International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation ISSN: 2617-0299 (Online); ISSN: 2708-0099 (Print) DOI: 10.32996/ijllt Journal Homepage: www.al-kindipublisher.com/index.php/ijllt IJLLT AL-KINDI CENTER FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT Copyright: © 2024 the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Published by Al-Kindi Centre for Research and Development, London, United Kingdom. Page | 103 | RESEARCH ARTICLE Messaging Beyond the Lines: A Pragma-Crafting Analysis on the Academic Interactions Using a Social Media App in the New Normal Niña Danica Dainty B. Angon 1 ✉ and John N. Cabansag 2 1 Graduate Student, Master of Arts in English, Department of Languages & Literature, Isabela State University, Philippines 2 President, Apayao State College, Philippines Corresponding Author: Niña Danica Dainty B. Angon, E-mail: ninadanicadainty@gmail.com | 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. | KEYWORDS Pragma-crafting, linguistic acts, extra-linguistic acts, psychological acts, academic interactions, Messenger. | ARTICLE INFORMATION ACCEPTED: 01 April 2024 PUBLISHED: 21 April 2024 DOI: 10.32996/ijllt.2024.7.4.14 1. Introduction Language is the classic core of communication, which mitigates the barriers that every connection has between people and their circumstances. To partake in vigorous yet effective communication, people apply a certain language that is intrinsically incorporated with a set of values and beliefs. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, online platforms have become beneficial as alternatives for learning interactions. This situation has provided “a plethora of whys and wherefores of learners”—together with the educators—who have been continuously adjusting to challenges and other areas of concern since then. Striving for meaningful, adequate academic interactions is necessary to yield a new, conducive place for education. Social media has greatly influenced the English language. Words that had existing meanings have now been given other meanings in an online context. In the new normal, specifically on the use of the online modality of the teaching-learning process, teachers and students rely much on texting and instant messaging platforms, which are becoming more popular across social classes—and with this popularity comes the need for its acceptance for formal and informal purposes. In today’s era, technology profoundly influences the way people live every day, communicate with others, and behave themselves. This implies that our cognitive processes operate at a smoother pace when assisted by modern technology, particularly in various aspects of life, including education (Raja & Nagasubramani, 2018). Facebook Messenger, Viber, WeChat, and WhatsApp are just some of the instant messaging platforms that are utilized in the online classroom setting. This shows, as stated by Oriji and Anikpo (2019) that the advancement of technology has enabled various approaches to doing things that deviate from the traditional ways. Interestingly, Messenger has become essential nowadays