Why do you write a language log here?

[chove]

I like the blogging format and it helps me keep track of what I've been up to. Who else can inflict this language stuff on, eh?

[linguaphile]

Why write a language log? My reason seems to be different than most others here – for me, it's almost purely for the writing practice. Nothing to do with reflection, accountability, staying motivated, etc. Writing has pretty much always been the skill I practice least in the languages that I've studied, and writing about my language learning now gives me an "excuse" to train that skill (which in turn, I suppose, could help other skills like speaking or reading too!) I could never just decide to sit down and practice writing for the sake of practicing writing, without any real reason for writing what I'm writing – a language log finally gives me a reason to write in different languages, as well as a ready-made topic to write about in each one.

Why write a language log here? It's the perfect mix of:

• "public" (an online space where I may end up interacting with any other like-minded language enthusiasts who happen to take an interest in my log, who incidentally will almost inevitably speak or study at least one of the same languages I'm working on), yet...
• "private" (I'm just a random anonymous language enthusiast here... there's no way I'd subject my "real-world" friends to long-winded texts about how I'm working on X or Y language )

[RachelMeier]

[*] "private" (I'm just a random anonymous language enthusiast here... there's no way I'd subject my "real-world" friends to long-winded texts about how I'm working on X or Y language )[/list]

Sometimes I will go off on a longwinded whatsits about the languages I’m learning with a friend of mine who’s getting her doctorate and also studies several languages for that. At the end sometimes she’s like “why are you doing this? what is the point?” And she is the person who should understand the most. So yeah it feels like for me as well, there’s no place other than the log to just ramble on about it without getting nitpicked over (like on reddit).

[allenthalben]

It helps me achieve my goals because I actually write down a list and am then at least semi-accountable

I also find it fun to read others' logs too.

[Lemus]

I found I'm more accountable to myself when I put my goals up somewhere public. Even if not a single person ever read my log knowing it's up there helps keep me disciplined

Who else can inflict this language stuff on, eh?

Also very much this. There are only so many places in the world where I can talk excitedly about my Anki review stats where anyone A) even knows what that means and B) might be able to relate.

[SCMT]

I write a log here to track my progress and my activity. I think tracking these things helps provide motivation and context for what I'm currently doing, and I think it encourages more and better language learning. If I'm going to regularly post about my language learning, that provides some incentive to do some language learning. It's also a history of this process and a reminder of the progress I've made.

I also write to solicit input from people who know more about language learning than I do, and there are a lot of them on this board. And the logs of others are helpful to me, so maybe mine can be helpful to someone else. There is a sense of community baked into the log, as well. Self-learning a language is a strange universe, and writing and reading logs is one small way to share it.

[garyb]

I don't really feel any need for accountability and discipline, or even tracking what I'm doing. However I'm the kind of person who enjoys writing and I find that it helps me to put my thoughts in order and to better understand my position in the world. I write a private diary (in my target languages, of course ) and it's hugely beneficial for dumping all the thoughts that are racing around my head, and similarly a log on here is a good outlet for the reflections, successes, and frustrations of the journey of language learning which is often solitary and not something that my usual company can relate to much. All the better if people are reading it and can relate to it or get some inspiration, ideas, or just the sense of community that's been described from it. I sure do from other logs so I feel like I'm giving something back.

[humerusthings]

Great question haha. Really enjoyed reading everyone's answers!

I pretty much have the same answers- it gives me some accountability, also it's a good way to log what I've done, since i started learning French about 1.5 years ago it has been rather a stop-and-start in spurts of inspiration kind of thing, so it's sometimes hard to remember where I last left off. E.g at which season of coffee break french, which episode, so I go back to my log and see what I last recorded. It also makes me want to do a little more on some days, instead of doing like half a chapter of a grammar book, I end up doing 2 chapters just so i can log it in, or perhaps finish up a little more Assimil, or listen to one more podcast.

And even when I don't have the time to study, it's inspiring to read other people's logs and see how they are studying, and to check out the resources they are using, to save up for another day when I have time. And it's a sense of camaraderie, and to see how everyone manages to fit language learning into their day around their work/ other things in life outside of language learning. Particularly through this coronovirus pandemic, hearing how everyone is doing round the world has been very comforting and makes a lockdown and social distancing feel much less isolating!

Additionally of course i've learnt of loads of new resources i would never ever have found by myself if not for this forum and reading through logs - e.g assimil, glossika, RFI, Grammaire Progressive du Francais, Easy French Step by Step.

[Lisa]

I started a log since it's helpful to be able to look back and my progress, when I started reading a particular book or taking a particular program and my frustrations or feelings of success at that point. Looking back lets you see how far you've come. About a month into my first serious effort, not that long after I found this forum, I realized that I couldn't quite remember the exact date I started anki or my first serious book.

It's public since... well, I wanted to do it on this forum so I don't misplace it since I have way way too many things to keep track of already. A public log pushes me to write better (my day job is writing, and an audience of any kind is a mindset). Surprisingly (to me), people sometimes do actually read it... and I've and some very helpful advice and encouragement. I wish I would write them in my target language but I think I'm reluctant to expose my, er, developing skills, that's the downside of a public log.

For me, the log doesn't work at all for accountability; I find online programs like kwizig, duolingo, and anki work very well to push me along. I think I'm easily bored... with reading/listening/watching, it has to interest me, I can't seem to focus if it's "required".

Other people's logs... well, I mostly feel tired and overwhelmed by everything that people do! It certainly ups the bar and challenges me.

[sporedandroid]

Mainly to get things out of my system. I tend to write more logs when I’m trying something new. I also write about things that I’m not quite ready to post a thread about, some with things that might not warrant a thread. My log is mostly about language learning, but I write about topics like culture or music as well. I think it’s good to see when I started things.

I’m not that great at filling out spreadsheets, so my log is the closest I get. I remember that I felt like I was doing a method for five months. When I checked my log I realized it was only three months. That felt pretty good. When I have a regular language learning routine, I don’t tend to write many logs about it.