We all adjust they way we speak according to the people we are talking to. We change our language according to subject matter, and who we are addressing.
Children have one language to use in the classroom. There is the language of the playground. Then there is the different words they will use when they speak to their brothers and sisters and to you.
Some ten year olds will also have the language of the mobile phone. This represents a big shift in communication skills. Our children now have new ways of spelling words, new words to and an entirely new method of communicating.
So when our children are called upon to write a story we expect them to be able to come up with language that is similar to the way words and ideas have been used in books for many years. We want a rich vocabulary in the conventional school story. Texting, however, does not need a rich vocabulary. In a traditional story we demand a beginning, a middle and an end. Texting implies a conversation – so there is no real end. We want our children to be able to spell correctly – even on long words – but texting changes the ways words are spelt.
So I wonder when those involved with writing verbal reasoning papers will catch up with today’s child. Any changes in the language of verbal reasoning papers would involve a big shift of attitude towards children and the present reliance of vocabulary as being a key factor in intelligence.
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