This study focuses on the conversational style differences. The data to be analyzed are the first encounter conversations with new people in intercultural setting between English native speakers and Japanese native speakers talking in English and talking in Japanese. The goal of the first time meeting with new people is to get to know each other. At the same time, they would like to be more polite than usual to the other participants since they would like to make their good first impression in order to build new relationships. Therefore, it is assumed that the pragmatic rules of their socio-cultural background will affect their FL usages more emphatic than the ordinary conversation with acquaintances. According to Shigemitsu (2015), English native speakers and Japanese native speakers have different perspectives on first-time-meeting conversations. English speakers try to show their intelligence and abilities, whereas Japanese try to show their ability of that how much they adjust the situations and develop sympathy to the other participants and make the other participants feel comfortable during the conversation. 
This research picks up some style differences, such as turn-taking, contribution to conversation, question-answer pattern, in four conversational data (1) to investigate how those different perspectives affect conversational style when they talk foreing language (English for Japanese participants and Japanese for English speaking participants), (2) to illustrate how the interactions between English speakers and Japanese speakers challenge some different conversation style pattern in intercultural setting.  
For the analysis, seven intercutural groups are video taped, transcribed and analyzed. Five of the intercultural group conducted their conversation in English and two of them in Japanese. All the participants are male and each of the participants are unacquainted. English native speakers ask questions to lead the on going topic more active and more intelligent. They try to learn something new to them from the ongoing conversation.  On the other hand, Japanese speakers do not show such attitude and they try not to ask questions because asking question may not polite behavior in their own culture. They try to choose easy questions so that the other participants answer without any difficulty and hesitations. Such different frames of conversation create some inequality of participation in some conversation groups. This research also highlights unsucessful conversation to clarify what skills and strategies participants should aquire in order to overcom those different styles in ongoing intercultural setting.  It is conluded that the perspective differences on conversation based on speaker’s socio cultural background should be aware of  in interaction in a multicultural/lingual society. 


Reference
Shigemitsu, Y., (2015). What is required in the first encounter conversation-through the interviews to
Japanese native speakers and English native speakers. Language, culture and communication. Vol. 7. Rikkyo University.