Literacy in the Facebook Era - Waray Dictionary and Language ...

Fullmer 16
IV. Clarifications and Ideas for Further Research
I realize educators’ feelings about nonstandard English are mixed. Many of us would
probably prefer Facebook and text messaging to vanish into cyberspace oblivion. But my goal here
is not to promote use of nonstandard English; I am simply recognizing that it is a reality educators
have to face, and I feel that bringing it into discussion in the classroom is better than trying to
pretend it doesn’t exist. After all, although my analysis suggests that students’ knowledge of formal
language is not being improved, their capacities for linguistic acquisition, comprehension,
production, and problem-solving are all being expanded.
But perhaps giving nonstandard English more attention is the wrong approach. I thus ask
my fellow scholars for counterarguments: how might internet English be making our jobs more
challenging? And how else should we adapt our methods to counteract this?
This article’s scope is limited to identifying the features of the English students use outside
the classroom, but there are many related tangents that should be explored. For example, what
trends can we note about Tagalish based on its occurrences on Facebook? Which English
vocabulary absorbed into this hybrid language, and why is grammar not influenced? Why, for
instance, does the writer in Example 1 use the English “late” instead of the common “urhi” or less
common “atrasado”?
Similarly, does jejemon represent an opportunity for individuals to express personality and or
to foster a kind of group or communal collectivism? How does jejemon fit into the larger picture of
Pinoy culture in the 21 st century?
The internet, furthermore, may provide a fundamental cultural divide between Filipinos with
internet access and those without. How might the various levels of internet access among Filipino
students bring new challenges to the classroom? How should teachers adapt to a student population
that is more heterogeneous in its knowledge and culture?
Should teachers be Facebook friends with their students? How does this destabilize the
teacher-student relationship? How does a teacher sharing his/her identity outside the classroom
positively or negatively affect the dynamics inside the classroom?