This article draws on a study about linguistic pairs (tandem) by e-mail which was based on the asynchronous communication between speakers of different mother tongues in an attempt to facilitate their communication and joint construction of their own learning of a foreign language. This article is aimed at interrogating the function of clarifications in this type of communication. Conversation analysis is used to examine the participants’ communicative and interactive behaviors focusing on how the native speaker (N) helps the non-native speaker (NN) comprehend information and improve his/her communicative competence. Results demonstrate that native speakers shape their role as “language pals” through clarifications helping non-native speakers