Explanation of Exchange
This year the French 5 students are participating in an on-going email exchange with
students who attend the Lycée Saint-Jean-Baptiste de
La Salle high school in Reims, France.
Each French 5 student has been matched up with a student their same age who is
studying English. Email exchanges have been occuring 1-2 times per month
since school began in September. Although my students and I have participated in
epal projects in
the past, this has been the most successful and rewarding exchange.
Emails are
exchanged in both languages, with my students writing primarily in French and the French
students writing primarily in English. However, as the year goes on, my students
have expressed an interest in reading the 'real' French that teenagers in France
use and the French students have expressed similar interest. Therefore, some emails are written in both languages. This way, the French
students can read 'real' teenage English and American students can read authentic
French.
In addition to the relationships that the students are forming with their French
correspondants, I have also developed a great relationship with the French teacher.
We are very compatible, we have similar teaching methods and philosophies, and we have
already agreed to continue our exchange next year with a whole new set of students.
Implications for Learning
The French 5 students are...
- participating in personalized and meaningful writing practice.
- writing for communication, not just isolated sentences.
- learning French culture directly from French teenagers.
- learning how well French students write in English.
- learning how to send emails with attachments.
- learning how to type in French and how to create accent marks electronically.
- using the French they have learned throughout their school 'careers' in a real-world context.
- becoming worldly citizens.
Assignments
The assignments that are handed to the students are primarily in French. I have attached the files so that the originals can be viewed, but I have also
provided a summary in English for the purposes of this presentation.
First epal student handout: In English. It explains the exchange and a little about the city of Reims. It also includes the first
assignment.
Assignment handouts for letters 2-9: In French. I've summarized each assignment below.
- Letter #2: School- schedule, teachers, favorite subjects, etc. This letter was written completely in French by my students. The French students responded in English about school.
- Letter #3: Our Region- climate, specialties, industries, etc. This letter was written in French. The French students responded in English about their region.
- Letter #4: Food- favorite foods & drinks, favorite restaurants, etc.
This letter was written in French. Again, the French students responded in English about their favorite foods.
- Letter #5: Halloween & Thanksgiving- how you celebrate, what you do, what you eat, etc. The Halloween portion of this letter was written in French but the Thanksgiving portion was written in English at the request of the French teacher.
- Letter #6: December Holidays- what do you celebrate, how you celebrate, etc. This letter was written in French. The French students wrote in English.
- Letter #7: My family- members of family, ages, jobs, physical descriptions, things you like to do with your family, etc. This letter was written in French with responses from the French students in English.
- Letter #8: Driver's Licenses & Snow Days- how you get your license, what age, how many snow days so far, how much snow is needed for a snow day, etc. This topic was at the request of the French students based on their curiosity. My students wrote in French and English.
- Letter #9: The Little Prince & Travel Advice- (In French) What you think of the book so far, questions for your epal about the book, (In English) travel advice and vocabulary needed for a successful home stay in England.
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