By By Adebola Karamah Shogbuyi, PhD
If your primary tool for exchanging important information is WhatsApp, you might be getting by, but may be limiting yourself in ways you do not realise yet.
“I’ll send a quick message or voice note on WhatsApp” should not be your default response to every professional request, otherwise, you might be walking on thin ice.
No denying the fact that WhatsApp is brilliant. It is fast, familiar, and feels effortless. It is fantastic for catching up with friends, or coordinating an unofficial or semi official functions.
But if you are a professional, whether you are a student, a job seeker, a business owner, or anyone whose livelihood depends on clear, credible communication, relying solely on WhatsApp might be dangerous.
This is because the real professional world now runs on email. Email writing, along with its ethics, is one of the most underrated 21st‑century skills nobody should take for granted.
I have observed this curriculum gap.
In language classroom today, and you would still find lessons on formal and informal letter writing. But I have asked myself over and over again: when was the last time I wrote a physical letter to anyone? When did I last sit down with pen and paper to compose a proper informal letter to my uncle, mum or sister with complete address, a date, and whatnot?
Now, I ask you too, when last did you?
Now another one: does that formal‑letter curriculum teach you how to compose, structure, and reply to an email? Does it cover the etiquette of subject lines, salutations, carbon copies (Cc), or the delicate art of “replying all”?
In many examination syllabuses, including that of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), email writing is still a ghost in the system and yet, life beyond school is an email gauntlet.
Where do emails matter most? Let us consider a few high‑stakes situations:
University admissions (especially foreign ones). Sponsorship request or application goes by email. Job applications, which involve cover letter and CV travel via email, not traditional hand or postal delivery, WhatsApp message or voice notes. Business proposals too. Serious clients expect a proper email trail. Receipts and complaints are often channelled via email. Can a bank honour a complaint sent over WhatsApp status?
This brings me to a personal story.
I had a recurring issue with my bank. I visited the branch physically multiple times. I filled forms. I explained myself again and again, I called the customer care. Nothing changed. Frustrated, I finally sat down, composed a clear, professional email, and escalated the matter by copying the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Within hours, the problem was resolved. Hours!
Had I not known how to write that email, how to structure it, how to address the right people, how to use Cc appropriately, I would have been left watching YouTube tutorials or wishing someone had taught me this in school.
In summary, our curricula need a serious overhaul. They must step out of the 20th century and into the lives students actually live.
Teaching letter writing is good. But teaching only letters while ignoring email is like teaching a student how to hitch a horse but never how to drive a car.
Language education must move beyond outdated conventions to embrace the realities of modern communication. Teaching students how to write effective emails, understand digital etiquette and communicate professionally should be considered as important as teaching vocabulary and grammar.
There is a need to push for email writing and ethics to be a core part of every language curriculum. Because one day, when a young professional needs to retrieve their money, seek admission, or get their dream job, a well‑written email might be the only thing standing between them and silence.
Dr Adebola Karamah Shogbuyi writes from The Department of Languages, Yaba College of Technology.
