As a language teacher, one of the most common questions I receive from my students is: "What do you recommend to improve fluency in a language?" There are many useful techniques that I recommend, but one of the most effective ways for me is to keep a journal or practice "journaling". Here are some of the reasons why I think it's so useful:
- Improves writing: By writing in a journal, you're practicing writing in the language you're learning. This helps improve your grammar, spelling, and expand your vocabulary.
- Reinforces memorization: By writing in a journal, you're recalling the words and phrases you've learned in your daily study. The repetition of writing the words helps to fix them in your memory.
- Facilitates reflection: By writing your thoughts and experiences in a journal, you can reflect on what you've learned and how you can apply it in everyday life. Additionally, it allows you to start developing thinking in a foreign language. Usually, one of the biggest obstacles to learning a language is thinking in the native language and then trying to translate it. By keeping a journal, thinking in the language you're learning is encouraged.
- Increases confidence: By writing in a journal, you're practicing using the language in a pressure-free environment. This helps increase your confidence in your abilities to speak and write in the language you're learning. Often, students don't speak until they feel completely comfortable with what they're saying, keeping a journal brings us closer to that area of comfort more quickly.
- Helps keep a record: Keeping a journal allows you to keep track of your progress. You can look back and see how much you've progressed in your learning and celebrate your achievements. This helps keep the student motivated and enables them to reflect and review their mistakes and how they changed over time.
Overall, keeping a journal is a useful tool for practicing writing, fixing in memory what has been learned, reflecting on progress, and increasing confidence in speaking and writing in the language you're learning.
I hope it works for you!