Abstract: A system and method for receiving user input via a graphical user interface (GUI) to generate message text on an electronic communication device comprising a touch-sensitive electronic display. The touch-sensitive electronic display provides the user with a message composition interface. This message composition interface comprises a virtual alphanumeric keyboard having keys configured to receive a user input for composing message text character-by-character. The message composition interface is modified to display to the user an appropriate GUI module comprising graphical representations of predefined multi-character expressions. A user interaction with at least one of said graphical representations of the GUI module specifies at least one of said multi-character expressions. Text associated with the user-specified multi-character expression is inserted into the message as a result.