Abstract

This paper aims to report the findings of a quasi-experimental study conducted to investigate the effect of text-based conversational input from native and non-native English speakers on EFL learners’ subsequent written performance. Eight undergraduate students enrolled in an EFL writing course in a university in southern Taiwan were paired up with native English speakers and non-native English speakers from seven countries. The participants were engaged in a semester-long email exchange project in an effort to practice writing skills while exploring cultural differences. Based on Swain’s comprehensible input hypothesis that proposed input or feedback provided by interlocutors may provide impetus for language learners, the study is to compare the email messages that the subjects composed in response to those composed by native and non-native English speakers respectively to explore if received messages of varying writing level have an impact on their subsequent writing.