By Lilly (8c)
At the beginning of the corona time we got the task from our class teacher Mrs. Wurring to exchange emails with students assigned to us from Coffman High School, Grizzell Middle School, Dublin, Ohio, to inform each other about the corona virus and get to know each other.
We learned a lot of interesting things about our email partners and about the city they live in. We learned that Dublin was named after an Irish settler´s hometown in Ireland/ Europe and is well known for hosting the PGA Memorial Golf tournament each year in late May or early June. Our emailpartners told us that Ohio was also called Buckeye state because the state tree is called a Buckeye. The state bird is a cardinal.
The assignment we were given consisted of three main parts, which we had to work on in each email and which the students from Ohio also received. After the tasks, a few of us stayed in contact with our email partners and still are. We really enjoyed this email project and we were able to improve our English and the students from Ohio their German. We also learned a lot about the US culture. We would definitely do an email project again!
By Carolin and Maya (9b/d)
As an English class from Mrs. Wurring, we had the opportunity to start an e-mail project with American students from Dublin Coffman High School in the current corona situation. Everyone got a student with whom he or she could exchange emails. We talked not only about everyday things or school life but also about restrictions by Covid-19. We got three themes for orientation by our teacher, which helped us to structure our emails. Because we had only little social contact in the time of Covid-19, it was very nice to talk to students from another country. Now we know each other well and some students are going to stay in touch. The exchange in both languages allowed both sides to benefit linguistically. All in all, it was a good experience which we wouldn’t want to miss.
A selection of the quotations of some students from Coffman High School as well as from Otto-Pankok-Schule
Sia (Ohio): I really enjoyed having a pen pal, especially one all the way in Germany during this time. It was nice to see that even though we lived across seas from each other, we were all going through similar things during this pandemic and because we were having some form of communication with others through German and English, there was a sense of normalcy, as if we were back in our classroom learning through communication. I think it was a really great alternative to having foreign exchange students in our class so everyone could stay safe and healthy.
Andy (Ohio): I think getting to interact with a native speaker is always an incredible experience. You get to see how they would interact and write to people. The modelling and the conversation are both very interesting an help multitudes towards keeping me motivated in learning the language.
Bridget (Ohio): I was skeptical at first because I didn´t know how this was going to work, but it turned out to be a lot of fun and I truly feel like I made a new friend.
Guru (Ohio): I really enjoyed the pen pal experience and I think this was the most fun thing I have probably ever done in Deutsch1. I hope to do this type of assignment in my future years of Deutsch.
Jannis: I have really enjoyed this e-mail project, because I had a little insight in the life of the students in the USA (especially in Corona times) and, for example, I got really nice photos from the USA, too. Indeed I didn´t like that I had to wait for an answer for a long time and sometimes I didn´t get any answer although I answered quickly each time. But nevertheless, this e-mailproject was a really good experience and I would be happy if such a project took place again in the future.
Katharina: I liked the project, because I learned something about COVID-19 in the USA. Also, I have learned about Coffmann Dublin High School, the culture in the USA and so many things about my email partner. My partner and I have agreed that we write in our native language and in the foreign language. You learn about grammar as well as reading and writing in English. Summarized I can say that projects like this one are sensible and important because you practice the foreign language and learn about the culture of your partner.
Jeremy: Since the beginning of the Corona-virus pandemic my everyday life has not changed so much. I have tried and am still trying to do the best of my days at home. It is not really special now.I just stay at home almost all the time. It is hard to believe what happend to our life, but it has happend and I cannot help it or change it.
A year ago it would not have come to our mind that any of this would be possible.
The e-mail project has shown us another side of the crisis. Every country deals with the pandemic their own way. In Germany they closed schools and shops earlier than in the US. I think the lockdown was also tougher for the Americans to go through. For them it was like their freedom was taken away.
Thanks to my e-mail exchange with an American, I got interested in the history of the US and now I follow the current events, like “Black lives Matter“ protests.
I am looking forward to new letters from my pen pal after the summer holidays.
Naemi: The project was awesome. I learned very much about the life in America. All in all it helped me to improve my English.
Golo:The e-mail project was a really nice experience for me! My pen pal told me about the, in my eyes, cool culture of his hometown and I think a trip to Dublin (Ohio) is definitely worth it.