
Language Learning Journal: Why You Need One and Where to Start - TwoWeekLinguist
http://twoweeklinguist.com/language-learning-journal/
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Nadya
I would recommend a learning journal for an entirely different reason: self
analysis. Keeping solid documentation of your learning allows you to witness
actual progress from "when I was a beginner" to "now", see how you may have
had misconceptions about a particular issue in the language (which makes it
easier to identify and teach about to other learners), and allows you to
identify "pain points" that you've been stuck on without progress so you can
work on them!

None of this freedom of creativity mumbo jumbo (something readily available in
a language without a journal).

In your About Me you don't mention which language you learned. I imagine it's
Japanese based on this blog, but that may not be obvious to people reading the
page. Also, while some would say "Japanese is the hardest language in the
world" (due to "3 alphabets") I would argue Chinese is harder (tones are a lot
more difficult!), and many tribal African languages _far_ more difficult.

ps.

I bought a pocket-sized Moleskine (or maybe similar journal?) nearly 5 years
ago - it's unmarked and unbranded and I was never able to find it in a store
again. So thank you for introducing me to the brand-name of this fantastic
journal. I absolutely love how it's lasted the test of time.

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magic_beans
I kept a language journal while studying abroad in Paris. I'd write down every
unfamiliar French word I heard or read, all the then-incomprehensible idioms
or slang I overheard, things people ordered in the boulangerie, platitudes
relayed back and forth at the market.

Now, looking back at that journal, I remember the _context_ of nearly every
single word, which makes each unforgettable. The lists of words seem random
out of context, but read in context I am brought back to the occasion in which
I heard the word.

Even now, years later, I still know most of the words I learned that year.

