(Originally Posted On Instagram @ari_noyume On September 12, 2020)
In 2020, I started a diary in japanese
The same way this practice helped me learn english, I thought that it would help even for japanese. So I started my first ever diary in japanese on April 1st, 2020. 📗
And this is how I discovered the power of journaling in your target language.
At first, writing my own sentences with a pen was sooo slow, and I was checking how to write EVERY. SINGLE. kanji. I think part of it was lack of practice, but part of it was also general lack of confidence: I simply had never tested my recollection of kanji characters that intensely before, so I had zero confidence in my ability to recall them accurately!
But past this initial stage, I realised how much I had improved!
What I Used
Literally all I needed to start journaling in japanese was:
an erasable pen: because I was constantly rewriting my kanji characters; I used the Pilot Frixion Point Knock pen, I recommend it! (Get it here)
a small unruled notebook:
small because it was much quicker to fill in, which gave me courage to go on
without lines to not put too much pressure on myself to write the kanji characters in the appropriate size, because when you start writing ideograms it is very difficult at first to control their sizes and to balance them altogether, so I didn't want to put pressure on myself regarding the balance of my kanji: it was enough to put pressure on myself to recall how they were written on my own
here is the notebook I used - Midori A5 unruled notebook (Get it here)
and a good mindset =.= to keep going even though it was hard from the very first entry in my journal.
And in no time I had completed a first journal entirely in journal, and then went on to fill in another one entirely before the end of 2020!
How It Helped My Japanese
But now you will ask me:
But Ally, in which area of your japanese studies does writing a diary help?
Actually, journaling in your target language helps in every area, and especially for japanese!
・How to write kanji, and general kanji ability: as always, repetition guys. Writing the same kanji over and over will definitely help you remember how that kanji is written one day right? On top of that, the fact that you are focusing on your sentence and not on the kanji makes you magically remember how to write the kanji! If you don’t believe me, please try for yourself!
・Remembering the words that come up often: To remember vocab, you have to use that vocab. Writing about your personal thoughts, that really helps.
・Reading and listening comprehension: Trying to make my own sentences helped me understand native sentences more and more.
・Grammar: Again, thinking about your own sentences, you want to write them correctly right? Journaling also helps a lot there!
・Conversation: When I first started writing in my journal I was no way near being able to chat in japanese, but thanks to writing my diary, I definitely improved naturally until starting my conversation lessons online!
💡That’s it for today! What about you guys, do you keep a diary in your target language?
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