Speech rate (articulation rate and pauses) was examined for its relation to communicative success. Native English speakers (NSs) were paired with other NSs and with non-native speakers (NNSs). The subjects viewed a short film, the content of which they were to relay to their two partners independently. Communicative success was measured through comprehension questions addressed to the listeners at the completion of the task. Analyses indicated that although a slight majority of NSs slowed their speech rate for NNSs, they did not adjust articulation rate, but did significantly increase pause time. Neither speech rate nor articulation rate varied over the course of the narrations. Contrary to intuition, the subjects who successfully communicated the story to NNSs did not adjust their speech rate, while those who had difficulty communicating with NNSs increased pause time significantly. The implications of the findings are discussed, and suggestions for further research are made.In the last decade, there has been a growing interest in the efficacy of adjustments in native speakers' (NS) speech addressed to non-native speakers (NNS) (see Pica, 1988). Until recently, much of the research on NS-NNS discourse was of a purely descriptive nature; that is, there was a concentration on the identification of conversational characteristics, but without regard to their effect. It has generally been assumed that My thanks go to Judy Cameron, who assisted me in all stages of this study. I thank three anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions. 1 would also like to express my appreciation to the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, which provided financial assistance for this research.