Journals in the Foreign Language Classroom

Here are some great journal topics for the foreign language classroom. I am providing these in English for the benefit of all language teachers! Modify them to suit your needs!

The main goals of journaling are to allow the student a means of self-expression and time for reflection while also refining their writing skills. Journaling allows students to use the grammar in REAL communication, our ultimate goal in the foreign language classroom! You'll be surprised at how creative and involved their writing becomes when they are able to communicate something that is meaningful to them. You'll learn a lot more about your students and understand them a little better. Take the time to comment on each person's experiences, not their grammar, but what they are trying to say to you.

Choose two or more topics per journaling session to allow your students to choose what interests them the most.

SOME TOPIC IDEAS:

What is your best personality trait? What traits do you look for in a good friend and why?

Compare your school experience when you were little to how it is now. What was better and worse then? What is better and worse now? How did you feel in school then? And now? How has the school experience changed overall?

How did you spend your afternoons when you were a child? How do you spend them now?

What is one of the most important memories of your life? Why?

What will your life be like when you are 50 years old?

What are your goals for the next 10 years? Why?

Describe your dream job! Why does this job interest you? How will you prepare yourself for this job?

Describe your best friend. How did you meet? What do you like to do together?

If you were the teacher, what would you change about this class? If you were the principal, what would you change about this school? Why? (Tough one, but fascinating! Be prepared for the feedback and don't take it personally!)

If you never had to work in your life, how would you spend your time? Why? Do you think it is important to work? Why or why not?

What is your most valued possession? Where and when did you get it? Why is it so meaningful?

What is your favorite place in the world? Describe it using your five senses. Why do you like it so much?

I also like to use interesting photos as stimuli for journaling. Or, even better, have students bring in their own photos or drawings to use as a journal stimulus.

- an empty tropical beach - You are lying on the beach all alone. Describe what you feel with all your senses. What are you thinking about? If you were on an island all alone, what one possession would you bring and why?

- an interesting face (from National Geographic or similar) - Create a life for this person. Who is she? Where is she from? What is she thinking about? What is her life like? Why does she look sad/angry/happy/pensive?

Get students writing - don't worry about the grammar per se. Focus on the communication involved. What are they saying to you? Value their thoughts and applaud their effort to communicate. Write a personal note back to each student. They will value your personal response more than you can imagine.