Learning to disagree professionally: genAI roleplay and L2 business communication development

This study investigated whether generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) roleplay practice facilitates the development of professional disagreement strategies among second language (L2) business English learners. Although GenAI tools have attracted growing interest in language education, controlled experimental evidence for their effectiveness in developing specific pragmatic competencies remains scarce, with most existing research reporting learner perceptions rather than measured learning outcomes. Employing a pre-test, post-test, delayed post-test design with three experimental conditions (GenAI roleplay, human peer roleplay, and traditional materials), 72 intermediate-level business English learners completed a three-week intervention targeting the pragmatic competence required to challenge, reject, or oppose ideas while maintaining professional rapport. Written discourse completion tasks assessed participants’ use of appropriate disagreement strategies, including hedging devices, epistemic markers, account structures, and alternative proposal formulations. Results from mixed-design ANOVA revealed significant group-by-time interactions. The GenAI condition significantly outperformed the traditional materials condition at post-test with a large effect (d = 1.00, p = 0.001). The Human Peer condition showed a medium-sized advantage over traditional materials (d = 0.55, p = 0.064). The comparison between GenAI and Human Peer conditions did not reach statistical significance (d = 0.47, p = 0.113), indicating that while both interactive conditions outperformed traditional materials, the evidence for GenAI-specific advantages over peer interaction remains inconclusive with the present sample size. These findings provide empirical support for interactive practice as pedagogically valuable for developing L2 pragmatic competence in face-threatening speech acts. For practitioners, the results suggest that GenAI roleplay merits consideration as a complement to traditional pragmatics instruction, particularly where peer practice opportunities are constrained.