Middle school and high school French students are perfecting their skills through a Pen Pals Exchange experience. Seventh and eighth grade students enrolled in the middle school’s French 1 and French 1a classes are writing and receiving letters from Madame Veronique Leclerc’s seventh grade students enrolled at the Collège Guillaume Baudé, located outside of Paris. Similarly, high school French 2, French 3 and French 4 students are corresponding with Linda Ayd’s 11th grade students at the Lycée Maurice Eliot.   

Foreign language teacher Laura Balkam explained that by exchanging letters and messages the students are practicing real-world language skills while building meaningful, age-appropriate connections beyond the classroom. They are learning to find things in common with their pen pals to connect further and are learning about language colloquialisms. Ms. Balkam often encourages the students to write their letters in English first before translating them to French. 

“This experience fosters cultural awareness, motivation and confidence in using French for genuine communication,” Ms. Balkam said. “There is also something very meaningful when the students receive a physical letter and see the time and effort that went into writing it.” 

The French letters are often decorated elaborately, and excellent penmanship is the norm. Many of the Shoreham-Wading River students also received Christmas cards. Many of the commonalities Ms. Balkam’s class found with their French peers were a love of soccer and interest in traveling to Germany. The French pen pals and Ms. Balkam’s students also wrote about their school schedules and what they did on New Year’s Eve.       

Later this spring, there are plans for the district’s French students to hold a Zoom call with the French students. Madame Leclerc’s class recently sent a class photo, holding the Shoreham-Wading River students’ correspondence, as well as a video to say hello.