Perspectives on Miscommunication between Native and Nonnative Speaker Interactions

Abstract

The present study investigates interactions between native and nonnative speakers of English with respect to how the interactions were perceived by participants themselves and what factors influenced their perceptions. Specifically, it aims at investigating how and why certain interactions were judged as successful or problematic through the use of participants' own comments regarding their judgments about the interactions. Some specific incidents of miscommunication were analyzed in terms of how they happened and are perceived by the participants. 'Let it pass' strategy was suggested to be a distinctive feature of the interactions between participants. Finally, conversational features for the interactions that were judged successful and problematic were also examined.