This study explores ways of using Facebook as a tool to improve the pragmatic competence of students of German as a foreign language in Japan. Nine students of a textbook-based German class (CFER level A2) voluntarily participated in this blended learning approach, in which they were assigned weekly online tasks aimed at eliciting speech acts commonly used in online interaction. The tasks required the students write posts concerning their daily routines onto the timeline of a dedicated Facebook Group page and to comment on each other's posts. In order to find out what difficulties learners face when producing certain speech acts, the students' posts and comments were analysed qualitatively and quantitatively by determining the frequency, accuracy, and appropriateness of speech acts performed per task. The results suggest that the tasks developed seemed to be appropriate for eliciting a large number of speech acts, while types, frequency, and appropriateness of the speech acts produced varied significantly. As was revealed, difficulties in task performance did not only stem from a lack of L2 (socio-pragmatic) knowledge, but also from inexperience in the use of the network itself. For task performance, students strongly relied on the expressions provided in pre-task activities. As the results of a post-course students' survey indicate, most students agreed that using Social Networking Sites (SNS) is an appropriate tool for language learning, and that they were able to increase their knowledge and use of German speech acts significantly during this course. However, only those students who frequently used SNS in their everyday lives seemed to be able to reap the full benefits of the project.

<p>In this paper the results of an online survey (n=210) regarding the usefulness of Facebook for informal L2 learning will be presented. Participants were individual Facebook users who study either German (n=118) or Japanese (n=92). By using a combination of open and closed questions, the mostly quantitative findings of the survey indicate that for most participants Facebook is a suitable tool for improving their L2 skills, because the network enables them to establish or to maintain social contacts with native speakers and to have authentic opportunities to express themselves in the L2. As particularly effective activities, participants mentioned reading and writing L2 posts on the networks’ timeline, exchanging private messages, and commenting on friends’ posts. As far as effects on L2 learning are concerned, most participants noted an improvement in their reading and writing skills, as well as an expansion of their vocabulary and cultural understanding. Some respondents, however, raised concerns about the formal correctness of the language they encounter on the network as well as insecurity regarding communication with strangers. The information participants provided on their informal use of Facebook led to the conclusion, that learners of L2 German and learners of L2 Japanese show similar tendencies in using the network for their L2 learning. In contrast to using social networks in educational settings, their informal use allows learners much more freedom to decide when, how often, with whom, on which topic, and in which way they wish to interact in their target language on the network.</p>

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In this paper the results of an online survey regarding the usefulness of Facebook for L2 learning will be presented. The survey was carried out with 118 L2 German learners in Japan. The results suggest that for most participants, Facebook is a suitable tool for improving their L2 skills because it enables them to establish or to maintain social contacts with native speakers and to have authentic opportunities to express themselves in the L2. The participants mentioned three particularly effective activities afforded by the social network: (a) reading L2 posts on the newsfeed, (b) writing one’s own posts and commenting on friends’ posts, as well as (c) using the Messenger app for writing private messages in the L2. Most of the survey’s participants noted an improvement of their reading and writing skills as well as an increase of their vocabulary and cultural understanding. 本稿は、第二外国語習得に対するFacebookの有用性に関するオンライン調査の結果を考察するものである。この調査は、第二外国語としてドイツ語を学ぶ118名の日本人に対して実施された。調査結果から、参加者の大多数にとって、Facebookは学習言語を上達させることに適したツールであるということがわかる。これは、Facebookによって学習者が母語話者と社会的な関係を構築または維持し、学習言語で考えを述べる本当の機会を持つことが可能になるからである。参加者が挙げた、とりわけ効果的であった活動は、学習言語での投稿を読むこと、自分自身で書くこと、友人の投稿にコメントをすること、学習言語でプライベートメッセージを書くためにMessengerを使用することであった。調査参加者においては、読解と作文の技能、語彙、文化的理解の向上が注目に値する。