Contextualization includes verbal and non-verbal clues of things such as the power dynamic or the situation apparent from a conversation being analyzed or participated in.
[citation needed] As previously mentioned, contextualization cues are crucial in that they are the clues that allow observers to better understand the interaction being presented.
Furthermore, when body language and facial expressions are combined, more clues about the relationship of the speaker, their feelings towards the topic or other participant, or emotions become evident (Ducharme and Bernard 2001).
Finally, whether a person uses formal or informal language, allows the relationship between the two speakers to be clear.
Most likely, when an interaction between two people who are peers and/or familiar with one another will utilize the informal form of language.
They say that when students are given the tools and space to utilize contextualization, they are better able to learn a second language (Ducharme and Bernard 2001).
He suggests that in the following interaction the linguistic style used by the interviewer signals a context different from that expected by the husband.
In this example, a student and professor are discussing the cultural difference in education between America and Japan: In this interaction, the cues received by the student's style of speaking suggests that they are speaking to an authority figure, because they are deferring through the use of questions.
This suggests that the professor used cues to learn that the student would prefer to remain in the formal form, and molded their language style to fit that.