The present study sought to investigate the effects of meaning-focused input (MFI) and meaning-focused output (MFO) activities on willingness to communicate (WTC) of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. The study aimed at exploring learners' perceptions towards the efficacy of MFO and MFI activities for developing WTC. The participants of study were 70 learners homogenized via an Oxford Placement Test, who were then randomly divided into two groups of 35. The WTC questionnaire, adopted from MacIntyre et al. (2001), was used both as pretest and posttest, and a semi-structured interview was used to probe participants’ perceptions towards MFI and MFO. The first experimental group received MFO activities and were given a reading text and asked to present a summary in spoken form based on the notes they took during the reading. In experimental group two, the reading activities were administered in an input mode. The learners were asked to read the texts and answer some reading comprehension questions. The results of statistical analyses indicated that the MFO group outperformed the MFI group for WTC. The content analysis of the interview also revealed students receiving MFO had more positive perception and found it more useful in enhancing WTC than those receiving MFI. Pedagogical implications are offered to teachers and material developers.
