ASEAN — Gp3 : 503
- MIndon : male from Java, Indonesia
- MCamb : male from Cambodia
- FSing : female from Singapore, ethnically Malay
MIndon: so how long do do they have to sit in the s- er junior high school and senior high school
MCamb : erm (.) I’ve been teaching there for two years? up to my graduation? er from (.) er
MIndon : no I mean er er how many years do students have to <1> sit </1>
FSing : <1> stay </1>
MIndon : stay in the (.) junior high school
MCamb : <2> erm </2>
MIndon : <2> and </2> senior high school
MCamb : erm in in in in Cambodia (.) er s- er junior high school starts from (.) grade seven?
Discussion: The source of this misunderstanding may be lexical — MIndon uses sit to describe a period of time, and MCamb does not understand him and so answers the question inappropriately. FSing then offers stay as an alternative, and MCamb is able to offer a more appropriate answer for the question.