KEEPING IN TOUCH

"Txt msgng": what does it stand for?

The biggest growth in mobile phone use in the last few years has been text messaging. Users send written messages rather than leaving spoken ones - they use a special kind of language because they want to write quickly. How good are you at it? Here's an activity for you to try. 

Activity 1

Match the text messages on the left with their meanings on the right.

Activity 2

A) What do the text messages (a - k) mean? Can you translate them into ordinary English? Make a note of your answers in your copybook. 

B) Now put the messages in order. Andy's message (a) starts the sequence.

1) A

2) ...

etc ...

C) Andy and Jill met up as a result of their text messages in activity B. Write the text messages they sent each other the next day. Here's an example:

Did you know..? 

Email is older than the Internet. It started in 1965, and by 1966 it was already possible to send messages between different computers. The @ sign was introduced into email addresses in 1971 and quickly became standard.

                                      You’ve got Mail! 

Watch the following  scene and  write the answers to these questions:

1. Briefly describe  what kind of relationship you think these people  have.

2. Interpret and write down the information these  people are swaping, using

 ordinary English.

3. If you've seen this film, briefly explain how this email swap starts and how it ends.

4. If you haven't seen this film, predict what might happen as a result of this email swap.

References: Harmer, J.(2004 )Just, Reading and Writing Intermediate, Marshall Cavendish Education Ltd
http://www.youtube.com

Journal

Have you ever been involved in a similar situation? If not, do you know of anyone who has?
Write  a few lines about it.