AI Models’ Pragmatic Capabilities in the Production of Speech Acts: Implications for EFL Instruction
Abstract
This study examines the pragmatic capabilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) models. Four datasets were created from five AI chatbots and compared to native English speaker data, focusing on four aspects (requestive routine expressions, request perspective, and refusal/apology strategies and their variations). In terms of pragmalinguistics, AI-generated output closely resembles native speaker data. Regarding sociopragmatics, variation in certain strategies (e.g., regret, wish, for refusals; repair, thanking/appreciation, for apologies) across social variables indicates disparities between AI and human behaviour, suggesting the chatbots lack human-like judgment. The study provides practical recommendations for EFL teachers and researchers.
Presentato: 27 Marzo 2026 | Accettato: 18 Luglio 2026 | Pubblicato 05 Novembre 2026 | Lingua: en
Keywords GenAI • Speech acts • Requests • ChatGPT • EFL • Interlanguage pragmatics • Apologies
Copyright © 2026 Boudjemaa Dendenne. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.