World Language Exploratory Students Receive Penpal Letters from France

Throughout the course of the school year, EMS sixth graders have been learning about global cultures, customs, and language in their World Language Exploratory classes. 

On March 18, students in Vincent Gabriele’s classes got a special treat, as bags of letters from middle schoolers a continent away arrived as part of an ongoing penpal project. 

The handwritten letters were sent by students from a middle school in Prahecq—a small town in Western France—and provided Eastchester children a snapshot of what life was like for the French middle schoolers.

“The letters show our students that the students in France are just like them; they wrote about the sorts of presents they received for Christmas, like iPads and video games, and what they did over their vacation,” said Gabriele. “I think it’s fun for the students to see just how much they have in common with kids from another country.”

Gabriele also used the penpal letters as an opportunity to discuss how similar traditions in France and the United States have slight cultural differences, pointing to the significance of fish as a part of French April Fool’s Day pranks as one example.

“We talked about April Fool’s Day and poisson d’avril or ‘April Fish’ in France,” said Gabriele. “Tying a fish to someone was an old, traditional prank there, and you still see it today, even though they thankfully don’t typically use real fish anymore.”

Eastchester students have begun their response letters to their French peers, noted Gabriele. Those letters will be sent sometime in the next few weeks. 

“We started work on our letters in class, but every student is different, and some chose to take it home to complete,” said Gabriele. “We wanted the students in France to have the experience of hearing back, and I think they will be excited to get our letters.”

But beyond the language skills being used in this exercise, Gabriele hopes that communicating with youngsters from half-a-world away will broaden the horizons of Eastchester students and encourage them to think more globally. 

“It’s fun to see how much we have in common, and it’s my hope that one day we will have world peace,” said Gabriele with a laugh. “I won’t take credit for it when it happens, but it feels like a good start.”