Sociocultural Competence

STUDENTS NEED TO UNDERSTAND HOW DIFFERENT PEOPLE USE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE.

Multilingual Pen Pal Exchange

Engaging ELLs with Pen Pals

Virtual Pen Pals

Peaceful Pen Pals

Students will develop cultural and linguistic awareness by participating in a multilingual pen pal exchange, communicating with peers from different language and cultural backgrounds. This activity connects students with pen pals from another classroom, either within the school, district, or globally, who speak a different language or come from a different cultural background. Through written exchanges, students explore how language and culture shape identity, daily life, and ways of communicating.

Materials: 

• Pen pal partner (this is up to the teacher whether you want to set this partnership up globally through a trusted website, or you can set these partnerships up through a district or even the same school)

• Paper, envelopes, stamps, or secure and monitored websites for sending messages back and forth

• Sentence starters and writing scaffolds in both languages 

• Bilingual dictionaries or translation tools 

• World map for classroom display

Procedure: 

1. Set the Stage: Begin by introducing the purpose of the project which to explore how language and culture influence the way people live and communicate. Explain that each student will be matched with a pen pal, possibly someone who speaks a different language or lives in another part of the world. Emphasize that this exchange is an opportunity to learn from someone else’s cultural perspective while also sharing their own.

2. Build Background Knowledge: Engage students in a discussion about what pen pals are and what we can learn from connecting with peers in other places. Together, establish norms for communication, including:

   1. • what kinds of personal information are appropriate to share

      • what should be kept private 

      • how to show curiosity and respect in cross cultural conversations

Encourage students to focus on meaningful cultural topics like food, holidays, school routines, family life, and music.

3. Introduce Pen Pal Partners: Assign pen pal partners (pre-selected by the teacher). Let students know where their pen pal lives and invite them to do a bit of research on that region or country. Make this interactive by displaying a world map and marking each location as you introduce the partners. This visual connection helps build excitement and global awareness.

4. Prepare First Letters: Give students time to brainstorm what they’d like to share in their first letter. Since this is the introduction, the letter should focus on:

   1. • • a greeting in both English and your student's home language

        • basic personal information such as name, age, interests, family, etc.

        • one or two cultural details like holidays they celebrate, a favorite traditional meal, or a school routine

        • 3-5 thoughtful questions to ask their pen pal

Letters should be reviewed by the teacher before being sent (or shared digitally).

Optional: Allow students to present their letters to the class before sending, and revisit the map to remind everyone of their partner’s location.

5. Exchange & Read Partner Responses: Once students receive their replies, provide time to read and reflect. Invite students to share interesting facts, cultural surprises, or favorite parts of their pen pal’s letter with the class if they feel comfortable.

6. Reflect & Discuss: Hold a class discussion or ask students to write a brief reflection. Prompts may include:

• What new vocabulary did you learn?

• What surprised you about your partner’s culture?

• What was similar or different from your own experience?

7. Craft Letter 2: Using insights from the first exchange, students write a second, more personalized letter. This follow-up should respond to questions from their pen pal and expand on cultural themes. Once again, letters should be reviewed before sending.

8. Assessment: You can assess students in one or both of the following ways:

   1. • Letter Content: clarity, effort, cultural detail, use of both languages (if applicable), and quality of questions

      • Reflection: thoughtfulness, cultural insight, vocabulary noticed, and engagement with the exchange