The two main functions of e-mail in the classroom are interpersonal exchange and electronic publishing. Those are just a few of the educational benchmarks that students will achieve when they learn how to use e-mail effectively and responsibly. Interpersonal Exchange Keypals Online penpals, or keypals, allow students to learn what everyday life is like in other parts of the world. Having keypals also can improve students' writing skills, because it encourages them to effectively and concisely communicate their thoughts and feelings. Their keypals often ask for further clarification, which reminds them to use descriptive language.
Students feel quite comfortable talking to their peers, even if they are thousands of miles away.
As a result, keypals can encourage reluctant scribes to write more. Some of my ESL students wrote lengthy letters daily to their keypals in Sweden. An exchange between my students learning French and students in France learning English provided many opportunities to explore cultural differences and similarities in a motivating and authentic context. There are two sites that I recommend to educators for registering their classes or contacting another class to set up an exchange. Usually one teacher collects and sends introductory letters from students, and the receiving teacher divides them up and instructs his or her students to respond with their introductions.