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Formal and Informal Communication Page 1 An Examination of How Undergraduate Students Respond to Formal and Informal Communication from a University Brian K Huonker Department of Communication Box 4480 Illinois State University Normal, IL 61790

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Formal and Informal Communication Page 1

An Examination of How Undergraduate Students Respond to

Formal and Informal Communication from a University

Brian K Huonker

Department of Communication

Box 4480

Illinois State University

Normal, IL 61790

Formal and Informal Communication Page 2

Abstract

With communication accommodation theory as its main conceptual framework, this paper will

examine two types of communication ­ formal and informal ­ in order to discover which languages

resonate more successfully with the millennial generation. It also addresses which type of

communication has greater success in influencing the decision as to which university to attend. This is in

response to a marketing and advertising professionals belief that millennial student responds more

positively if spoken to in their own style of grammar. This study will attempt to show that the opposite is

true, that millennial students prefer to read communication from groups outside their in group in more

formal language. This study does not break down the survey takers by age, ethnicity, culture, and

region, and other personality traits, further studies can to gain a more detail understanding based upon

those traits.

Introduction

In today’s world, marketers are finding it more difficult to communicate with their intended

audiences. Those audiences more becoming more culturally diverse, further distracted, and increasingly

well educated. In conjunction with this, the downturn in the economy has restricted the amount of

disposable income available, causing potential audiences to examine their spending habits. In an effort

to combat this, marketing professionals are constructing their messages more creatively in hopes of

grabbing the attention of the intended audience.

An example of this is in the type of language used. Marketing professionals are adapting their

language to reflect the tone, the grammar, and the general attitude of the target. This is an attempt by

Formal and Informal Communication Page 3

the marketing professional to present their client, their product, or their idea as being part of the target

audience’s in­group. In the case of higher education, this forces the question: Does that make the

university seem hip and cool or cheap and unqualified? This distinction is important because with the

economy in turmoil and many families facing an uncertainty, there is an increasing demand for higher

education (Kodde, 1986). Berger (1988a) states that today’s upcoming university student is making

degree choices that lead to occupations enabling them to have greater earning potential over their entire

professional career. Students perceive certain universities (and their majors) as a method to give them

the training and skills needed to enter an occupation that will give them higher pay and more

employment security.

This greater desire for higher education is being buffered buy the transformation of students into

academic shoppers or consumers (Riesman, 1980), preferring vocational, occupational, or professional

courses to the more traditional liberal arts courses. The potential student is shopping around more than

ever, comparing different universities to determine which one will get them the greatest outcome for the

cheapest cost. Universities are also facing decreased financial support from states that are facing budget

shortfalls; California, Arizona and Illinois face budget gaps above 40% of the projected general fund

spending (Bar 2010). Operating on decreasing budgets, university marketing departments are still

expected to reach the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in US History (Howe & Strauss

2003) in order to make target enrollment numbers. To achieve this, they are picking up on consumer

marketing’s trend of utilizing youthful, hip and cool language in their materials in a effort to gain

acceptance in the target audience’s in­group.

This study will examine the reactions of prospective students to a series of potential university

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marketing materials. These materials contain two different types of language including formal and

informal. Follow review of the marketing material, the prospective student the study will be asked how

likely they would choose to attend the university. Afterwards, the results are compared to see if there is

a relation between the type of language used on marketing material and the decision to attend the

university

Review of Literature

In order to understand what form of communication students prefer, we must understand the

theory related to communication accommodation and then specify more clearly the different forms of

codes used by specific cultures in specific situations.

Communication Accommodation Theory

Accommodation, in theoretical sense, refers to how communicators make themselves similar to

the target groups or information receivers in order to improve communication (Giles et al., 1991; Galois

& Callan, 1991). In short, to change the manner in which they are speaking or accommodate their

speech in such a way to gain approval or disapproval from their audience (Giles & Smith’s, 1979).

Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT) represents a unique framework for understanding how

individuals react to communication attempts by persons who differ from themselves (Green, 1999;

Holland & Gentry, 1999). Using the theory, one can predicts that accommodation of a culture language

and patterns leads to positive communication outcomes (Gevorgyan, 2010). In particular, if the speech,

attitudinal, and behavioral patterns of one group (A) become similar to those of another group (B), the

likelihood that group B will favorable and positively evaluate group A goes up (Giles et al., 1991).

Run and Gray (2003) argue most advertisements utilize the dominant ethnic group’s

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cultural cues in order to enable the dominant group to process the messages easily. However, if

the dominant group sees advertisements that target minority groups, they will process them based

on their knowledge of the subculture. In order to accommodate to their intended audience, marketers

may change their speaking habits or language in order to emphasize these cultural cues.

Bernstein Hypothesis

Basil Bernstein proposes the argument that the use of linguistic codes is closely related to the

social structure of a particular culture (Bernstein, 1966). Bernstein differentiates between language,

what is possible to do, and speech, what is actually happening at the time. He goes on to distinguish

between two different types of speech codes including restricted and elaborated. Elaborated code

pertains to the more descriptive languages used by low­context or individualistic cultures, which has a

low predictability and specific meaning in words. Neulip (2006) states that it is used among cultures in

which meaning must be spelled out, where many different possible communication behaviors are

possible in a given situation, such as in more individualistic cultures.

More central to this paper is restricted code. Generally, restricted code is speech used only by

certain members of a culture. It restricts speech in a way that separates the speaker’s status by allowing

only certain linguistic options. Restricted code is often used in high­context or collectivistic cultures to

preserve social status. The typical 18­21 year old teenager, referred to as the millennial generation,

often speak in a restricted code.

For our research, there are two main groups of people, digital natives and immigrants. Prensky

(2005/2006) termed current adolescents as digital natives because computers and the Internet have

generally been part of their home and school lives. In contrast, those whose lives have not been

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completely immersed in technology are termed as digital immigrants. According to Considine et al.

(2009), digital immigrants, those born before the rapid infusion of digital technology, always speak with

an accent and struggle to learn and apply new Information Communication Technology (ICT).

Digital natives, currently adolescents, are the group being targeted by universities. According to

Fortman (2003), it is evident language plays a significant role in defining adolescent social identity. By

using language that is idiosyncratic and unique to the age group, it appears young people learn to define

themselves, at least in part, through verbal interaction with others. However, despite a distinctiveness of

vocabulary, there is research to suggest the outcomes of those interactions are often dependent as much

on the situation or context of the interaction as on the communication skills of the individuals concerned

(Drury, Catan, Dennison, & Brody, 1998).

The average teenage person speaks in their own restricted code that those outside of their

culture cannot understand. Some examples of this include slang terms such as calling something “phat”

(pronounced as fat) referring to something positive or texting shortcuts such as “TTYL” which is an

acronym for the phrase “talk to you later.” Knowing this language provides them social status as being a

part of a certain generation or culture, which in turn raises them to a higher social status in the group

Also important to note is Bernstein’s claim that the situational context dictates the type of

language used. The speech system or linguistic code, itself a function of the social structure, marks out

selectively for the individual what is relevant in the environment (Bernstein, 1966). Generally, this means

the speaker would typically change the language to either formal or informal depending on the type of

situation. The principles of choice originally elicit, progressively strengthen, and finally stabilize the

planning procedures an individual uses in the preparation of his speech and guide his orientation to the

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speech of others (Bernstein, 1966). Bernstein goes on to note in these specific principles of choice, the

canons which regulate selections, entail from the point of view of the speakers and listeners planning

procedures which guide the speakers in the preparation of their speech and which guide the listeners in

the reception of speech.

It is important to learn more about the millennial generation to explain their perception of certain

situations as being formal or informal, in turn how they choose to interpret material from the prospective

university.

Millennial Generation

Generation Y is the name given to the most recent demographic group to have entered higher

education. The start and end dates, which define the parameters of Generation Y, vary from beginning

dates of 1977­1982 to ending dates of 1994­2003 (Shih & Allen, 2007). Howe and Strauss (2000)

use the term “millennial” to describe those people whose birth years fall between 1982 and 2000.

According to Loda and Coleman (2010), the millennial generation is known to be the

best­educated generation in American history. It is also the most culturally diverse with as high as 30%

representing ethnic minorities. About 25% grew up in single­family households, and approximately 75%

had a working mother (Neuborne & Kerwin, 1999).

While “Generation Y” and “millennial” remain the two most common designations, other terms

have been suggested such as “The Net Generation,” the “Dot­Coms,” the “Echo­Boomers,” the

“iGeneration,” the “Me Generation,” “Generation–D(igital),” and the “Nexters.” Not only do millennials

look different with their body piercing, tattoos, lack of wrist watch and their electronic decorations –

iPods, Blackberrys and laptops (Hira, 2007) – but they behave and think differently as well (Shaw &

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Fairhurst, 2008).

In the millennial generation, there is a general decline in social trust, whether it be trust in their

fellow citizens, established institutions, or elected officials (Halstead, 1999). Millennials are described

as confident, independent and individualistic, self reliant and entrepreneurial (Martin 2005) and at the

same time socially active, collaborative, team oriented and used to having structure in their lives as a

result of the type of parenting they have received (Glass, 2007; Shih & Allen, 2007). They seek work

life balance and if forced will select family and friends over work (Crumpacker & Crumpacker, 2007).

Consumers grow up in a particular culture and, over time, become accustomed to that culture’s

norms and beliefs (Aaker & Williams, 1998; Naylor, 1996; Taylor, 1970). Millennials have a culture of

their own. Cultural values, norms and beliefs are what shape people’s lives from making choices about

what to eat to where to attend college. Cultural values are a powerful force shaping people’s lifestyles,

motivations, and even product choices (Tse, Belk, & Zhou, 1989; Zhang, 1996).

This paper will explore the preferences of prospective students pertaining to written

communication. The results may have implications for how universities should communicate to

perspective millennial­aged students in order to gain their trust and to accommodate to their

preferences.

Research Question and Hypothesis

The question this paper addresses is: which type of language millennials prefer and which will

increase the likelihood of a prospective millennial choosing the preferred university? The language being

studied is a formal style of communication (one that contains proper grammar) and a more informal style

(one that attempts to talk to them as if the university was their friend.

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Currently, within the university marketing community there is debate on how to communicate

with the new technology savvy, socially active, millennial generation. One group believes that by

accommodating millennials, that is utilizing their restricted code language to create a conduit of

communication, the university presents itself positively. The other side believes that because of the

structure upbringing of the millennial generation and formal situation presented in the admissions process,

millennials prefer a more formal style of communication in order to allow trust to develop.

H1: Millennials prefer formal language in correspondence from a university

We hypothesize the millennials will prefer a more formal language on the marketing materials

they receive from a university. This is in part due to a general lack of trust in advertising (Tower, 2006)

coupled with the fact millennials are consuming an average 8.5 hours of media content (advertisements,

blogs, chat messages, text message, news feeds, etc…) each day in only 6.5 hours (Tower, 2006)

creating a desire to not be bothered with unnecessary information (Stevenson, 2007).

H2: Formal language in marketing material will increase the likelihood of a millennial choosing to go to

that university.

By utilizing a more formal language in marketing materials that and not bogging the prospected

student down in restricted code, trust can be established that will lead to a greater number of students

considering attendance to the university.

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Methods

The research presented here took the form of an experimental design. For the independent

variable, prospective student marketing materials from a respected university will be utilized,

manipulated in such a fashion to remove all identifiable identification from the images. Further, the

marketing material utilized formal and informal language. The dependent variables in this survey took

the form of participant responses to 15 adjectives and a question on how likely they would attend the

university.

Participant

The sample will consist of at least 240 high school students who are between the ages of 16 and

18. These high school students have also stated they will be attending a college or university but have

not yet decided on which one to attend. This will ensure that at least 40 high school students will view

each of the marketing materials one time. The prospective participant will be selected from a cluster of

local high schools and will be selected using a random number generator (Wimmer & Dominick, 2002;

Kerlinger, 1986). Following selection, they will receive an email inviting them to take the online survey,

answering a few questions about a single piece of marketing material that would only take 5 minutes of

their time. The study will also collect the participants GPA scores, ethnicity and gender, but this study

will not utilize this information.

Study Design

To manipulate the independent variable, language choice, marketing materials from a university

that reflects of the types of materials sent to prospective students will be utilized. From those pieces,

three of the most common types of recruitment literature: a letter, a postcard, and a website will be

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selected. All university identifiers from the three pieces (logos, colors, pictures with identifiable

landmarks) will be removed to prevent cuing a specific university in the minds of students, thus reducing

the possibility of bias.

The marketing materials utilized in the survey will already in use by a university. They contained

language that is formal and conforming to the Associated Press guidelines. For this series, the language

will be left alone except all reference to the specific university will be removed, replacing it with simply

“university”. Then an exact copy of all three pieces will be created. In the second series of messages,

the language will be changed to a more informal style. Informal language is defined as language that

utilizes the vernacular of 16 – 18 year olds, that is a millennial restricted code. To prevent one form of

communication from influencing the results of another, each participant will only view one of the six

pieces of marketing materials.

The marketing materials utilized will be:

1. Postcard: the participant will see the front of a postcard. It contains an image of a student

studying in a library environment, sitting on the floor between stacks of books, and wearing

casual clothes. Below the image is the headline. Off to the side of the image, in an inset

box, the participant sees the backside of the card. The copy on the back of the card talks

about the benefits of selecting the university and a call to action that drives the reader to the

web site for more information.

Informal Postcard: In this version, the headline on the front side will read

“learn2play”, following the way the millennial generation shortens words to make

them easier to text. The backside of the post card will read “We’ll teach ya” with

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reworded body copy, continuing the grammatically incorrect style.

Formal Postcard: In this version, the headline will read “Gladly we learn.” The

backside of the postcard will contain a headline “And teach. It’s more than just our

motto”. The supporting copy will be in the Associated Press style and proper

grammar.

2. Sample letter sent to a perspective student. This letter will contain images from university

life around the border of the letter. The content of the letter is a message from a student that

talks about how the decision on which college to go to is a scary one. It also states that the

letter writer had the exact same fears, but after three years at college, it was the best

decision he ever made. Afterwards, the letter encourages readers to visit the university,

enjoy their senior year, and ends with a signature from a current student in junior status at

that university.

1. Informal Letter: The informal letter opens with “Let me tell ya, I’ve been there.” It

continues with grammatically incorrect, conversational style of writing. It ends with

the verbiage “Oh and one more thing. Your senior year is your last before your

college life begins. Enjoy it, it will be over before you know it.”

2. Formal Letter: The formal letter opens with “Just a few short years ago, I was in the

same place as you’re in today.” It continues in a grammatically correct narrative

from the perspective of a junior in college. It ends with “Just one more bit of

advice–take the time to relax and enjoy every minute of your senior year. It will be

over before you know it.”

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3. Website marketing material will be a standard collegiate web site layout. The main image

across the top of the page is of a graduating class at commencement. The focus will be on a

female smiling and looking in the direction of the headline text. Below the main image are

three columns of information. The left column has a headline of apply with copy talking

about the application process. The middle column contains copy talking about the campus

visit. The right had column contains a series of three small ads that remained consistent in

both pieces.

Informal Web site” The headline reads, “epcellant experiences”, a phrase made

popular by the ban Vegas Baby Chat Room. The bottom column contained the

subheads “Time is short”, “Kick it up this summer” and “Swing it to bring it.”

Formal Web site: The headline reads, “Dreams to reality”. The bottom column

contains the subheads “Spring 2011”, “Your next steps”, and “Experience your

university”.

The dependent variables consisted of general impressions of the university and the likelihood of

choosing a university. To determine general attitudes, each participant rate his or her reactions to a

message on 15 randomly ordered adjectives on a 5­point semantic differential scale

(ineffective­effective). Semantic differential scales will be utilized because they are referred to as

“pancultural” measures, appropriate for counting similar traits in cross­cultural research (Osgood, May,

& Miron, 1975). The survey will direct participants to rate each adjective in terms of how effectively it

described the message viewed.

The adjectives gauged attitudes on three standard dimensions of a semantic differential scale,

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potency, activity, and evaluation (Smith, 1988). Table one outlines the three categories.

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Table 1

Three Subset

Categories

Power Activity Perception/evaluationintegrity active coldheavy excitable impersonalhard fast confidentsimple relaxed positiveexpert quiet pleasantstrength energetic robust

Last, to determine students’ likelihood to choose the university, the survey then asked the participants if

they would consider this university if graduating from high school and exploring possible options on the

same 5­point semantic differential scale (not probable­probable).

Data Analysis

For the dependent variable, the 15 questions will be divided into three subscales: power, activity

and perception. The power subscale included the variables for integrity, heavy, hard, simple, expert,

and strength. The second subscale, activity, included the variables for active, excitable, fast, relaxed,

quiet, and energetic. Last, the perception subscale included the variables for cold, impersonal,

confident, positive, pleasant, and robust. Computing Independent sample t­tests, the differences will be

determined between the independent variable of formal and informal message and see of they impact on

the dependent variable of the three subscales, as well as on general likelihood to attend the university.

Discussion

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In today’s economic environment, university administrators have little choice but to impose hefty

tuition increases or reduce the number of classes and services offered on campus in order to balance the

university budgets (Clark, 2010). From academic year 1982­1983 to 2002­2003, the average cost of

tuition, fees, room, and board for full­time undergraduates at four­year public colleges and universities

increased from $3,196 to $10,636 (The College Board, 2003a and U.S. Department of Education,

2003). This increased college cost is making it difficult to recruit students, especially in today’s

economic environment.

At the same time, students themselves are becoming educated consumers. They are shopping

around to discover which university is going to be an investment for the permanent lifestyle they wish to

lead tomorrow (Howe & Strauss, 2000). This has forced universities to change the marketing methods.

This includes learning the restricted code language of the millennial generation. This is no easy task, as it

requires learning a new language.

Hymes (1972) theorizes that fluency does not occur when a language learner understands the

terms and grammar rules, but when he or she understands what is meant by a particular term, phrase for

a specific purpose in his idea of Communicative Competence. This emphasizes the difficulty for digital

immigrants to truly learn the millennials’ restricted code. Gumperz (1997) takes this a step further and

states individuals need to be able to develop communicative competence for a diverse set of situations in

order to navigate increasingly diverse culture. Using this information, it is almost impossible to learn the

entire restricted code of a particular culture in a short time frame to come up with a marketing program,

as this code or language is what digital natives have developed together over the entire course of their

young lives.

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Even so, marketing professionals might not need to fully learn the language of a certain culture.

Sometimes they may dumb down their literature to seem not exactly the same, but just more similar to

the consumer or student. Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg uses the phrase “Faux Bubba” to illustrate the

techniques politicians use in order to endear themselves to the voters (Benson, 2004; Nunberg, 2004).

This technique involves skillful use of grammatically incorrect spoken English to create a sort of bond

with a geographical region or specific cultural group. “For example, if George Bush used terms like

“nucular” or John Kerry expressed his excitement about a new political “idear,” these highly educated

leaders used the mispronunciation of common words as a way to construct a common man’s identity.

Nunberg’s (2004) suggestion that these men engaged in the construction of a “Faux Bubba” identity

provides a useful example of how selecting any genre of language is an inherently sociopolitical act.”

These “Faux Bubba” phrases often come across in the form of slang. Slang is an informal

register found in languages. It is concerned with the use of trendy or nonstandard words in order to

distinguish group membership (O’Grady & Archibald, 2004). Universities may be tempted to pick up

on the communication styles of today’s youth in order to create a in­group link. Once established, the

universities are hoping that it will give them an edge above other universities in the recruitment process.

One issue with this is that some prospective students will not have the cultural background to

understand the connotation of the particular statement. In the case of the phrase “epcellant experiences”

used in our marketing material, some will view that as a misspelling of the phrase “excellent

experiences”. But for listeners of the band Vegas Baby Chat Room, popular amongst today’s youth,

“epcellant” is a combination of the words epic and excellent. The combining of the words and adding a

faux bubba phrase of “experiences” is meant to create an instant similarity between the university and

Formal and Informal Communication Page 18

the prospective student. Unfortunately, it creates a negative effect. For those not familiar with the band,

it comes across as a mistake. For those familiar with the band, it has the opposite effect as well, since

they are not expecting to see that type of language in a formal situation.

As the hypothesis states, the study will show prospective students prefer a formal language in

formal situations. Even though they may speak to their family and friends in informal language, they still

prefer formal language in a formal setting. For the area of power status and potency, the study will

show the formal materials rate much higher. Because of this higher rating, university is seen as a leader,

and since the millennial generation is used to following the leader from their strong parental presence,

this attracts them to the university.

When university marketers apply this informal language to the millennial generation, it has an

opportunity to create a sense of confusion, ultimately leading to a lack of trust. Lack of trust with

established institutions is already an issue. Those two combined will most likely be detrimental to the

perspective student’s view of that university. Most youth expect to be equals, not talked down to or

patronized. They typically do not wish to see their personal language misused to try to encourage them

to do anything, especially since they see media and advertisements constantly throughout they day.

Future Study

Future studies can explore this topic in more detail, and from different angles. First, the survey

could be given to more participants to allow closer examination and comparison of each of different sets

of marketing materials. Do millennials accept a more informal style of communication in postcards but a

more formal style of communication in websites?

Demographics could be examined further. The survey can also ask participants to reveal other

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variables like their age, their location, their ethnicity and others. This would help to determine if their

environment or ethnic background play a factor in determining the expectations of formality in language

and how each group compares to each other.

The imagery in each of the three types of marketing materials can also be adjusted to match

each of the three types of adjectives. For example, images can be found that represent power

status/potency, activity, and perception/evaluation. Since we are visual society, this would allow us to

determine how the image affects the perception of the formal or informal language.

In a theoretical sense, this paper could be expanded to include the Social Identity Theory, which

states in general that individuals base their identity on membership in certain groups. Defining the

university as one group and the prospective students as another provides more details describing

expectations of each group.

Conclusion

The Internet has opened the door to an immense amount of information at a student’s fingertips,

available anywhere and at any time. The group orientation of millennials, combined with advances in

technology, has increased levels of interconnection among this generation (Howe & Strauss, 2000).

While at first, the success of millennial students appears to be a gold mine for recruiting, it is

important to realize most schools will now have an opportunity to recruit higher achieving students.

Highlighting a balance of top­notch academics as well as a strong and diverse community and solid

infrastructure for student activities will be important (Howe & Strauss, 2000). This attempt to recruit

the higher achieving student couple with the students adept for technology has put pressure on

marketers to gain their attention and develop trust.

Formal and Informal Communication Page 20

The attempt to accommodate the student by trying to talk in their code has created a backlash

in the desired results. The students do not wish for us to appear as one of their friends, but instead, they

wish for use to appear as educated, professionals who understand their particular needs and then can

provide them with the necessary tools to help these digital natives attain their life goals.

Formal and Informal Communication Page 21

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