14. Interaction in conversation groups

This exploratory study examines the potential learning opportunities of interactions in the naturalistic setting of a German conversation group. Eleven intermediate L2 German learners participated in weekly conversation groups, which were recorded and then transcribed. In addition, information regarding learners’ perceptions, confidence, and willingness to communicate was obtained by means of self-report surveys and interviews. A discourse analytic approach indicated that learners’ styles were more passive or active depending on their ability to identify and use, consciously or unconsciously, German conversational style in the group interactions. These findings suggest that interaction in L2 conversation groups can play an important role in providing learners with opportunities to acquire native-like conversational styles and structures in an environment representative of authentic, real world conversational contexts.