Messaging Beyond the Lines: A Pragma-Crafting Analysis on the Academic Interactions Using a Social Media App in the New Normal

Abstract

The paper delves into the pragma-crafting communication acts of the academic interactions on Messenger—utilizing a qualitative lens focused on selected ISU English major students and their instructors. It seeks to present communicative strategies, structures, and meaning-making by exploring the features that explore even the inexplicable messages. Through the pragma-crafting method, the researcher scrutinizes linguistic acts, extra-linguistic acts, and psychological acts inherent in these exchanges. Moreover, the research analyzes the group interviews conducted on Zoom to further explain the acts. The findings delineate the diverse language contexts present in the application, which serves as an alternative online classroom for academic instruction and interactions. This further emphasizes the importance of considering each learner's language proficiency amidst the dynamics and complexities of social media apps.