New Things I’m Trying: Language Journal
I have a confession to make: With all my studying and trying to improve my Korean speaking and getting a foothold on Spanish, I have not been writing in either language. This may seem fine, but in reality, I am holding myself back. You may be wondering why I am being so hard on myself. If the goal is to speak, it’s a no-brainer that I focus solely on speaking. Unfortunately, this is not right. My goal is to improve my speech patterns to allow for effective communication.
Chances are, as an avid language learner, you have heard of Steve Kauffman, the polyglot who speaks around 20 languages, who said in an article, “When we write, we have the time to look up words, to look up grammar rules, or word endings. We have more time to think things through.” read the full article here.
In another article found on LearnLaughSpeak.com, it is expressed that writing “encourages you to think more logically and critically when speaking, which will help you express yourself more fully and accurately.”
And this is what I am after expressing myself clearly and effectively. Writing your thoughts allows you to assess your current level and provides the opportunity to find the gaps in your vocabulary BEFORE you have an audience. I can not count the number of times I have forgotten a word mid-sentence and felt the fire in my brain as panic took over and the whole conversation went out the window.
Don’t let this be you.
Writing sheds light on gaps in both vocabulary and grammar. It gives you a chance to collect your thoughts and practice in your head extensively before engaging in a conversation you may not be able to keep up with. In general, writing helps boost communication skills, memory, and confidence. If you know what you think and think about how you want to communicate, your speaking will seamlessly reflect your thoughts.
In Korean, in particular, I would say on any given day, my speech level is that of an elementary school student. Considering I spent a year reading children’s books and teaching elementary students, this makes sense. However, I do not want to stop there. My goal is to talk to people my age without immediately getting overwhelmed because I have no idea what is going on. To achieve this, writing is necessary.
So, starting today, I am doing a 30-day journaling challenge.
I have three goals for this challenge:
Write a short journal entry (at least 100 words) every day for 30 days, focusing on daily activities or thoughts.
Use a different theme every 5 days (e.g., Days 1-5: daily life, Days 6-10: future plans, etc.).
At the end of each week, review the last 7 entries for mistakes in grammar, vocabulary, or sentence structure.
To prepare for this challenge, I bought a new journal. This is not necessary unless you are a notebook and stationary junkie, then it is a must. I will carve out 20 minutes a day to write. I plan to write only from memory, meaning if I don’t know a word, I will write it in English and look it up after. For review days, I will set aside an hour to review all seven entries to give room for any major rewrites necessary.
Have you ever done a language journal? What was your experience?
