Analyzing Speech Acts in Students’ Whatsapp Messages to English Lecturers at English Education Study Program

Abstract

The rapid shift toward digital communication in higher education has established WhatsApp as a primary medium for academic coordination. It poses significant challenges for students' pragmatic competence. This study aimed to investigate the types of speech acts and politeness strategies employed by class leaders in an English Education Study Program when communicating with lecturers via WhatsApp, as well as the underlying factors influencing their linguistic choices. The findings, analysed through Searle’s taxonomy and Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory, revealed that directives were the most predominant speech acts (56.25%), reflecting the task-oriented nature of the class leader’s role. Negative Politeness (67.5%) emerged as the dominant strategy, characterized by formal honorifics and apologetic hedges to maintain professional distance. However, a significant pragmatic shift toward Bald On-record strategies was observed in urgent situations, where efficiency overrode etiquette. The interviews highlighted that perceived power distance, the burden of collective representation, and message urgency were the primary drivers of these linguistic patterns. This research implies a need for integrating digital pragmatics into the EFL curriculum to bridge the gap between linguistic knowledge and professional digital communication.