How to Start a Language Journal: Topic Ideas

Keep reading for several topics to help you with how to start a language journal. Your language journal topics may vary and include any topic you like, but how you use this information will determine what you get out of it. Check out the supplemental YouTube video that goes along with this article for more information, also titled, How to Start a Language Journal.

1. Write about a goal. You can write about a short-term or long-term goal.
   1. Short-term goal example: This week, I want to write in my journal at least once daily. I will remind myself to do this by setting a reminder alert on my phone. I want to write in my journal to improve my language skills.
   2. Long-term goal example: My long-term goal is to own my own home within the next five years. To achieve this goal I will work hard to improve my credit by paying off all my debt. I will start looking for a job that pays me more money, so I can save up even more than I am now. I could also ask my boss for a raise. It is about time they notice all of my hard work.
2. Write a short story. Use the prompts listed below to get you started or think of your own! You can use the list of keywords I suggest or have fun with it and randomly choose some words you don’t fully understand in English. Try to challenge yourself to use them correctly.
   1. Title:  Mystery at the Old Carnival
      1. Keywords: secret, demand, nephew, employee, Ferris wheel, vendor, locket
   2. Drama in the Lab
      1. Microbiologist, international, persuade, bystander, experiment, adjust, test tube
   3. Date with the Enemy
      1. Eruption, promise, assume, nemesis, bystander, server, order
   4. Childish Dreams
      1. Memories, superlative, hobby, interest, surprise, requirement, hometown
   5. The Fortune Cookie Predicted it Would Happen
      1. Numerology, meaningful, lottery, origin, meaningful, recycled
   6. Write about a childhood memory. Write about how it made you feel. Provide as many details as you can. Write about what you were doing, who was with you, and how you got to that point.
   7. Take a shot at writing a song or a poem.
   8. Read a chapter out of a book and write down all the words you don’t understand. Try to find the meaning of those words and use them in a new sentence.
   9. Favorite Item. Write about the most important item that you own. Why is it important to you? Have you ever lost it? What would you do if that happened?
   10. Pretend to be famous. What is your life like? Who are the people in your life? What do you do for a living? What do you do for fun?
   11. Think of one person that you are jealous of. Write about why you are jealous of them, and what it is they have that you want. Bonus if you can think of a plan to achieve that goal.
   12. Find an article in your field of study. Read over that article and rewrite it in your journal. You can copy it, summarize it, or make a list of parts you don’t understand.
   13. Set a 1-5-minute timer and write all the English words you can think of in that amount of time. You can make sentences with these words or you can just make a list. At the end of this time, circle any words you are confused about and look those words up. Try to correct your grammar and spelling, or remind yourself of the meaning of some of these words or synonyms.