The Impact of Interlocutor Non‐Verbal Behavior on International Students' Anxiety, English Oral Fluency, and Working Memory

ABSTRACT

Anxiety has detrimental impacts on international students' language production, which can be further exacerbated depending on interlocutor non‐verbal behavior. According to the attentional control theory, anxiety impacts performance through the disruption of working memory, as anxious thoughts distract the speaker from fluid communication. This study examined the impact of interlocutor non‐verbal behavior on international students' anxiety, working memory, and oral fluency. One hundred and forty‐four international students completed an online speaking task in the presence of four native English speakers, who displayed either positive, neutral, or negative non‐verbal behavior. Participants in the negative condition reported significantly higher anxiety than those in the positive condition. Those in the negative condition displayed more oral disfluencies compared to those in both the neutral and positive conditions. Differences in the impact on working memory across conditions were non‐significant. Findings highlight the importance of non‐verbal behavior by listeners and of fostering supportive communication cues to help reduce language anxiety and promote fluency among international students.