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A short class with Sarah and her students. The other ways are under More.
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Your pen pal in Madrid doesn't know anything about you yet. How will you start?
With a greeting, like '¡Hola, Marta!', then my name and age.
Good. What should the main part include?
A little about my family, my school and what I like doing.
And before you sign off?
Ask some questions, so she has something to answer.
Exactly. Then finish with a friendly sign-off, such as 'Un abrazo'.
Paul has written back from Lyon. What do you do first?
Read it all once to get the main idea, then read it again slowly.
Good. He asks three questions. What happens if you answer only one?
He might think we didn't read his letter properly, and the conversation gets weaker.
Right. What else can you take from his letter?
New words for my vocabulary log, and details about his school that I can compare with ours.
One draft asks, '¿Te gusta el deporte?' What answer will that probably get?
Just 'sí' or 'no'.
How could you change it to get a longer reply?
'¿Qué deportes te gustan y por qué?' Then she has to explain.
Excellent. Open questions with what, how and why keep the exchange alive.
And we must not forget the upside-down question mark at the start in Spanish.
the teacher links the schools, and messages go through school-approved channels at a regular interval.
use school accounts only and never share private details.
greeting, opening, body, questions and sign-off.
use tú, tu or du and a friendly tone, with careful spelling and grammar.
what, how and why questions keep the exchange going.
read each reply twice, answer every question and log new vocabulary.
A first email might begin "¡Hola, Lucas! Me llamo Aisha y tengo quince años." (Hi Lucas! My name is Aisha and I am fifteen.)
An open question in French: "Qu'est-ce que tu fais le week-end ?" (What do you do at the weekend?)
A reply that reacts before sharing: "Congratulations on your match! My team lost on Saturday, but I scored a goal."
A reflection note: "I learned that my pen pal's school day ends later than mine, and I learned three new words for school subjects."
Greet and thank, then share and ask; a friendly sign-off ends the task.
Kenji's first letters to his pen pal in Toulouse were short and asked nothing, so the replies were short too. When he began reacting to her news and asking "Pourquoi ?" and "Comment ?", her letters grew longer, and by the end of term they were comparing school timetables, favourite foods and family celebrations.
Good Openings Bring Quick Smiles: Greeting, Opening, Body, Questions, Sign-off.
S.A.F.E. - School accounts only, Address and phone stay private, Friendly and respectful, Every worry goes to a teacher.
Term
What are the five parts of a friendly letter or email?
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Term
Which form of "you" do you use with a pen pal in Spanish, French and German?
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Term
Give a friendly sign-off in Spanish and one in French.
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Term
Which details should you never share with a pen pal?
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Term
Why are open questions better than yes/no questions?
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A person you exchange letters or emails with regularly, often in another country.
Communication by exchanging letters or emails.
A friendly style of language used with friends and people your own age.
The opening words of a letter or email, such as "¡Hola!" or "Salut !".
The closing words before your name, such as "Un abrazo" or "À bientôt".
A question that needs more than a yes or no answer, often starting with what, how or why.
Using technology safely, responsibly and respectfully.
A collection of your work, kept in order, with reflections on your progress.
This lesson describes how the Pen-Pal Exchange works: you write regular letters or emails in your target language to a student at a partner school abroad, about hobbies, holidays and school life, and you read and reply to their messages.
In the Pen-Pal Exchange your teacher links your class with a school in a country where your target language is spoken, and each student writes to a partner over several weeks. This lesson explains how the exchange is organised, how to stay safe online, how to build a friendly letter or email from greeting to sign-off, how to use an informal tone and ask questions that keep the conversation going, and how to read each reply carefully before answering. It also shows how to keep a portfolio of the exchange and reflect on what you learn about language and culture.
The task in one sentence Exchange letters or emails in your target language with a student at a partner school abroad, writing about your hobbies, holidays and school life, and reading and answering their messages.
How the exchange is organised
Staying safe online
Building a friendly letter or email
An informal but careful tone Pen-pal letters are friendly, so use the informal "you": tú in Spanish, tu in French, du in German. Exclamations and everyday expressions make your letter sound natural, but spelling, accents and grammar still matter.
Asking good questions Open questions that start with words such as what, how or why get longer, more interesting answers than yes/no questions. In Spanish, questions begin with an upside-down question mark and question words carry accents: ¿Qué...?, ¿Cómo...?, ¿Por qué...? In French you might use "Qu'est-ce que...?", "Comment...?" or "Pourquoi...?"
Reading the reply carefully Read each reply once for the gist and again for detail. Add new words to a vocabulary log, list every question your pen pal asked, and notice cultural details you could compare with your own life. This careful reading is part of what the project assesses, alongside your writing.
Keeping a portfolio Keep all the messages in order, and after each exchange write a short reflection on what you learned about the language and about your pen pal's culture.