A 10 lesson unit comprising of a 68 slide PowerPoint, 9 different worksheets (including texts for analysis) exploring the topic of Language and Technology and a summary terminology and theory sheet.
Each lesson includes a starting discussion prompt which acts as a learning objective, detailed notes on the theories and concepts listed below, a worksheet (with the exception of lesson nine) and activities, and a homework task. The following theories and concepts are covered:
- Hiltz and Turoff – CMC (1978)
- Emmanuel Schegloff – Telephone conversation structure (1986)
- David Crystal – Textspeak (2004)
- Celia Klin – The role of full stops in text messages (2015)
- David Crystal – Netspeak (2004 and 2008)
- Eric Partridge – Dictionary of Abbreviations (1942)
- Crispin Thurlow – Sociolinguistic functions of text messages (2003)
- Tim Shortis – The Language of ICT (2000)
- John McWhorter – Fingered speech and texting (2013)
- Elizabeth Eisenstein – The Printing Press (1983)
- Jeff Jarvis – the positive impact of the internet on language (2023)
- Susan Herring – CMC and CMDA (2018)
- Christopher Werry – IRC and Netiquette (1996)
- Condon and Čech – E-mail discourse (2010)
- Amanda Roig-Marin – Cyber-neologism blends (2016)
- Evelyn Nien-Ming Ch’ien – The Democratization of English (2004)
- Hyejeong Ahn and Jieun Kiaer – Korean Pop Culture Words (2021)
- Philip Seargeant – The Emoji Revolution (2019)
- Michele Zappavigna and Lorenzo Logi – Emoji and Social Media Paralanguage (2024)
- danah boyd – It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens (2004)
- Gretchen McCulloch – Because Internet (2022)
There are some references to AQA-style A Level specification questions, but you can adapt these if needs be. These can be found on slides 57-65. Lesson 9 is based on an AQA A Level question.
The final lesson is a consolidation activity complete with guided revision cards. Alternatively, you could use an app such as Quizlet so that the students could produce digital revision resources.
