Free-form and/or journal writing: Advice, tips and suggestions

[kujichagulia]

I like to write. Not necessarily fiction, but mainly about what I see around me or what goes on in my life. I keep a journal in English, which is my native language. I feel it helps me think about my life, what I’ve done and what I would like to do.

This is also something I try to do in the languages that I am learning. I think it’s fun to write in other languages. However, the problem I come across is that it can be time-consuming. I often have to look up a lot of words I don’t know, or find the right grammar for a sentence. Doing that takes away from the “flow” of writing and makes it less fun.

There are ways of working around that, of course. Nowadays I simply write the English for words I don’t know. Another way is to simplify what I write - in other words, try to use easier grammar and vocabulary, and write things in short, less descriptive sentences. However, I feel when I do that, I’m not pushing myself to find out what I need to learn in order to express myself in another language.

And then, sometimes I wonder if it’s really worth it. Would I be better off just copying text or doing Scriptorium, or answering comprehension questions to a text, rather than doing free-form writing? That way, I practice correct grammar and usage. But again, I wouldn’t learn how to express myself.

Anyway, I would like to hear from more advanced learners who also do things like keep a journal in their L2s. Does it help you? And any advice you can share? I’m sure I’m not the only one with these questions, so any advice would be most helpful.

[smallwhite]

> How helpful is it?

What is it you are trying to help?

[kujichagulia]

> How helpful is it?

What is it you are trying to help?

I’m trying to give myself more output practice. I don’t have as many opportunities to speak in my languages as much as I would like, but I can certainly write in my languages, so I want to make use of that. I want to practice and reinforce what I already know, as well as learn what I need to know to talk about my own life and situations.

[smallwhite]

> How helpful is it?

What is it you are trying to help?

I’m trying to give myself more output practice. I don’t have as many opportunities to speak in my languages as much as I would like, but I can certainly write in my languages, so I want to make use of that. I want to practice and reinforce what I already know, as well as learn what I need to know to talk about my own life and situations.

So there are two things you want to achieve. You have already addressed them very clearly in your first post.

I like to write. Not necessarily fiction, but mainly about what I see around me or what goes on in my life. I keep a journal in English, which is my native language. I feel it helps me think about my life, what I’ve done and what I would like to do.

This is also something I try to do in the languages that I am learning. I think it’s fun to write in other languages. However, the problem I come across is that it can be time-consuming. I often have to look up a lot of words I don’t know, or find the right grammar for a sentence. Doing that takes away from the “flow” of writing and makes it less fun.

There are ways of working around that, of course. Nowadays I simply write the English for words I don’t know. Another way is to simplify what I write - in other words, try to use easier grammar and vocabulary, and write things in short, less descriptive sentences. However, I feel when I do that, I’m not pushing myself to find out what I need to learn in order to express myself in another language.

And then, sometimes I wonder if it’s really worth it. Would I be better off just copying text or doing Scriptorium, or answering comprehension questions to a text, rather than doing free-form writing? That way, I practice correct grammar and usage. But again, I wouldn’t learn how to express myself.

Anyway, I would like to hear from more advanced learners who also do things like keep a journal in their L2s. Does it help you? And any advice you can share? I’m sure I’m not the only one with these questions, so any advice would be most helpful.

[kujichagulia]

So there are two things you want to achieve. You have already addressed them very clearly in your first post.

Well, yeah, there are two things I want to achieve with my writing, and I was descriptive about what I do. I guess what I’m after is: Does what I do work? I can’t look into the future and see if writing has helped me, but perhaps there are advanced learners here that have used writing to improve themselves and have some suggestions.

And as you might have alluded to, there is a balance I’m trying to find between having fun and getting into a flow with my writing, and using writing to find out words and phrases I need to learn.

[smallwhite]

Hm? So did the easier type of writing help you and is it still helping you practise and reinforce what you already know, and did the harder type help you and is it still helping you learn what you need to know to talk about your own life and situations?

I want to practice and reinforce what I already know, as well as learn what I need to know to talk about my own life and situations.

[coldrainwater]

I am not advanced but have been slowly working my way to a more fluid process for writing. Very recently, I have found it helpful to put fingers to keyboard using short, unordered L2 phrases that capture pivotal notions as they occur to me. Since I read (and often), this dovetails nicely with capturing quotes and unknown words, so it is not a [major] time sink. I make few grammar and spelling errors writing like this and do not fatigue (important). The practice is often extemporaneous. I think of my L1 writing more as editing than writing per se and carry that thought process through to my L2.

When it comes time to make an L2 journal entry, there is little procrastination because much of the writing is already complete (or completely fragmented). Instead, it becomes a matter of turning existing collocations and idle thoughts into something presentable. That is also where WordReference, reverse context tools, and dictionaries become handy. They are not a drag for me given their due placement. They also provide a form of immediate feedback. My penultimate step tends to be running the entire mess through a good L2 grammar checker. The final step, if there is one, involves posting some or all of what I write to lang-8 for feedback. Taken as a whole, yes the process is helpful over time. It complements more traditional grammar study as far as I can tell and the multiple writing modalities sometimes are party to chance encounters and new insights.

[kujichagulia]

Hm? So did the easier type of writing help you and is it still helping you practise and reinforce what you already know, and did the harder type help you and is it still helping you learn what you need to know to talk about your own life and situations?

Well, both help with both. The problem is that when I write the harder way, I learn more new things and reinforce more simply because I'm writing longer texts, but looking up new words and grammar becomes so tedious that I end up not writing for several days after that. If I write the easier way, I get less reinforcement and learn fewer new things per text, but I'm more likely to stay in the "flow" of writing and do it for consecutive days.

I think the title of this thread may have led to some confusion, so I changed it. What I do certainly helps me, at least in the short term. I remember many of the new words I look up, and I get practice using vocabulary that isn't so active. I'm just always looking for ways to make my language learning better and more efficient.

[Decidida]

I think you are ahead of me, but when I am journaling or even answering assigned Spanish 101 questions that require a free personal response, I make better progress in my language learning. I am going backwards not forwards with my Spanish since starting college. It is so discouraging.

I have a new friend from Venezuela that I spend about 20 minutes a day with that is pleased to help me with my Spanish. I am going to journal a few sentences a day and have him correct them, and work through a frequency word list.

[Jbean]

I saw this video a few days ago and I am planning on trying it today:

https://itsnachotime.com/cien-palabras/

This Spanish teacher recommends writing a short passage in your L2, translating it into your L1, making the translation as high a level as you can, and then using a translation program like Google Translate to convert it back to your L2 so that you can look for richer, more idiomatic ways to express yourself.