The goal of this article is to further our understanding of how learning opportunities are created in interactions. Based on a conversation analysis of peer interactions of foreign language learners, we investigate how the negotiation of expert positions among these learners affects this process. The focus of the analysis is on the relationship between the conversation analytic notion of "doing-being-an-expert" and learning in the context of word searches. We challenge the fixed notions of expert and novice and highlight the roles of interpersonal context, tools, and positioning in the negotiation of expertise. Drawing on the socio-interactionist notion of situating learning in interaction, we argue that there is a link between the negotiation of expert positions and opportunities for learning. (Contains 8 notes.)