I'm a big fan of pen firends (what our cousins in the USA call "pen pals").  I believe that any exercise that engages students in real-world functional use of language pushes the learner more than most any exercise attempted in the classroom.  What can be more energizing than to receive an email from someone you don't know very well?

If your class wants to correspond with my class, why not start by sending me an email message?  bradstow2@yahoo.co.u
k.  If I don't respond quickly, it's because I've been flooded with work and other paperwork.   You can also contact my colleague Steve McCrea at his Facebook.com or Orkut.com accounts (both linked with his email "FreeEnglishLessons@gmail.com"), who enjoys pushing his students to reach out to potential pen friends.


Here's one of Steve's Facebook photo albums.