“ChatGPT for intercultural pragmatic learning? potentially, but not yet” – The question of using AI to develop students’ intercultural pragmatic competence

Abstract The study explores the effectiveness of ChatGPT in fostering intercultural pragmatic competence, focusing on Japanese learners of English. Using Kecskes’ sociocognitive framework, the research examines ChatGPT’s role in conversations involving meaning negotiation and repair mechanisms. The study analyzed over 10,000 responses generated by ChatGPT during interactions with 45 students from different nationalities, ranging from upper-beginner to upper-intermediate proficiency levels, in simulated social situations. A comprehensive examination of AI and participant responses and feedback yields a sophisticated understanding of the AI strengths and flaws, along with intercultural communication repair strategies for meaning negotiation. Specifically, findings reveal that while ChatGPT effectively models certain cooperative aspects of communication, it struggles with maintaining relevance and lacks human-like repair strategies. Students often initiate self-repair instead of other-repair, indicating limited interactive feedback from ChatGPT. Furthermore, excessive information. On the positive side, ChatGPT encourages confidence in students through predictions and co-constructed phrases, although its performance is repetitive and lacks deep contextual understanding. The study recommends cautious use of ChatGPT in pragmatic learning and highlights the need for more advanced frameworks to enhance AI’s role in intercultural communication education.