TIME SPENT ON TEXTING AND SPELLING ABILITY OF HUMANITIES AND

SOCIAL SCIENCES STUDENTS

A research proposal submitted to Gil Montilla National High School

A partial fulfillment of the requirements in the subject

Practical Research 2

HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

(PETRARCH)

John Emmanuel Gavilangga Polidario

Leora Marie Ambagan Elcamel

Thalia Anne Camacho Castillo

Jasper Camacho Napoles

Aen Sel Arguelles Titular

Sherlyn Gurtiza Desoyo

October 2022
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The introduction of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) and the evolution

of Instant Messaging (IM) and Short Message Service (SMS) technology— commonly

associated with cellphone text messaging— have provided a runs of conveniences to the

society. A lot of people these days find difficult to live without their mobile cellphones or

cannot remain absent from their computers. But with these modern-day progresses have

come concerns almost the effect of these transformative modern advances on the measures of

communication that have been practiced for so long. New laws have even been presented to

constrain the negative of some of the uses for these new technologies, such as laws against

talking on a cellphone whereas driving without the use of a hands-free gadget and the

outright ban on sending a text message while driving.

Texting is a quick and easy way to communicate and solve a problem as agents can

often respond to costumer texts faster than they can to live calls. Online texting has become

very popular because of its numerous benefits. One positive side of texting is that it can

actually help people to build better social skills. They can practice communicating with their

friends, family, colleagues, and others through chat and email. Tchiki Davis said, “Studies

have shown that people who text and reach out to others experience less pain”. “It can be

used to coped and just kind of deal with challenging situations. Do reach out to others if

you're alone and need support”.

 Texting also has negative effects especially in terms of spelling and writing ability.

Spelling is a complex written language skill, which requires a learner to possess a number of

language abilities, including phonological, morphological, visual memory skills, semantic

relationships as well as adequate knowledge of spelling rules. But, texting further promotes

using improper grammar and poorer writing skills. By texting, it is easier for people to take

the easy way out by spelling things wrong to make words shorter like “cuz” instead of

“because” or to incorrectly format sentences that wouldn't be acceptable in an actual paper.

The researcher initiated this study to know the time spent in texting and if there is

significant relationship between texting and spelling ability of the students. It also aims to

determine whether the texting habits of the students should be a concern as it significantly

demeaning their spelling proficiency, literacy and English language learning.

Statement of the Problem

The general objective of this study is to determine the time spent on texting and

spelling ability of Humanities and Social Sciences students of Gil Montilla National High

School, School Year 2022-2023.

Specifically, it seeks to answer the following:

1. What is the extent of time spent by students on texting?

2. What is the level of students spelling ability?

3. Is there significant relationship between time spent on texting and spelling ability of

the student?
Hypothesis

Based on the aforementioned objectives, the hypothesis is stated below:

There is no significant relationship between time spent on texting and spelling ability of the

students.

Theoretical Framework

Louisa Moats, an expert in literacy instruction, says that spelling is a visible record

of a child's language processing, and gives us a window into what a child understands about

word structure and speech sounds, and how we use letters to represent those sounds.

According to Albert Bandura (1989), students and humans generally are now

constantly surrounded by so many influence fundamentally the media. Social media has

become integral to virtually all students across the globe and this has influenced them

behaviorally, cognitively and otherwise.

Elder (1981) and Bandura (1989) posited that technology provides new innovate

methods that create social learning environments. One aspect of this technology is its ability

create platforms that allows interactivity and provide the opportunity to observe others. To

them, humans believes that system was greatly influenced by virtual platforms used for the

transmission of information and the stimulation of social persuasion of which social media is

a clear example.

Research has found that most theorists oppose the weekly spelling tests, where

students memorise a set word list in preparation for a test. Alternatively, Bush (2008)

promotes an inquiry approach to spelling that allows students to investigate words in a

literacy context. Pentecost and Dickie (2011) recommend teachers place less emphasis on
spelling lists, and more emphasis on students developing a metacognitive, problem solving

approach to spelling.

Conceptual Framework

Texting can be a good way of encouraging children to practise spelling and writing

skills, but it should be time-limited, and they should be encouraged to follow principles of

‘one thing at a time’.

Conceptual framework shows the relationship between the variable of the study. The

dependent variable is the spelling ability of the Humanities and Social Sciences students,

while the independent variable is the time spent in texting. It tells about the level of students

ability may be affected by the time they spent in texting.

Independent Variable Dependent Variable

Figure 1. Schematic diagram showing the variables of the study.

Scope and Limitation of the Study

Time spent in texting Spelling Ability
This study covers about the time spent on texting and spelling ability of Humanities

and Social Sciences students. This study will be conducted among all grade 12 Humanities
and Social Sciences in Gil Montilla National High School, school year 2022-2023. The

school is located at Brgy. Gil Montilla, Sipalay City, Negros Occidental.

A researchers-made survey questionnaire will be utilized to gather desirable data to

determine the learner's time spent on texting and spelling ability. Statistical tools utilized will

be frequency count and percentage distribution, mean and person r.

Significance of the Study

The following may be significant to the following:

Teachers. It will help them to do some new strategies and techniques and it can also aid

teachers in coming up with simple lesson plans or activities to improve student's spelling

ability.

Students. It will also help the students to acknowledge on how they should use their time in

texting to attain learning and help them to improve themselves especially their spelling

ability.

Parents. They could help their child manage their time and they could guide them and keep

themselves involved in their child's learning.

Researchers. This study will help the researcher demonstrate that spelling is important.

Explicit, systematic spelling instruction has been shown to improve performance in reading

fluency and comprehension. In fact, practice at spelling helps a student's reading ability more

than practice at reading helps spelling.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are hereby defined conceptually and operationally in order to

provide a clear and better understanding of this study:

Spelling Ability. It may be defined as the ability to spell those specific words needed

for written communication. ( Rudorf, 1965)

In this study, it refers to the students ability to spell.

Students. One who attends or studies at an educational institution.( Johnson and Pierre,

2021)

In this study, it refers to the respondents coming from the HUMSS 12 students.

Texting. Is the act of sending short, alphanumeric communications between cellphones,

pagers or other hand-held devices, as implemented by a wireless carrier. ( Mathias, 2017)

In this study, it refers on the variable to be tested.

Time. An hour consists of a certain number of minutes, a day of hours and a year of

days. ( University of Helsinki, 2005)

In this study, it refers to the student's consumed length of hours in texting.

 REFERENCES

Johnson, L & Pierre, Y. (2021). Solving Wicked Diversity, Equity, and Inclusive Problems
from a Design Thinking Lens. https://www.igi-global.com/chapter/solving-wicked-
diversity-equity-and-inclusive-problems-
from-a-design-thinking-lens/284225

Mathias, C. (2017). Text Messaging.

https://www.techtarget.com/searchmobilecomputing/definition/texting

Rudorf, H. (1965). Measurement of Spelling Ability. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41385915

University of Helsinki. (2005). Science Daily.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/04/050415115227.htm

Melbourne Child Psychology. Texting and Spelling.

https://www.melbournechildpsychology.com.au/blog/texting-spelling/

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Various materials are gathered and more information are access through the Net, to

give way to providing background for this study. The view will be presented in this paper

would enrich the perspective of the researcher to clarify concepts and arrive on more vivid
ideas. They are intended to provide background for better understanding of the problem

under investigation.

Time Spent

Today's youth are confronted with a media environment that is rapidly changing. The

time spent on media, whether for the purpose of school-related or non-school-related

learning, has influenced youths more than before. A study on Malaysian youths showed that

they spend about 32.6 hours per day on media-related activities such as watching television

(TV), surfing the Internet, listening to the radio and reading magazines (Raj, 2012). It is

possible to exceed 24 hours per day of such activities because technology allows us to

multitask. One can talk on the phone, watch TV, check the Facebook account and listen to

music at the same time. However, research shows that out of the 32.6 hours, more than 30%,

or approximately 11 hours, is spent on media-related activities such as surfing the Internet

(3.3 hours), watching TV (2.5 hours) and using phones (1.3 hours). On the use of computers

for social networking, Malaysians are found to have the highest number of Facebook friends,

with an average of 233 in each account. Malaysians spend 9 hours a week on Facebook,

which is one of the highest compared with other countries, and more than 10 million

Malaysians are currently Facebook users.

A study of time use among Malaysian youths as it relates to school achievement,

particularly one that differentiates between school-related activities and non-school-related

activities, may provide insights into how these activities impact the performance of youths in

school. Such insights may be useful to educational policy-makers, school administrators,

teachers, civic groups, parents and adolescents concerned with optimising the opportunities

provided during the secondary school years of Malaysian children.

The review demonstrates that time management behaviours relate positively to

perceived control of time, job satisfaction, and health, and negatively to stress. The

relationship with work and academic performance is not clear. Time management training

seems to enhance time management skills, but this does not automatically transfer to better

performance. This review makes clear which effects may be expected of time management,

which aspects may be most useful for which individuals, and which work characteristics

would enhance or hinder positive effects. Its outcomes may help to develop more effective

time management practices.

Texting

Texting, also called text messaging, act of sending short messages with cell phones,

usually using the Short Messaging Service (SMS).Texting is one alternative in a larger

universe of messaging modalities, including email, instant messaging and messaging within

social media platforms (including, for example, Facebook and Twitter). However, texting is

differentiated by its broad carrier, platform and device support; simplicity and ease of use;

global availability; and cultural pervasiveness. Texting can trace its history back to

teletypewriter messaging services, such as TWX and Telex, in the early 1930s. Text-only

(and, initially, numeric-only) wireless paging systems, which originally appeared in the

1980s and evolved into two-way services in the 1990s, were popular in consumer and

business messaging applications, before being almost entirely replaced by texting services on

cellular wireless networks.

 SMS was developed in the United Kingdom in the late 1980s, and the first text message

was sent on December 3, 1992. An SMS commercial service was launched in the United

Kingdom in 1995. Text messaging did not take off, however, until it became possible to send

messages between the four main British cell phone networks in 1998.Because typing text

into a telephone keypad was cumbersome and the number of characters in a text message was

limited, a form of shorthand evolved, especially among young people. This included such

shortcuts as UR for “your” or “you’re” and BRB for “be right back.”In addition to basic

communication and entertainment, other uses for text messaging were developed, including

the announcement by activists of demonstrations on the streets of China, Ukraine, and

Kuwait and clandestine flirting in societies in which informal contact with the opposite sex

was frowned upon. In South Africa counselors were sending information on patients’ use of

antiretroviral drugs to combat HIV/AIDS through text messages to researchers at Cape Town

University. Through text messages Indian politicians were being summoned by staff

members to vote on new laws or make up a quorum in parliament. A new computer system

was being rolled out in the United Kingdom that would enable text reminders of criminal

court sessions to be sent to witnesses. In May 2005 America’s Missing: Broadcast

Emergency Response (AMBER) Alert warnings of child abductions in the United States

began to be sent by text to those who chose to receive them, and, as of 2018, 924 children

had been recovered.

The number of messages sent in the United Kingdom grew from 1 billion in 1999 to

some 30 billion in 2005. In the United States text messaging emerged later but expanded

rapidly. From 30 million messages sent in the United States in June 2001, the monthly traffic

grew to about 7.3 billion in 2005 and 14 billion in 2008. SMS messaging reached its peak in
the United States with 2.3 trillion messages in 2011 and in the United Kingdom the next year

with 162 billion messages. In 2012 the number of SMS messages sent worldwide peaked at

just under 7.8 trillion and has declined since then because of the rise of texting apps like

Facebook Messenger, WeChat, and WhatsApp. The major wireless companies report that

users now do more texting than talking on their cell phones.

Spelling Ability

Learning to spell words correctly is considered an important important activity for

several reasons. One is this precise spelling makes the reader understand what is written, so

that the message is clear. Okyere (1990) emphasized that spelling is an essential ability to

master a language, because it allows the clear expression of thought in any written text.

The effect of social media on the spelling ability of Humanities and Social Sciences

students, social learning theory was used. There has been some questions on the kind of

values adopted and used by people from the conventional media and now social media.

Social learning theory propounded by Albert Bandura postulates that learning takes place in a

social context via cognitive process known as observation and uninterrupted guidelines even

the absenteeism undeviating corroboration. He further said that people learn persistently

using communication within their immediate environment and now the virtual environment

known as the internet/ social media. He explained that communal and virtual communal

interaction exercise influences on the mind thus, innovations such as social is a factor in

determining the life events, beliefs, values and culture tenable in our society today.
 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

Research Methodology

This chapter contains the research design, participants of the study, sampling procedure,

data gathering and data analysis.

Research Design

This quantitative research employs descriptive-correlational design. According to

McBurney & White, 2009, the descriptive-correlational design is used in research studies that

aims to provide static pictures of situations as well as establish the relationship between

variables. In this study, it will describe the time spent in texting and spelling ability of the

Humanities and Social Sciences students.

Participants of the Study

The respondents of the study were the 30 students of grade 12 HUMSS–PETRARCH of

Gil Montilla National High School, Division of Sipalay City during the SY of 2022-2023.

Research Instrument

A researchers-made survey questionnaire will be utilized to gather desirable data to

determine the learner’s time spent on texting and spelling ability. A questionnaire is a

research tool featuring a series of questions used to collect useful information from
respondents. These instruments include either written or oral questions and comprise an

interview-style format.

Validity and Reliability of the Instrument

A researchers-made survey questionnaire will be evaluated by the three identified jurors,

these will be the english teachers of Gil Montilla National High School . The Good and

Scates evaluation tool will be used to determine the appropriateness, meaningfulness and

usefulness of the data. It will be submitted to reliability testing to the learners of HUMSS

12-PIER.

Data Gatherings Procedure

Upon the approval of the research, a letter of request will be sent to the School Division

Superintendent of the Division of Sipalay City asking permission to conduct the study. A

letter of request to the principal for the conduct of the study will also be secured. Orientation

will be given to the respondents prior to conduct of the study. The researchers will facilitate

personally in the gathering of data. Data gathered will be retrieved immediately and

tabulated, analyzed, and interpreted by the researchers.

Data Analysis

The gathered data for this study will be tabulated, and recorded. Appropriate statistical

tool will be used to answer the statement of the problems, as follows:

To answer objective 1, to determine the extent of time spent by students on texting, the

researchers will use the mean and standard deviation.

 To answer objective 2, to determine the level of students spelling ability, the researchers

will use the mean and standard deviation.

To answer objective 3, to determine if there is a significant relationship between time

spent on texting and the spelling ability of the student, the researchers will use person r.