QUICK RESOURCE SHEET #13
E-mail exchanges
Now that more and
more students have access to the Internet, one real-life application of their
newfound English language skills is to engage in electronic correspondence
with both native and non-native English speakers from around the world. Those
participating in e-mail exchanges are variously known as penpals, e-pals,
or keypals. Regardless of the label, writing to new friends in other countries
opens up the world to our students. Of course, teachers can become penpals
as well.
The first link below
is to an article describing the logistics of organizing such exchanges for
your students, including some of the pitfalls. The remaining links are to
sites which facilitate such exchanges for free.
http://www.f.waseda.jp/vicky/papers/email.html
Students quickly became used
to typing and using the computer, and by the second semester, they were doing
a great deal of writing in English every week. The extensive writing seemed
to have a positive effect on the students' spoken skills; they seemed to feel
more confident about expressing their ideas aloud after they had already struggled
to express them in writing.
http://www.mylanguageexchange.com/penpals.asp
Penpals are a
great way to learn about another language or culture. It doesn't matter what
level you are at in your second language. Here, you can find international
penpals quickly and easily! You can search by many criteria to quickly find a
penpal you want.
http://www.anglik.net/penpals.htm
Make penfriends/penpals/epals
around the world. You can communicate via e-mail, SMS, traditional letters
(snail mail) or even arrange to meet. You are free to search our pages
for messages from those who are looking for a penfriend/penpal/epal/friend.
Or if you prefer you can add your message
and then just wait for answers. Our club is completely free. The only rule
is that all messages should be in English.
ePALS Classroom Exchange is internationally recognized as the leading provider of school-safe email and collaborative technology. Used in classrooms in 191 countries, ePALS's multilingual network has made it possible for more than 4.5 million students and educators to employ the Internet as the ultimate communication and cross-cultural learning tool.