FAHS German Students Engage in Pen Pal Writing

Students in Mrs. Karen McGuinness’s German classes have done pen pal exchange letters with people in Rheine, Germany.

In order for German students to gain more knowledge of the language and culture of Germany, Fleetwood students have been writing letters throughout the course of the school year. The students from both countries have learned new facts about each other’s languages while also finding common interests in each other.

“In the first letter, the students introduce themselves: names, ages, class in school, favorite subjects, hobbies, and foods where they live, etc. They write in English what they are not able to say in German. In the first letter, they must also ask questions of their partner–hopefully, this will help them get a lengthy response. The second topic of the second letter depends on what we are learning in class at the time and all the ways they can connect with each other online,” McGuinness said.

McGuinness started this exchange in 2013 with Anna Eßer, an English teacher in Rhein, Germany.

“Several years ago, I did an online search for a service that connected teachers around the world. Back in the 70s when I was in school, there was such a service that my teacher used, but it had since gone out of business,” McGuinness said.

In previous years, the students in Rheine would write to Fleetwood first. Like the German students here, the kids in Germany are also studying the recipient’s language.

The letters would take around ten days to return, and they would all be handwritten.

“The German students love to strut their English language skills and write mostly in English. This year, the German I students in Fleetwood HS and MS got the pen pals. We are currently awaiting our return letters, so we’ll see if they respond with some German, too.”