Congruence in Native and Nonnative Conversations: Status Balance in the Academic Advising Session *

This paper examines the notion of status in institutional discourse and identifies congruence as a factor in determining the success of native speaker (NS) and nonnative speaker (NNS) interactions in that context. Thirty‐two academic advising sessions between faculty advisors and both native and highly proficient nonnative graduate students were examined. Whereas both NSs and NNSs show variable success in negotiating noncongruent...