Bullet journaling techniques to improve your English

The best way to learn a new language is to use it regularly in a real life setting outside of the classroom. But real life doesn’t always – or can’t always – take the form of chatting to locals and ordering local food at restaurants. Learning English also comes with being able to read, write and comprehend the language. Keeping a bullet journal has so many wellness benefits, and it can help with language skills as well. Here are a few simple bullet journaling techniques to improve your English.

What is a bullet journal?

Unlike other journals, diaries and planners, a bullet journal consists of completely blank pages that you fill in as you go through each day. You are encouraged to use stickers and bold markers in plenty of different colours to make the contents of your journal stand out. This allows you to make unforgettable lists and colour-code any tasks or information you need to write down. Your bullet journal doesn’t have to be beautiful and artistic; it just needs to be functional for you. One of the biggest benefits of using a bullet journal is that by using it daily, you can
remove any sections that you don’t like immediately.

Your bullet journal should include the following:

A key showing what different colours and stickers represent. For example, green could be your class schedule, and a certain kind of sticker represents a fun fact.
A future log that consists of at least 4 pages. This is where you will document your long-term goals, travel plans, events and tasks.
A monthly log which you will draw over a two-page spread giving yourself an overview of the month ahead. Include monthly tasks, birthdays, holidays, events. You can add more as you move through the month for the days ahead.
Your daily log is where you will spend most of your time. Don’t date these in advance. Instead, wait and see how it flows throughout the day. Begin with your to-do list. From there you can add interesting facts you learned, short-term reminders, instant photos, thoughts, ideas and meditations. Some people also track their fitness and food in their daily logs, as well as what books they finished and what they are grateful for. Each day will look completely different, and will take up different amounts of space.

3 bullet journaling techniques to improve your English

1. Journal in English

This is an obvious one. Make sure your entire bullet journal is in English. At the beginning, use dictionaries and ask for help with words you don’t know yet. This is a great natural way to expand your vocabulary. Practising in it in a real life way will help to develop your skills more quickly, and it will be fun to look back to the beginning of your journal to see how your English skills have developed over time.

2. Create a weekly progress tracker

Add a page at the beginning of each week with a graph on it. On one axis, write down the days of the week. On the other axis, write down the language tasks you want to complete each day. Learning English is a big long-term goal, but having smaller weekly goals to work towards is what will keep you motivated throughout. Your language-learning task list can include:

Had a conversation with an English speaker
Attended an English class
Practised writing
Read in English
Watched a video, series or movie in English
Worked with vocabulary flashcards

Every time you perform one of these tasks, mark it on your graph under the corresponding day of the week using different coloured markers or stickers for different tasks. Having a graph packed with daily accomplishments in a visual way is one of the best motivators.

3. Organise your studies

Studying with LAL in Cape Town is a great opportunity to add plenty of beautiful travel-related elements to your journal, but keeping a journal or planner is first and foremost about organisation. You need to make sure that you’re adding your English studies into the mix beyond when your classes are. You need to add tasks to your monthly, weekly and daily pages too. Monthly tasks can include reading a whole book in English and adding a certain number of words to your vocabulary list. Weekly tasks should include time for your coursework, listening to a certain number of podcast episodes and watching an English movie, for example. We mentioned some daily tasks above, but you can even more granular. How many pages do you want to read per day? Do you want to divide your flashcards into themes, and work at one each evening? Is there anything from your English classes that day that you want to practice while it’s still fresh?

Both learning a new language and visiting a new city are incredible adventures, and LAL offers both at the same time. So if you’re ready to learn, travel and have your journal ready in hand, find out what LAL School in Cape town has to offer.