Chapter 4. Using AI for Pragmatics Instruction: Opportunities and Challenges in Language Education
Todd J. Allen, Noriko Ishihara, Akiko Chiba, and John Campbell-Larsen
Todd J. Allen, Noriko Ishihara, Akiko Chiba, and John Campbell-Larsen
Abstract
Recent studies have shown the growing impact of AI technologies on education, particularly in language learning classrooms (e.g., Allen & Mizumoto, 2024; Huang & Mizumoto, 2024). While these studies typically focus on the four language skills (reading, writing, listening, and speaking) and the challenges and benefits of implementing AI, few researchers have examined its role in developing pragmatic competence or critically assessed its limitations in this context (Lee & Cook, 2024). Thus, this chapter explores how three scholars have engaged with AI in pragmatic instruction and teacher education through three complementary perspectives: (1) authentic classroom cases that integrate AI into pragmatics-focused teacher education, highlighting benefits, risks of overreliance, and the importance of prompt design; (2) the use of ChatGPT to generate speech acts, emphasizing the need for critical and reflective classroom engagement; and (3) the constraints of ChatGPT in producing natural dialogues, including the lack of false starts, repair sequences, and issues in topic coherence and progressivity. Together, these perspectives underscore the importance of thoughtful prompt creation and critical pedagogy in AI integration. Overall, the chapter offers a nuanced account of three scholars’ experiences with AI and pragmatics, addressing challenges of authenticity, ethics, technological dependency, and the adaptation of pedagogical strategies for AI-enhanced pragmatic instruction.
About the Contributors
Todd J. Allen is an associate professor in the Faculty of Foreign Language Studies at Kansai University, Japan, where he teaches courses in linguistics, intercultural communication, and English as a foreign language. He earned his Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Queensland, Australia. His research focuses on sociopragmatics, intercultural communication, academic writing, and international education, with recent publications in East Asian Pragmatics, RELC Journal, and Research in International and Comparative Education. He is currently investigating language and interaction in small hospitality establishments in Japan.
Noriko Ishihara is a professor of applied linguistics at Hosei University in Japan, where she teaches intercultural communication, TESOL methods, and English as an additional language. She completed her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction at the University of Minnesota and facilitates language teachers’ professional development courses in Japan, the U.S., and elsewhere, with a particular focus on L2 pragmatics and intercultural awareness. Her research interests include instructional pragmatics, identity and culture, and (im)politeness and microaggressions in language teaching, teacher education, and aviation English.
Akiko Chiba is an associate professor at Kansai Gaidai University, where she teaches EAP courses for undergraduate students and intercultural pragmatics and pragmatics in language education courses for graduate students. She completed her EdD in English Language Education from the University of Hong Kong. Her main research interests include instructional pragmatics, ELF pragmatics, and assessment of pragmatic competence in language education. She is currently working on research in pragmatics-enhanced tasks for Japanese university students as well as co-investigating the use of AI in EMI classrooms.
John Campbell-Larsen has been teaching English in Japan for thirty years. He is currently a professor in the Department of English Language Communication and Cultures at Kyoto Women’s University, Japan. He completed his M.A. TESOL from Birmingham University. His main research interests are conversation analysis, pragmatics, interactional competence, and cognitive linguistics, and he is interested in using the findings of research to inform teaching practice, with a focus on the Japanese context. He has presented at numerous conferences in Asia, Europe, and North America and has published papers and book chapters on a wide range of language and teaching issues.
Citation
Allen, T. J., Ishihara, N., Chiba, A., & Campbell-Larsen, J. (2025). Using AI for pragmatics instruction: Opportunities and challenges in language education. In L. Ohashi, M. Hillis, & R. Dykes (Eds.), Artificial intelligence in our language learning classrooms (pp. 78-98). Candlin & Mynard. https://doi.org/10.47908/38/4
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Information About the Book
Title: Artificial Intelligence in Our Language Learning Classrooms Editors: Louise Ohashi, Mary Hillis, & Robert Dykes Read more... |