The Remediation of the Pen Pal

It seems that learning occurs when students are taken out of their comfort zone. When students are exposed to material which is unique to them they are much more likely to gain information. With the advent of digital technology we should take advantage of the instantaneous, world-wide communication which is available. Perhaps a remediation and a resurrection of the pen pal is in order. This could be set up on several levels: college to elementary, high school to high school. An Instant Message set up might not be sufficient due to large time differences from one continent to the next. Email or a discussion board form may be a more sufficient fit for this exercise.
In the process of composing letters the students would have to choose words carefully and avoid slang so that others who are reading English as a 2nd language will understand the students emails. The students will also have an opportunity to share in a culture which is not their own. At a high school level students are still very unaware of different cultures, so I think that this would be a good exercise for opening their minds to diverse ideas. Plus, it is fun to get mail (email) which is more fun based rather than business based.