The reason I decided to start blogging in English is journaling.
In early June, I began journaling in English every day and soon found it very helpful for improving my English.
This new daily routine has definitely given me a lot of insight into how I study.
For one thing, journaling gives me more chances to use English expressions and vocabulary that I need when talking about everyday life, mostly small, ordinary events.
I’ve been taking English discussion lessons for many years, mainly focused on difficult or complicated world issues and news topics.
But on the other hand, I haven’t had enough opportunities to practice everyday conversations. This imbalance in my English skills has always made me feel less confident about speaking.
I had been feeling stuck in my English learning.
And I realized that I needed something new to break through that wall and move forward. So I came up with the idea of journaling.
I just write down little things, like where I went, what I did that day, what I thought, and so on.
But at first, it wasn’t easy. I often struggled to express even small things in English.
The second thing I started is reading a novel written in English.
To be honest, I rarely read books—even in Japanese.
And actually, making time for reading is still not easy for me, but I try to read at least one page a day no mater how busy or tired I am.
This new habit has also brought me a lot of insight.
(But I’d like to talk more about that another day.)
Anyway, I’ve come to realize that if you want to improve your English and break through a plateau, you need to add something new to your study routine.
Of course, continuing with the same method is useful and important,
but to keep growing, we sometimes need to leave our comfort zone, in other words, to stop repeating the same routine, and explore new ways of learning.
And these new study habits are what inspired me to start blogging in English.
It might be even harder for me, but I just want to give it a try.
