divided into 3

captioned categories (see “Methodology 3 – Follow-up

Semi-structured Interview” for more details of the

group assignments”). Among 29 of the respondents,

there were 14% of them belongs to “Long-term

frequent English users in IM”, 14% belongs to

“Short-term frequent English users in IM” and 28%

belongs to “non-English users in IM” (Figure 10).

95

Figure 9 Respondents' habit of using English SENTENCES to text

Figure 10 Distribution of the respondents according to their experience and frequency of using English in IM

Long-term Short-term Non-English users

14% 14%

21%

29%0.275862068965517

Frequent English users Less-frequent user Non-English users


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以c. Q 11.1 – 11.6: Types of English I would use to text with

the following parties:

As shown in II a (Respondents’ habits using IM)

above, “Classmates”, “Friends” and “Parents” were the top

3 parties that most respondents texted with. The

following 3 charts show the types of English respondents

used when texting with each party (counting only for

those who responded that they would use English to text

with the corresponding party only. The example of

different “Types of English” can be found in Section C

(2) Q 11.1 – 11.6 of the questionnaires in Appendix 1):

The chart above shows that “proper English” was not the first 3

options to use when texting with Friends (67%) and Classmates (33%).

It became prominent only when respondents texted with their parents.

The results showed that respondents realized and recognized the

types of English mistakes they made in texting, and the popular

96

Figure 11 Respondents' reflection on the Type of English they used when texting with each party

11.1: Proper English

11.2: English

words with typing mistakes

11.3: Textism

11.4: English

words that sound like Canto...

11.5: English with

grammatical mistakes

11.6: Direct L1 translation

67%

100%

53%

79% 75% 67%

33% 36%47%

57%

33% 33%33%

9%

33% 29% 33%22%

Q 11.1 - 11.6: The types of English respondents would use to text with corresponding parties

with Friendswith Classmateswith Parents


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以“types of English” they would use include 11.2 (100%), 11.4 (79%)

and 11.5 (75%) when it comes to texting with “Friends”; and 11.4

(57%), 11.3 (47%) and 11.2 (36%) when it comes to texting with

“Classmates”. For texting with Parents, 11.1, 11.3 and 11.5 (all are

of 33%) were the most popular options.

d. Q 12: Respondents’ view on the usage of the improper

English mentioned in Q 11 when texting:

The pie chart shows that

there were only one fifth

(20%) of the respondents

believed that improper English

should not be used when

texting. 29% of the

respondents revealed that

improper English was

acceptable and 24% of them even did not care about the

usage of improper English when texting.

e. Q 13 – 14: Respondents’ view on the effect (positive and

negative) of the habits of using improper English when

texting on their own English writing proficiency:

97

Figure Respondents' view on the usage of improper English when texting


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以A majority of the respondents (68%, figure 15)

revealed that their habits of using improper English in

IM deteriorated their English writing proficiency, with

“Grammar” as the most significantly influenced part (57%,

figure 14). However, contrastingly, when asked in vice

versa, there were at least 44% of the respondents (figure

17) responded that the use of improper English in IM

helped raise their English writing proficiency, i.e. with

67% of the respondents (figure 16) believed that

“Sentence Pattern” of their English writing proficiency

raised.

98

Figure Respondents' reflection on the positive effects upon their own writing proficiency due to the usage of improper English when texting

Figure Respondents' view on whether the habits of using of improper English in IM deteriated their writing proficiency

Figure Respondents' reflection on the negative effects upon their own writing proficiency due to the usage of improper English when texting



IV. Respondents’ view about adopting IM for learning English

writing

Q 15.1 – Q15.8 examined how the respondents thought of adopting IM

in English writing learning. The same scoring system was adopted

from Section B (respondents’ view about the English language system

and their reflections on their own writing proficiency) above. The

highest possible scores of the test shall be 48, and the lowest, 8.

The average score, the median, the passing score, the maximum score

and the minimum score obtained by the respondents were presented as

follows for comparison:

Table 2 Respondents' test score on the positiveness towards adopting IM in English writing learning



marks of 48.00)

62%

Median 29.00 57%



The sample as a whole revealed that more than half of the

respondents welcomed the adoption of IM to learn English writing, as

99

Figure Respondents' view on whether the habits of using of improper English in IM raised their writing proficiency

Figure Respondents' reflection on the positive effects upon their own writing proficiency due to the usage of improper English when texting

Very positive

Very negative


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以shown in the table above, where the average score was slightly

higher than the Median, as well as the passing score. When we

further compared the average score of the test (62%) with the

percentage score that each item of 15.1 – 15.8 obtained from the

respondents (see the chart below), we discovered that all of the

items were above 50%, meaning that the respondents held positive

view on all of these items (see Table 3 below for the items). For

items 15.1 (“I enjoy texting with people”, 75%), 15.5 (“My teacher

can utilize smartphone technology to help me write better”, 75%) and

15.6 (“I am willing to use IM application to practice English

writing”, 62%), their percentage score were even higher than the

average score, meaning that the samples held quite a positive view

on these options.

15.1

I enjoy texting with people. 75%

15.2

I enjoy using English to text people. 53%

15.3

IM encourages me to use more English. 55%

15.4

I am happy if my friends text me in English. 55%

15.5

My teachers can utilize smartphone technology to help me write better.

75%

15.6

I am willing to use IM application to practice English writing.

62%

15.7

Students should practice English writing through texting on their phones.

61%

15.8

Students can learn English writing better using the platform of IM applications on smartphone.

61%

100

Figure Comparison between the average score of the test and the percentage score obtained by the respondents for each items


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以Table 3 Key to the selected items for the chart above (Figure 16)

When respondents’ years of English learning was compared with

the average test score of respondents from each category of English

learning duration, we saw a successive increase in the positiveness

of the respondents’ view on adopting IM for learning English

writing, with the degree of correlation r(33) = .51:

*Noticed that none of the respondents belonged to “1 – 2 years of English

Learning” category.

101

Figure 12 Comparison between Years of learning English & respondents' average test score in Section C(2)

1 - 2 Years* 3 - 4 Years 5 - 6 Years More than 6 Years0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%

0

10

20

30

40

50

0%

50%61% 63%

07.07

12.668.01

Comparison between Years of learning English & respondents' average test

score in Section C(2)

% Average Test Score SD _


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以Further comparisons could be made when we compared the average

test score in Section B and Section C(2) based on the respondents’

experience and frequency of using English in IM. Table 4 below shows

that the more experience in using English in IM, respondents’

positiveness towards the English language system and their own

writing proficiency would be higher, i.e. the average test score of

“Long-term frequent English users in” IM for Section B was the

highest among the other counterparts (Rank no. 1, M = 64%, SD =

16.16); and they showed the highest positiveness on using English in

IM and using IM to learn English writing (Rank no. 1, M = 70%, SD =

8.59):

Table 4 Comparison between the average test score in Section B, Section C(2) and respondents' experience and frequency of using English in IM

Long-term

frequent

English users

in IM

Short-term

frequent

English users

in IM

Non-English

users in IM

Average test

score for

respondents of

each category on

their perception

on the English

system and their

own writing

proficiency

(Section B)

80.10(SD = 16.16; 64%

of the total

marks of 126.00)

74.64(SD = 16.97; 59%

of the total marks

of 126.00)

63.13(SD = 13.98; 50%

of the total marks

of 126.00)

(Average Score for all respondents was 73.70 (SD = 17.44;

58% of the total marks of 126.00)

102


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以Ranking 1 2 3

Average test

score for

respondents of

each category on

the positiveness

on using English

in IM and using

IM to learn

English writing

(Section C(2))

33.60(SD = 8.59; 70%

of the total

marks of 48.00)

29.73(SD = 6.42; 62% of

the total marks of

48.00)

23.88(SD = 4.58; 50% of

the total marks of

48.00)

(Average Score for all respondents was 29.82 (SD = 8.25;

62% of the total marks of 48.00)

Ranking 1 2 3

103



B. Results of Error Correction Test (M2)

29 valid Error correction test paper were collected. Based on

the scoring system developed, as described in Methodology section

for M2 above, the average test scores for all respondents, and for

respondents of each category were calculated and put together for

comparison.

Table 5 Test results of M2 for all respondents




marks of 22.00)

42%

Median 9.00 41%


Table 5 shows that the average score obtained by all

respondents was of 9.21 (42%), which was lower than the passing

score of 12.00 (55%). The results revealed that the samples as a

whole failed the Error Correction Test in general. The bar chart

below details the distribution of the respondents’ scores in

104Figure 13 Distribution of the respondents in percentage against their results in M2

*marks below the benchmark of 12


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以percentage:

0 to 3 * 4 to 7 * 8 to 11 * 12 or above (Pass)

7%

24%

38%31%

Distribution of the respondents in percentage against their results in M2

There were only 31% among all respondents passed the test. However,

when we further compared the test results by considering

respondents’ experience and frequency in using English in IM (Figure

19 below), we saw that respondents with more experience and frequent

usage of English in IM had higher trend of passing the test:

105



7%

3%

14%

3%

0%

14%

10%

14%

0%

7%

14% 14%

Distribution of the respondents of each category in percentage against their results in M2

Long-term frequent English users in IMShort-term frequent English users in IM2Non-English users in IM

Figure 14 Distribution of the respondents of each category in percentage against their results in M2

The curve for respondents of “Long-term high frequent English users

in IM” inclines to the right of the graph, with two climaxes on “8 –

11 marks” (14%) and “12 or above” (14%), revealing a higher trend of

passing the test; whereas, although the curve for respondents of

“non-English users in IM” also inclines to the right of the graph,

its climaxes appeared on “0 – 3 marks” and “8 – 11 marks”, revealing

a less higher trend of passing the test than the first group of

respondents (inclines the least to the right). Similarly, the curve

for respondents of “Short-term high frequent English users in IM”

also inclines less to the right than the first group, with its

106

0 – 3*

4 – 7*

8 – 11*

12 or above


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以climaxes on “4 – 7 marks” (14%) and “12 or above” (14%), revealing a

less higher trend of passing the test than the first group of

respondents as well. Table 6 below shows that the average score for

respondents of “Long-term frequent English users in IM” was the

highest (M = 10.80), followed by “Short-term frequent English users

in IM” (M = 9.27), and the least was “Non-English users in IM” (M =

7.13), yet, all the average scores were below the benchmark of

12.00. Table 7 below summarizes the scoring results for the Error

Correction Test.

Table 6 Comparison between the average score of all respondents in M2, for respondents of each category in M2and respondents' experience and frequency in using English in IM

Long-term

frequent

English users

in IM

Short-term

frequent

English users

in IM

Non-English

users in IM

Average test

score for M2 –

Error

Correction Test

10.80(SD = 3.97; 49

% of the total

marks of 22.00)

9.27(SD = 3.72; 42%

of the total

marks of 22.00)

7.13(SD = 4.97; 32%

of the total

marks of 22.00)(Average Score for all respondents was 9.21 (SD = 4.28; 42%

of the total marks of 22.00)

Ranking in

terms of the

average test

score

1 2 3



107


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以Average Score of

“Long-term frequentEnglish users in IM”

10.80 (SD = 3.97; 49 % of the total

marks of 22.00)

49% Rank

no.1

Average Score of“Short-term frequentEnglish users in IM”

9.27(SD = 3.72; 42% of the total

marks of 22.00)

42% Rank

no.2

Average Score ofrespondents from all

category

9.21

(SD = 4.28; 42% of the total

marks of 22.00)

42%

Median 9.00 41%

Average Score of“Non-English users in

IM”

7.13(SD = 4.97; 32% of the total

marks of 22.00)

32% Rank

no.3


Table 7 Summary of the scoring results for M2 - Error Correction Test

C. Results of Follow-up Semi-structured Interview(M3)

This section aims at supplementing the results of M1 and M2 by

comparing the responses of the “Long-term high frequent English

users in IM” and “non-English users in IM” on the habits of using

English in IM, the factors that affect their test results as well as

their opinions on adopting IM in English writing learning. Table 8

below summarizes the aforementioned information.

108


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以Q1 revealed that a majority of both groups of respondents had

more than 6 years of English learning experience.

Q2 revealed that respondents of “Long-term frequent English

users in IM” used rather simple English words, e.g. “Ok”, “go

shopping”, “haha” and “hp”, to communicate with friends because

these words had become parts of their daily language or they were

words that were of proper name or of unavoidably usage in English.

Some also admitted that they used English because they were not able

to use Chinese input method to type. In contrast, respondents of

“Non-English users in IM” revealed that they did not use English to

text because their friends did not do so, and they believed that

typing with their mother language was more convenient. Yet, some

English words were reported to be used by them, e.g. “haha”, “ok”,

“yes/ no”.

For Q3 – 5, respondents of “Long-term frequent English users in

IM” revealed that the test paper was not very difficult to them

because the error items were in actual use with their friends. The

most difficult part some found would be the last two items, since

the whole items were in English, unlike other items that contained

Chinese as well. Contrastingly, respondents of “Non-English users in

IM” thought that the test paper was very difficult because the

conversation in the test paper was not familiar to them, and their

109


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以English was not good enough to correct the items and rewrite the

whole sentence in English.

Q6 showed that both groups of respondents shared common topics

when texting with their friends, such as “homework” and “games”.

Q7 revealed that respondents of both groups used acronyms when

texting with friends, e.g. “hw” for “homework”, “u” for “you”, “fb”

for “Facebook” and “ws” for “WhatsApp”. For respondents of “Long-

term high frequent English users in IM”, direct L1 translation (e.g.

“eat dinner”), invented Cantonese spelling (e.g. “wor”, “la”), code

mixing (e.g. “這 who 這?”) and spelling mistakes (e.g. “homewerk”,

“lett me”) were reported to be used by the respondents and their

friends. For “non-English users in IM”, some responded that these

items were avoided or not used because they used Chinese to type

rather than in English.

Table 8 Summary of the results of Follow-up Semi-structured Interview (M3) with comparison between "Long-term frequent English users in IM" and "Non-English users in IM"

Long-term frequentEnglish users in IM(8 were invited)

Non-English users in IM

(8 were invited)

(Q1) Number of years respondents had been learning English

More than 6 years (8 of 8)

More than 6 years (6 of 8)4 – 5 years (2 of 8)

(Q2) Reasons for the frequent/

1. Supplementing the Chinese communication with friends on topics

1. Their friends didn’t use English to text, nor would they use it

110


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以seldom usage of English during texting, withexamples

such as games, football, shopping:

“haha”, “OK”, “Yes”, “No”, “Go shopping”, “points”and “hp”

These words became parts of their daily language.

2. Using English words torefer to proper name:

e.g. “Sponge Bob”, a famous cartoon character; “P&D (Puzzle & Dragon)”,name of a popular mobile game application; “NB” and “NewBalance”, abrand name of a sportswear company.

3. Inability of using theChinese input methods to type.

to text in an instant messaging platform, e.g. Whatsapp group.

2. Their friends would think they were mentalif they text them in English.

3. Chinese input methods were well enough for texting, they did not need to use English.

4. Chinese was more convenient.

5. They did not use English unless the conversation was aboutEnglish homework or words that they need to use English.

6. Some English words were reported to be used:

“haha”, “ok”, “yes/no”

(Q3 - 5) Their opinions on the error correction task

1. Not very difficult because they understand most of thequestion:a. It was the way they

chatted with friends

2. 1 reported that the

1. Very difficult because…a. The conversation in

the test was not familiar to them because it was not the way they text with their friends,hence not comprehensible to

111


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以last two questions were the most difficult, because many English words were used.

them.b. He lacked the

experience of learning English (1of 8)

c. He was unable whenever it was in English.

2. Not very difficult (1 of 8) because…a. The error items

look familiar because he usually saw them in Homework.

(Q6) The topics they usually talk about during IM

Homework, games, shopping, having lunch ordinner, ball games

Games, shopping, seeing movies, ball games

(Q7) The English examples (error items)they / their friends used when texting

“這 who 這?”“hw”“la”“wor”“u””I give you … yesterday”“eat dinner”

Spelling mistakes:“homewerk”“lett me”

1 responded that he used the wrong spelling words because it was convenientand he did not need to remember how to spell thewords.

“la” (1 responded that mostly he would type the Chinese instead, i.e. “這”)“fb” and “ws” for “facebook” and “whatsapp”

(Q 8 – 9) The 1. They spotted most of 1. Unable to rewrite the

112


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以reasons why they could not correct the errors

the items, but they skipped or could not provide the correct answers of them. Some of them thought their corrections were rightbut they were wrong inthe end.

2. Misunderstanding of the usage of some English words for correcting the items:e.g. the usage of “borrow” and “lend”

3. Inability in masteringsome English sentence pattern:e.g. “Shouldn’t you let me …?”

4. 1 responded that he did not even know the errors were wrong.

5. Carelessness, overlooking the spelling mistakes, e.g. “Came on”

6. Treated the invented Cantonese spelling as proper English:e.g. “Nei”

whole sentences

2. Unable to recognize the incorrect English items among English sentences, or being able to recognize them, yet unable to correct the items:

e.g. Forgetting howto spell “you” at the moment of correction.

3. Some blamed on their poor English proficiency.

Q (10 – 12) Their views on the relationship between the

1. No relationship between the habits of using English in IM with the test score. It was because they

1. No relationship between the habits of using English in IM with the test score. It was because of

113


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以habits of using Englishin IM, the test results in M2, and their overallEnglish writing proficiency

seldom used the words appeared in the test paper when texting with friends. They believed that if someone’s English was good, they could correct the mistakes.

2. When texting, they tend to use some simple English words. Compared with the requirement of the test paper (rewriting the whole sentence), texting with friends using some English words was easier.

3. 1 responded that he actually used the error items in the test paper when texting, and this allowed him to correctthe items.

4. 1 responded that the habits of using English in IM had a little effect on his English writing proficiency:i.e. when texting withfriends, he learned some English words as well.

their poor English were they not able to correct the mistakes. They believed that if someone’s English was good, they could correct the mistakes.

2. If only people had good English would they text in English (or had the habit of using English to text), so they assumedthat whosoever texted in English was having good English proficiency.

3. They did not think that their English proficiency was affected due to the lack of usage of English during texting. They recognized that their English learning at school (from the textbooks and homework) was the major positive influence on their English writing proficiency.

(Q 13 - 14) Their views

1. Welcomed. It would be interesting,

1. Some did not think it helped them learning

114


以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以以on learning English writing through instant messaging, and other practices

convenient and easy asthey did not need to write on paper, and they could learn English at anywhere and at anytime. It would be fun to do homework through sending messages and it motivated students to try.

2. Applications offered on smartphone platformhelped with learning English, i.e. Google translate

3. Some concerned that they did not have “data access”, so theycould not text when they were not connected to the internet.

4. Some believed that writing with hands help them remember English better than texting.

5. A traditional way of learning English help students learn better than typing on phone.

English better when texting in English because they did not think that they like texting in English.

2. Some thought that it was good to use English in texting andthey would try it, butin real context they may not text with their friends in English.

3. Some believed that it would not be very difficult if their teacher required them to text in English as a homework. Some also thought that homework of such kind was convenience as well.

4. Some concerned that they did not have “data access”, so theycould not text when they were not connected to the internet.

5. Some revealed that doing worksheets givenby their English teacher worked fine inhelping them learning English writing.

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Bachelor of Education (English Language) – Secondary Strand

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