We were surprised to learn that not only was the association strong, but that textism use was actually driving the development of phonological awareness and reading skill in children.

Texting also appears to be a valuable form of contact with written English for many children, which enables them to practice reading and spelling on a daily basis.”

Texting and it’s impact on reading and writing “It turns out that the best texters, are the best spellers.” “The more you text, the better your literacy scores.” “The earlier you get your mobile phone, the better your literacy scores.” “What is texting?  Texting is writing and reading.” “The more practice you get in writing and reading, the better writer and reader you will be.” One of the additional things he discussed in this talk was that we often say, “These kids do not read,” but he quickly dismisses this as a fallacy.  In fact, Crystal goes further to say that kids that text read more than what we did as children because they have more access to writing.  Simply put, they do not read and write the same things that we did.  Looking at my own situation, I have actually read more “books” in the last little while than I ever have, as I carry around a huge book collection all the time on my iPhone and/or iPad.  The ease of access makes it a lot easier for me to read whether it is blogs, books, or yes, text messages and tweets.

And a new study from California State University researchers has found that texting can improve teens' writing in informal essays and many other writing assignments.

"Texting-speak is not a mangled form of English that is degrading proper language but instead a kind of 'pidgin' language all its own that actually stretches teens' language skills."

some teachers say that texting has educational tie-ins and that it can teach positive language skills, the Charlotte Observer in North Carolina