Research in the teaching of second/foreign languages has called for an emphasis on interactional competence, or the ability to think and behave as an interactional partner in a second language. The aim of this paper is to find out if the specific interactional skills acquired by students through their first language experience are automatically carried over to second language use and if this transfer is beneficial in developing interactional competence in the second language. Specifically the paper investigates the turn-taking behavior of eight Chinese students from Taiwan participating in graduate classes at an American university. Three patterns of participation were identified: active; passive verbal; and silent/near zero. J. J. Schumann's acculturation model and his pidginization/language acquisition analogy are used to explain the differences in participation demonstrated by the Taiwanese students. It is concluded that native culture plays a vital part in shaping non-native students' ability to acquire interactional competence in English as a Second Language. (Contains 10 references.) (LR)