Junior goalie Emma Gartner enters Coach John Marshall’s classroom with a frown set upon her face.  It had been a rough day due to the lack of sleep she had gotten the previous night.

In hope of a letter addressed to her,  she sits downs in a nearby desk waiting for seventh hour soccer to start.

Suddenly, the day gets better.  Coach John tosses a small square paper with the words written, “To: Emma,” on the outside.  Her pen pal had finally written back.

Recently, the girls soccer team and the Marshallese students of the Language Academy have been exchanging pen pal letters each week.  The letters  help the Language Academy  students practice their English.  Most of these students moved to the United States this past school year.

“I like writing these letters because I enjoy teaching and helping them learn a new language,” said sophomore midfielder Jordan Pleggenkhule.

Not only are the Marshallese students learning a new language, but the letters are allowing the girl’s soccer team to look into a different culture that they are not familiar with.

“My pen pal has taught me all about his culture,” said Gartner. “I’ve learned about how he lived in the Marshall Islands and what he did  on a day-to-day basis.”

The letters first started with all of the Language Academy students who spoke their native language writing to Spanish I students.  Spanish teacher and  Coach Marshall added the girls soccer team.

“I think that these letters will be a more organic way of using and learning the language,” said Language Academy teacher Jana McVay, “They really have to think about what they are writing instead of just copying sentences.”

All of the students writing these letters teach and learn at the same time when writing and reading their letters.  The students will continue this tradition throughout with year.

“The letters started on Sept. 27, and at the end of the year, we hope to have the students meet one another,” said Marshall.