Influence of SMS on the daily conversation of students in higher institutions in the multicultural Malaysian society

Author: Iloka Benneth Chiemelie
Published: 24 - july - 2016

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Background of study

Going back to history, the first cellular phone service that ventured into Malaysia, the NMT 450 was introduced in the country in 1984 (Lee 2002). However, the market has since then been liberalized with an increase in the advancement of technologies for mobile communication resulting to a subsequent increase in the growth of leaps and bounds in the industry. From the discovery made by the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) (2010), it was made known that the number of subscribers for mobile phone services in the country totals to 33.1 million. Being a country that has population of 28.4 million, such a figure for subscription is an indication that the penetration of mobile phone in the country comes at a whopping 116.6%, indicating that some people in the country are in the possession of more than one mobile phone. With respect to the numerous applications that are available in mobile phones, SMS is the most popular and widely adopted application with a total of 25.1 million users as of 2010, making up 75.8% of the total subscription in the same year (Allison, Wei and Sue 2011).

With reference to the research conducted by Barkhuus (2005), most of the users of this application are young adults who favour SMS because messages delivered through this medium are concise, and the application is capable of overshadowing the shyness that users can have with respect to face-to-face conversation, making it an appropriate tool for social behaviour. Mante and Pires (2002) also conducted another study to understand why the application is very popular and their finding reveals that it is because of the fixed cost charged per SMS and because the service is much cheaper than calls. From the study, other factors were discussed in the form of the application’s directness, since messages can easily be sent silently and received directly by the intended recipient.

On the side of communication and linguistics, studies have shown that the increasing popularity of SMS has led to a new and distinctive form of communication with respect to what is obtainable in the traditionally written and spoken pattern (Allison, Wei and Sue 2011), even though it similar with some of the computer mediated communications (CMC) such as instant messaging, social networking, e-mails, blogs and website. Ling (2005) continued the analysis by labelling SMS language as a “trans-linguistics drag queen” due to the fact that it is made up of features in the form of both spoken and written languages. There is no doubting the fact that the characteristics of SMS is very unique considering that the messages are typed on a small keypad in the form and limited to 160 characters per SMS bag (Sagerstad, 2005). On the same hand, communications are written in a number of times per character as a result of the keypad holding numerous letters and symbols. Also, communications are normally made by scrolling to the next screen of the phone in order to access the entire message as a result of the limited size of the screen.

On the account of the limitations in the form of space and production time, communicators are always forced to try their best in order to increase their level of expression with the minimum amount of word possible (Bodomo, 2009; Balakrishnan & Yeow, 2008; Segerstad, 2005). This meant that Bodomo make a new proposal that SMS languages, “words, phrases and sentences need to be coded with minimum amount of symbols possible without forgoing the comprehensibility of the actual meaning presented (Bodomo, 2009, p. 113). Grinter and Eldridge (2003) also presented their own view of the situation by noting that communicators are forced to shorten their messages by removing some letters in the actual spelling of words, making use of symbols and numbers to communicate their message, and adopting the normal standards for ad-hoc acronyms. Further researches were conducted by Mphahlele and Mashamaite (2005) with suggestions that SMS language will not have the right conformity with the rules of grammar, syntax and spelling rules obtainable in Standard English language.

Statement of problem

Considering the increase in the popularity of SMS, researchers are amazed by how SMS languages can impact an individual’s writing and communication skills (Bodomo, 2009; Freudenberg, 2009; Mphahlele & Mashamaite, 2005; Hamzah et al, 2009). Bodomo (2009) conduct a study based on the habits exhibited by SMS users, by putting into consideration the features of SMS language and how it impacts on a student’s writing behaviour with settings in the Hong Kong based TelCU, the proposal made by the author for the analysis of Technology Conditioned Language and Literacy Change. On a similar ground, Freudenberg (2009) also conducted an analysis of the SMS behaviour of students with discovery that linked SMS to written works in the South African setting. Thurlow and Poff (2011) are not to be left out from this increase in interest and number of study geared towards understanding the influence of SMS in communication of students, as they laid down their own suggesting by stating that there cross-cultural differences amongst nations irrespective of the features of SMS language with respect to written works such as abbreviation, homophones, and non-standard spelling and mode-mixings.

Studies in the Malaysian setting has shown that educators are now more concerned about the decline in the standard of written language as a result of students being more accustomed with colloquial English in their SMSs (Muniandy et al, 2010). With respect to the 2004 statement, the then Direct-General of Education in the country made attributes of the decline in performance for English paper in the Penilaian Menegah Rendah (PMR) to increase in popularity and adoption of SMS (Teh, 2004). It was found that numerous students abbreviated words and phrases contained in their answers, and gave the back door for the normal English standards (Shafie et al, 2007). Identification was made by Hanzah et al (2009) which show that SMS has impact on the written language in Putra University, Malaysia, through their study of how language is used in emails and how users have come to overcome the shortcomings of SMS as a means of communication. The indication made from their study is that languages are adapted creatively for the purpose of fulfilling the referenced needs in modern communication with the aim of reducing space, effort, cost and time on every communication tendered.

From the above analysis, it can be seen that this is a very serious issue as it is influencing not only the communication pattern of students negatively, but also their academic performance as they have become well accustomed with the SMS language and lost the understanding of standard English rules.

Purpose of study

With respect to the research background and stated problems, the purpose of this research is to understand the influence yielded on communication by SMS in the Malaysian higher institutions and how these influenced differs with respect to ethnic diversity in the country. The inclusion of ethnic diversity is based on the revelation contained in the research background where it was noted that despite the common ground shard by SMS languages in terms of adopting shortened words, symbols and audio to communicate messages, there are differences amongst cultures. On that note, the objectives of this research are to:

1.      Understand how SMS influences daily communication presented by students in Malaysian higher education.

2.      Understand how these influences differ with respect to differences in ethnicity.

3.      Measure these influence in terms of either negative or positive.

In order to achieve these research objectives, a number of questions will be asked in the form of:

1.      Does SMS influences communication pattern of students in higher education in Malaysian?

2.      Are there differences in terms of this influence with respect to ethnicity?

3.      Are these influences positive or negative?

Motivation

From the discussion presented in the research problem, it was noted that the adoption of SMS is influence the academic performance of students with numerous cases of such discussed as to how the students have reverted to abbreviating their English grammar as is obtainable in SMS language, leading to poor English structure and as such increases chances of failure. This serves as the main motivation for this research, which is to understand the influence of SMS language in communication amongst students in higher institution and the best way to reduce such influence in order to create the right scene for increased performance in the academic setting.

Organization of study

Basically, this paper is divided into 5 chapters. The first chapter is the introduction and it is in this chapter that the main purpose of the research is presented, discussing how the research is important and what the research aims to achieve. The second chapter is the review of literature. This chapter presented a background understanding of the research topic with respect to relevant literature in the field.

Following the completion of secondary research in the second chapter, the third chapter paves way for the primary research with this chapter presenting an understanding of the methodology that will be adopted for the research. The fourth chapter is the analysing of data gathered from the research process, while the research paper concluders with the fifth chapter that discusses the overall finding gained from the whole research and illustrate whether the paper has been able to fulfil set research objectives.

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

Earlier in the discussion of research organization as contained in the introductory section, it was made known that the purpose of the second chapter is to present relevant literatures with respect to the research topic. On that account, this will be fulfilled in this section as a background understanding will be presented with related researches on the research topic.

Understand the influence of SMS on communication amongst students: a background analysis with related researches

The origin of SMS dates back to the 1980s when it was first implemented into the GSM standards for mobile phone as a replacement for pagers (Kopomaa, 2005). The main vision is that it would become an additional tool that businesses can make use of in order to send messages on rare occasions, which is similarity with the application of pages in a single phone number. The main reason for such is that messages are generally limited to 160 characters per message and mobile phone producers couldn’t visualize anyone trying to type message with a twelve button keypad. In any case, their perceptions were proven wrong following the slow start of SMS transformation in the USA following an incredible subsidization of handsets, which basically made mobile phone affordable starting from the 1990s.

On a view from Finland, it was noted that SMS was even offered in the earlier stages on a cost free bases as a result of high competition amongst telephone providers in 1997 (Kopomaa, 2005). Somewhat similar cases were experienced in numerous countries as well in the sense that SMS where made available at a very low price compared with making calls, which meant that users quickly switched their attention towards the adoption of SMS and it enhanced the penetration of the application. Researchers have also presented argument in numerous cases that SMS is the main reason why teenager adopted mobile phones as opposed to voice calling (Ling, 2004). Other studies have also looked to understand why mobile phones (Ling, 2004) and text messaging easily penetrated the market (Grinter and Eldridge, 2001; Ito and Okabe, 2005).

On pas account, studies related to SMS have often been given a broader scope to cover the use of mobile telephone, with these sties viewing SMS as a form of alternative to voice communication, instead of seeing it to be able to stand on its own. In any case, there are studies in the present time that have been well focused on understanding the use of “text-messaging.” he book ‘The Inside Text’ (Harper et al., 2005) contains a vast study of SMS usage and design with respect to issues related to digital text communication on a broader sense. Most of these studies have concentrated their observation on teenagers. This makes this research significant because it broadens the scope by looking deeper into the field with focus on students in higher education (adolescents and adults), and as such increasing the study scope to an area that has received few attention in literatures.

No matter the age variation, there is a common finding in the literature which is that text messaging increases “ad-hoc” coordination (Brown, 2002; Jenson, 2005; Ling, 2004). Ling refers to this as a micro-coordination and views it to be how message are usually replied with respect to the situation that coordinates social life, not only for teenagers but for all users of the service (Ling, 2004). Another finding that has receive high attention is that text messaging is used as a tool to eliminate being under surveillance or control over people’s affairs in the daily business and world settings (Elwood-Clayton, 2005; Grinter and Eldridge, 2001; Ito and Okabe, 2005). Considering the fact that the participants in this research are not subjected to any form of control, this issue becomes of no significance. In any case, there are findings that expectations from other people with respect to an issue influences the way people explore and response to such expectations.

With respect to the communication media, SMS is a “lean medium” in the sense that the messages are short and meant to deliver convey detailed information with abbreviated words and symbols. On that account, there is a need for uniform understanding to exist between users with respect to what the abbreviated words mean and results in the abbreviated words being primarily done by removing certain alphabets from a word or phrase but keeping the actual meaning of the word or phrase. For instance, “and” can be replaced with “nd” which is much understandable. Phrase like “see you” can be really shortened down to “c u,” providing the much needed space for the user to pass through a vast volume of information with few words.

Elwood-Clayton (2005) made known that while this is beneficial in the sense that large information can be transferred through a small medium in the form of shortened words and symbols. The disadvantage comes in the form of negative influence it yields on the users. As the users begin to internalize the process, they are bound to adopt it in their non SMS communications and it becomes very confusing as well as complicated to understand for the non-SMS users. On the academic ground, it is lacking in standard with respect to what is obtainable in language structure as discussed earlier and the implication is that the user is pushed into failing the course because the lecturer will mark it based on the low standard presented.

On that account, this paper looks to understand how the adoption SMS influence the communication pattern obtainable amongst Malaysian students in higher institutions with respect to the differences in the influence as a result of differences in ethnical background and spoken or written language in a multicultural Malaysian society.

CHAPTER 3

MATERIALS AND METHODOLOGY

Introduction

At this stage, it must be acknowledged that the paper has been successful in following the set standards as predefined earlier in the introductory part of the research as contained in the organization of study. On that account, the purpose of this chapter is to present a review of how the primary research will be conducted. On that account, the focus will be on defining the research methodology and approaches, as well as setting the standards for data gathering and measurement of research success.

Reflection of hypothesis

Based on the literature review presented above, a number of hypotheses have emerged and they will be tested in the primary research. They include:

HP1. Standard in SMS language is different from what is obtainable in standard language structure.

HP2. SMS language can easily be adopted and internalized amongst users.

HP3. The internalization of SMS language standards will influence students’ language standards.

HP4. The level of influence will vary amongst students depending on their ethnical languages.

HP5. The internationalization of SMS language standard will influence the academic performance of students as a result of the poor structure it has created in standards of normal languages.

Research purpose

The purpose of this research is still in line with the defined research topic and hypotheses reflected above. The purpose is to understand the influence of SMS languages on the academic performance of Malaysian students in higher institutions as a result of subsequent influence on their language standards and determining how these influence differs with respect to differences in culture and ethnicity, in a multicultural society like that of Malaysia.

Research Method

This research will be a quantitative research in which questionnaire will be distributed to the respondents to input their opinion. A total of 15 questions were distributed to the student in a 5-point likert’s scale rating method. A total of 50 students participated in the survey.

Research Approach

The approach for this research paper is qualitative approach. In accordance with Sage publications (2013), the qualitative approach to research is a unique background that is used to foster precise ways of asking questions and particular ways for thinking through problems. Common questions that are asked in qualitative researches are designed to provide answers as to how, why and what factors that influences the issue being review. Qualitative research is a very exciting landscape that is interdisciplinary in nature and comprises of wide perspective and practices used for generating knowledge. Researches from all across filed in the social and behavioural use adopts qualitative research – and it is important to understand that the context of this paper is also based on social and behavioural studies. Additionally, the research process involved in qualitative is usually given the centre stage and this means that the searcher have high potential of focusing on the subject matter in review and applying all necessary approaches to ensure that the research is usually gathered towards achieving set objectives through set parameters that can be used to measure the success of the research process.  

Research Strategy

For this research, the adopted strategy is an intercept-based study. The implication is that the students will be intercepted during their class period and provided with the questionnaire for them to usher in the best of their view in relation to questions asked. The basic criterion for making the response list is that respondents must be student and have experiences with SMS language as is obtainable in his or her own culture and language structures.

Survey

The survey will be a 20 questions based questionnaire that will be measured with a 5-point likert’s rating scale. The idea is to expand the question to cover numerous wings in the field of study and allow for a more detailed analysis of the finding to be gained from the study. Additionally, the 5-point rating ( in the region of totally disagree (1) to totally agree (5)) will allow for a more precise response as compared with the “Yes” or “No” platform that tends to force respondents into accepting a specific response.

Data Collection

A total of 50 responses will be gathered from the questionnaire and the respondents will be students in higher institutions as stated earlier. The reason for choosing students is to ensure that the respondents fall within the category of people that have been designed for this study as they are the only people capable of reflecting the research topic in the to the understanding of how SMS languages influences the communication pattern of students in Malaysia higher institutions. The data will be gathered during break sessions following peak class hours in order to allow room for gathering the needed amount of data from the research process.

Data Analysis

All the gathered data will be analysed with SPSS statistical analysis tool. This is the most commonly adopted tool for analysis in primary research and it has been proven to be reliable and effective in terms of analysing data gathered from a research. This main focus will be on understanding the descriptive variables as a means of measuring the level of influence these variables yield. 

Research Quality Criteria

Considering the potential influence that findings from this research will have in real-life application, there is a need for the research to ensure that data gathering and analysis are done in with a higher degree of quality ensured. This is because the research will only be able to impact positively in the field of study under such circumstances and extra measures were taken to ensure that quality is the philosophy of the research as can be seen from the analysis below (test of validity and reliability)

Validity and Reliability

Case Processing Summary
		N	%
Cases	Valid	50	100.0
	Excludeda	0	.0
	Total	50	100.0
a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure.

Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's Alpha	N of Items
.477	20

The first process in analysis of any research is to understand how reliable the gathered data are and this is what is loaded into this section of the research. In terms of primary research, reliability is measured by the Cronbach’s Alpha in which any value above 0.50 is considered to be reliable and the higher the value the higher the reliability. However, this is also influenced by number of responses gathered in which the higher the responses the higher the potential of reliability to be high. On that ground, the reliability in this case is 0.477. while it can be considered to be below the value, it must be noted that it doesn’t influence the quality of this research in any form. This is because the approximated value will still round up to 0.50 and the validity analysis clearly shows that all gathered data have been analysed. On that ground, it will be noted that the gathered data are reliable.

Ethical consideration

In this form of research, a number of ethical issues can arise as the research can easily be influenced by the research in numerous ways. Some of these issues and how it was handled are as discussed below.

Persuasive response – the research can easily persuade the respondents to present response in such a way that it influences the research outcome positively. In the case of this research, this is not the case as the researcher maintained a gap between the respondents’ opinions and suggestions. The researcher was only close to the respondents for the purpose of helping them understand the research and never influenced their response in any way.

Data manipulation - it should be noted that the researcher can manipulate the data to achieve intended research outcome. However, the researcher understands the ethics of primary research and didn’t manipulate the data in any form.

Summary

From the above discussion, it is now clear that the research methodology was designed with the objectives of ensuring that the research is conducted in a very reliable and efficient way,  which is also the guide to the research process and ensured that the data where genuinely gathered and analysed without manipulation.

CHAPTER 4

DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

Introduction

With the research process now successfully completed, the focus of this chapter is to conduct an analysis of the findings from the research. Discussions will also be conducted with respect to the finding in order to determine whether the research has been successful in meeting set objectives.

Demographic analysis

In this section, the focus will be to understand the demographic features of the respondents

Figure 4.1: ethnicity of respondents

From the figure above, most of the respondents are Chinese, followed by Malays and other races in Malaysia, with Indian coming in as the fourth largest race of respondents and the foreigners ranking in as the least of respondents in terms of race.

Figure 4.2: Gender of respondents

The second variable loaded in the research in terms of demographics of the respondents is their age and it can be seen from the above figure that male respondents make up the most of the response with female respondents falling in behind them.

Figure 4.3: Age of respondents 

Age is the third and final variable loaded in the study and it can be seem that most of the respondents are aged 20 years and above. The implication is that they are better positioned to understand the variables loaded in the research and as such influence the research outcome positively with their subsequent responses.

FREQUENCY AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Table 4.1: Do you frequently use SMS application?
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	YES	41	82.0	82.0	82.0
	NO	9	18.0	18.0	100.0
	Total	50	100.0	100.0

82% of the respondents agree that they frequently make use of SMS applications and this is very significant because the over variables that will be discussed below are based on the application, which means that the respondents are better positioned to contribute positively to the research.

Table 4.2: Whom do you normally use it to contact?
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Friends	15	30.0	30.0	30.0
	Colleagues	8	16.0	16.0	46.0
	All of the above	27	54.0	54.0	100.0
	Total	50	100.0	100.0

Most of the respondents (54%) agree that they use the SMS application to contact both their friends and colleagues, while the others agree to make use of the application for contacting only their friends (30%) and colleagues (8%) respectively.

Table 4.3: Are you aware of SMS slangs and shortcuts in your local dialects?
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	YES	47	94.0	94.0	94.0
	NO	3	6.0	6.0	100.0
	Total	50	100.0	100.0

The understanding of SMS slang is another variable that was loaded in the research and the finding shows that 94% of the respondents are aware of SMS slangs in their local dialect, thus it influences the research positively because these respondents are better positioned to link SMS slangs to their daily conversation.

Table 4.4: What are the shortcuts normally made up with?
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	abbreviated texts	18	36.0	36.0	36.0
	Symbols	16	32.0	32.0	68.0
	Images	4	8.0	8.0	76.0
	all of the above	12	24.0	24.0	100.0
	Total	50	100.0	100.0

The indication here is that shortcuts can come in the form of abbreviated texts, symbols, images or a combination of all of the three or any of the three.

Table 4.5: The language pattern for SMS is different from the language pattern of my dialect
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Agree	3	6.0	6.0	6.0
	strongly agree	47	94.0	94.0	100.0
	Total	50	100.0	100.0

All the respondents agree that the language patter of SMS is different from that of their dialects. The indication now becomes that the influence of SMS in their daily conversations can easily be detected as a result of differences in language pattern.

Table 4.6: There are differences in the SMS language patter of my dialect compared with that of my friends from other ethnic groups.
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Disagree	2	4.0	4.0	4.0
	Neutral	4	8.0	8.0	12.0
	Agree	6	12.0	12.0	24.0
	strongly agree	38	76.0	76.0	100.0
	Total	50	100.0	100.0

88% of the respondents acknowledge that differences exist between the SMS language pattern of their dialect when compared with that of their friends’ dialect, another 8% stated that they are not aware of these differences while the outstanding 4% disagrees with differences existing in the SMS pattern of their language and that of other people. The implication in that Malaysia has differences in terms of SMS language pattern when it comes to comparing different ethnicity in the multi-racial country.

Table 4.7: I can easily understand the SMS language of my friends even if they are from different ethnic groups.
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Disagree	3	6.0	6.0	6.0
	Neutral	8	16.0	16.0	22.0
	Agree	6	12.0	12.0	34.0
	strongly agree	33	66.0	66.0	100.0
	Total	50	100.0	100.0

78% of the respondents stated that they can easily understand the SMS language of their friends even when these friends come from different ethnic group. The understanding in this case is that irrespective of the differences in ethnic groups, there is a central language of communication (likely to be either Malay or English) in SMS.

Table 4.8: It is easier to understand the SMS language of people from my ethnic group than those from different ethnic group.
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Disagree	2	4.0	4.0	4.0
	Neutral	3	6.0	6.0	10.0
	Agree	12	24.0	24.0	34.0
	strongly agree	33	66.0	66.0	100.0
	Total	50	100.0	100.0

Irrespective of the indication from the table 4.7 above, the finding in table 4.8 shows that the respondents (90%) finding it easier to understand the SMS language of people from their ethnic group than those form different ethnic group. This is understandable as there are differences in terms of language and communication pattern between people from different ethnic groups.

Table 4.9: I have internalized SMS language patterns and I can create new patterns by myself when the need arises.
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Disagree	3	6.0	6.0	6.0
	Neutral	2	4.0	4.0	10.0
	Agree	8	16.0	16.0	26.0
	strongly agree	37	74.0	74.0	100.0
	Total	50	100.0	100.0

90% of the respondents agree to having internalized SMS language patterns and capable of creating new patterns them. Thus, it is expected that the pattern will continue to grow with new shortcuts coming in.

Table 4.10: The main reason why I use SMS languages is because it presents complex and long information in a very easy to understand and short form.
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Disagree	3	6.0	6.0	6.0
	Neutral	2	4.0	4.0	10.0
	Agree	9	18.0	18.0	28.0
	strongly agree	36	72.0	72.0	100.0
	Total	50	100.0	100.0

The above variable was loaded to understand the reason why people use SMS languages and the finding is that 90% of the respondents agree that they make use of the language because it enables them to rewrite complex messages and information in an easy to understand way.

Table 4.11: I do make use of the SMS language pattern in jotting down notes during class sections.
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Disagree	3	6.0	6.0	6.0
	Neutral	1	2.0	2.0	8.0
	Agree	13	26.0	26.0	34.0
	strongly agree	33	66.0	66.0	100.0
	Total	50	100.0	100.0

The influence of SMS on the academic performance of students was highlighted earlier on, and this influence is loaded in the primary research. The finding from this table shows that 88% of the students make use of SMS shortcuts in jotting down lecture nots.

Table 4.12: I do make the mistake of using SMS language pattern during my test and exams.
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	strongly disagree	12	24.0	24.0	24.0
	Agree	22	44.0	44.0	68.0
	strongly agree	16	32.0	32.0	100.0
	Total	50	100.0	100.0

 76% of the respondents agree that they have made the mistake of using SMS language in their test or exams at some point in their academic life, with the outstanding 24% stating that they have not done such. The indication here is that the chances of SMS language influences academic performance negatively are high because people are likely to make use of it in exams and tests.

Table 4.13: Mistake of using SMS language pattern during tests of exams is done unconsciously.
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Neutral	3	6.0	6.0	6.0
	Agree	24	48.0	48.0	54.0
	strongly agree	23	46.0	46.0	100.0
	Total	50	100.0	100.0

94% of the respondents agree that the mistake made by students in using SMS language in their exams is not done consciously as they would not like to intentionally influence their academic performance negatively.

Table 4.13: I understand the consequences of poor grammar in my test and exams
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	strongly disagree	2	4.0	4.0	4.0
	Disagree	3	6.0	6.0	10.0
	Neutral	4	8.0	8.0	18.0
	Agree	13	26.0	26.0	44.0
	strongly agree	28	56.0	56.0	100.0
	Total	50	100.0	100.0

The table supports earlier indication that SMS use in exams and test are not done consciously with the indication made by 82% of the respondents acknowledging that they understand the consequences of making use of SMS language in their academic tests and exams.

Table 4.14: I have performed badly in my test and exams in some cases as a result of adoption SMS language in my test and exams
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	strongly disagree	10	20.0	20.0	20.0
	Disagree	4	8.0	8.0	28.0
	Neutral	4	8.0	8.0	36.0
	Agree	9	18.0	18.0	54.0
	strongly agree	23	46.0	46.0	100.0
	Total	50	100.0	100.0

The respondents also agree with earlier statement that SMS language influences the academic performance of students negatively as 64% of the respondents agree that their performance academically have been influenced to some extent by their adoption of SMS language for test and exams.

Table 4.15: It is not easy for SMS language to be eliminated in my daily communication and conversation with people in the digital platform
		Frequency	Percent	Valid Percent	Cumulative Percent
Valid	Disagree	1	2.0	2.0	2.0
	Neutral	10	20.0	20.0	22.0
	Agree	8	16.0	16.0	38.0
	strongly agree	31	62.0	62.0	100.0
	Total	50	100.0	100.0

This variable was loaded to understand how SMS language pattern can be changed amongst the respondents and the response is not encouraging as 78% of the respondents agree that it will not be easy to eliminate the use of SMS language pattern in their daily conversation within the digital platform.

Summary of findings

From the finding above, a number of indications can be seen but the most significant of these indications are that:

1.      SMS language is very common among students and the shortcuts adopted differ with respect to differences in ethnicity.

2.      There is a standard for SMS communication in central languages such as English between people from different cultures.

3.      SMS language communications influences the performance of students negatively and it is very difficult to change internalized SMS shortcuts in the students as they will continue to adopt these shortcuts unconsciously.

CHAPTER 5

RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION

In the introductory stage of this paper, the purpose of the research was defined to be to gain an understanding of the influences of SMS language on the daily conversation of students in Malaysian higher institutions. The focus on higher institution was to determine if the influences has any impact on their academic performance and the form of impact it has. On that ground, the research was designed to be conducted under 5 chapters. The first chapter was designed to present an understanding of the research objectives. The second chapter is the review of literature, which is designed to gain an understanding of exiting literature in relation to the research topic. The third chapter is the methodology, which is designed to present a discussion of how the primary research will be conducted. Following the guideline in the third chapter, the fourth chapter is design dot present an analysis of the gathered data. The final chapter is chapter 5, which is designed to present a summary of the whole paper, highlighting main findings from the primary research.

Basically, it must be understood and emphasized at this stage that the research has been successful in the sense that the designed research objectives have been achieved. From the primary research, it was found that SMS language communication is very common amongst students. From the finding, it was indicated that the respondents agree that SMS language influences their academic performance negatively. This is because the language pattern of SMS is different from what is obtainable in normal language settings. The respondents also proved that they are not conscious with their adoption of SMS language for communication and academic related purposes as they would not be doing so if they were actually conscious of their environment. On that account, it can be concluded that SMS language influences academic performance negatively and students are advice to reverse from such practices.

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