What is a sympathetic interlocutor?

First, here is a dictionary definition:

interlocutor (noun): someone involved in a conversation

And this is how language teachers define it:

sympathetic interlocutor (noun): someone who is perfect for language learners to talk to

A sympathetic interlocutor adapts her word choice and pace to give more opportunity for you to gather your thoughts and speak.

Here are other things a sympathetic interlocutor will do:

1. She will have you tell stories or anecdotes more than once.
2. She ensures you’re speaking most of the time in the unstructured speaking portions of the lesson.
3. She waits patiently while you think but jumps in with a question if needed.
4. She notes mistakes in pronunciation and grammar to come back to later.
5. She uses follow up questions to get more details about what you’re saying.
6. She supports your acquisition of “how we actually say things” by feeding in the right words at the right time.
7. She spends a lot of time transcribing what you say, and her questions and comments so you can see what is being said.

Basically, the sympathetic interlocutor is a speaking partner who knows what to do (and what not to do) to support someone learning to speak in a second language or third language.