Notes

CHICAGO, Illinois (Achieve3000, July 31, 2012). Anna Schiferl hadn't even rolled out of bed when she reached for her cell phone and typed a text to her mom who was right downstairs in the kitchen. What was the message? Anna wanted sweet rolls for breakfast.

Soon after, the 13-year-old could hear her mom's voice. "Anna," Joanna Schiferl called, "if you want to talk to me, you come downstairs!"

Anna laughs about it now. "I was kind of being lazy," she admitted. "I know that sounds horrible." Well, maybe it's not horrible. But it's certainly increasingly common.

Statistics from the Pew Internet & American Life Project show that these days many people with cell phones prefer texting over a phone call. It's not only young people who are texting. Still, data shows that the younger you are, the more likely you are to text.

Some would argue that this is no big deal. We are communicating. What difference does it make which method we choose to use?

But many experts say the most successful communicators have the ability to both talk and text. They also know the best times to use those skills. They fear that more of us are losing the ability to have the traditional face-to-face conversations. Those conversations are very important in personal relationships.

"It is an art that's becoming as valuable as good writing," said Janet Sternberg. Sternberg is a linguist and professor of communication studies in New York.

In the worst cases, Sternberg has noticed that students don't look her in the eye. They also have trouble with the basics of direct conversation. These are habits, she says, that will not serve them well as they enter a world where many still expect an in-person conversation, or at the very least a phone call.

Do teens and young adults hate to talk on the phone? Not really, says Lisa Auster-Gussman, a student at the University of Richmond in Virginia. They just like texting more. In this day and age, it's just what you do.

Of course, many experts say, there is nothing wrong with casual conversation and fun among friends. One could argue that many texts each day keep people more connected. The problem is that the subject matter of these texting conversations tends to be shallow.

"We [don't like to have important] conversations, [and] we...do what we can to avoid them," said Joseph Grenny. Grenny is co-author of a book about how to have important conversations.

Is there anything we can do to improve the communication habits of young people who enjoy texting?

Mary Ann Allison is a professor at Hofstra University. She has her students keep a log of their communication habits.

"By paying attention to it, they say, 'Wow, it's a really different conversation when you're talking with someone and listening to them,'" Allison said. They key in on body language, expressions, and what the voice sounds like. All of those are clues that you lose when you can't see or hear someone.

Meanwhile, Sternberg asks her students to give up one form of electronic communication. She wants them to see what kind of difference it makes in their lives.

She also has students practice simple tasks, such as standing up in a room full of people and introducing themselves. Many of them hate the drill, she says. Later, though, they'll tell her how useful it was, especially in the workplace.

Grenny suggests that parents model proper communication for their children and put down their own mobile devices. He says they should also set limits. That's what Joanna Schiferl did when she made the "no texting to people under the same roof" rule.

Of course, even a mom sometimes breaks her own rules. Like when Joanna caught Anna on Facebook when she was supposed to be doing homework.

"I texted her from downstairs," Joanna said, chuckling, "just to bust her."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Dig Deeper
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Photo credit: AP/Sue Ogrocki, File
Fifth graders from the Cherokee Nation Immersion School in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, try out an app for texting in the Cherokee language.
In the Article, you read about concerns that texting may affect teens' abilities to communicate face to face. Many people are worried that technology may break down communication. But technology is also being used to preserve languages that are in danger of disappearing.

Experts say that a growing number of Native American tribes use technology to save their languages. Why? About 200 Native American languages are spoken in the U.S. and Canada. Another 100 are already extinct. In the early 1990s, only 11 percent of tribal languages were still being passed from parents to children. Most of those who spoke these languages were middle-aged or older. Many people believe that the only way to save the languages is to get young people interested. And that may mean using technology.

"The world is moving so fast with technology, and our youth are the ones who are going to carry the language on," said Lewis "Bleu" St. Cyr.

St. Cyr works as a media specialist for the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska's Ho-Chunk Renaissance Program. He finds creative ways to bring the Ho-Chunk language back to life. He's created a language quiz game based on the TV game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? He's used Facebook and YouTube videos to get young people engaged. St. Cyr's latest project is a Ho-Chunk language-learning app. The app could be used by the 2,600 tribal members who live on the Ho-Chunk reservation. It could also be used by those who have moved away.

Such apps work well. Why is this? They use technology that most young people already know about. Don Thornton runs Thornton Media. The company develops tools to preserve native languages. There are translation devices, talking toys in native languages, and other tools. But Thornton says the biggest success has been custom apps for iPads and iPhones. That's because apps are easy to make available to everyone.

They're also easy to develop. Thornton and his wife made their first language app, which teaches Cherokee, in 2009. Since then, they have worked with 170 different tribes and 70 or 80 languages. Thornton Media gets tribe members to record native speakers. In about four days, the company records the language into a 500-word or phrase app. It can also add traditional songs and photos to the app. The cost is about $22,000.

Next, the company wants to develop a video game. Players would use a native language in a virtual world. The first one would be in Cherokee, which is spoken by about 12,000 people ages 5 and up.

People who care about saving languages like the new technology. Still, they say it's just one part. A person cannot learn a language by using an app a few times a week. The best way is to use the language. Inee Slaughter runs the Indigenous Language Institute. She says there should also be language classes. And communities should use tribal languages in daily life.

Slaughter says that she has seen growing interest in learning tribal languages. This has happened in the past two decades. She finds it very encouraging.

Louise Davis was almost tearful when she described hearing people using the language of her Pit River tribe for the first time. Davis was so moved that she decided to teach the language to her children. She uses flashcards at home with them.

"You can say things in our language that you can't say in English," Davis said. While testing out a language app in February 2013, she couldn't wait to see it being used among young people in the tribe.

"To know your native language connects you to your community and your history," Slaughter said. "In the long run, you are helping your community [keep] that cultural identity."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.