This term, our Year 10 and 11 students have been receiving mail from their pen pals. Madame Buisson and Señora Cabrera Jiménez, both former language assistants at Dallam School, got in touch over the summer and together, we have set up a link with their respective schools, Lycée Montesquieu near Bordeaux in France Lycée Montesquieu Libourne and IES Lomo de la Herradura in Gran Canaria IES Lomo La Herradura.
Students have enjoyed getting to know their counterparts and replying in the target language. They have used this opportunity to practise the productive skills of their language course, and review prior vocabulary. All emails are being checked before being sent off and this is also a chance for teachers to offer some advice on how students can improve their writing.
Having a foreign pen pal has many benefits, from discovering a new culture, learning about other people’s interests and sports played in other countries, to students enriching their language learning with a cultural background. Students have also been able to compare their school experience to that of their counterparts. Not only is it enriching the educational experiences of our students but it is also strengthening their self-confidence in using a second language.
Students are already looking forward to receiving the next piece of correspondence which will be in the form of an audio recording!