Отслеживай свои успехи дома с помощью испанского журнала

Starting anything can feel overwhelming, whether it’s picking up a new sport, trying a craft, or learning a new language. Starting learning Spanish doesn’t have to feel impossible! One of the best ways to keep yourself organized and hold yourself accountable is none other than the humble journal.

If you consider yourself tech-savvy, you can keep your Spanish journal online in the tabs of spreadsheets. If you’re creative, you can make a junk journal or bullet journal for a visually-appealing way to track your progress. If you’re looking for something simpler, a composite notebook from the dollar store works just as well.

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Here are some examples to spark your imagination to track your progress at home with your very own Spanish journal.

Why should I track my progress?

I know it sounds like I’m suggesting giving yourself more homework when you’re already doing so much to learn Spanish. However, there are tons of benefits to keeping track of your own progress, especially if you’re trying to learn on your own.

1. Journaling in general- No matter the context, journaling enhances mental clarity and helps you manage stress and anxiety. By journaling your progress, you can calm yourself down if you’re feeling overwhelmed, work through the stress of practicing oral communication, and even boost your self-esteem by visually seeing how much you’ve accomplished!
2. Break down your goals- Obviously, you’re learning Spanish because you’d like to be fluent one day. However, that big goal is comprised of smaller goals that you can break down. By keeping track of your progress, you can make actionable steps to tackle those bigger challenges.
3. DIY study guide- By keeping track of your progress, you’re naturally compiling a record of what you’ve learned. If there’s any topic you want to revisit, you know exactly when you worked on it and where to find it.

Make your own Spanish Journal

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Your journal should be customized to exactly what you want (and that you’ll actually consistently use.) Here are some ideas on what you can include in your Spanish journal for the medium you choose.

Regardless of where you choose to journal, I recommend having a section for goals, a section for the topics you worked on with dates, and a section for free-writing about your experience.

1. Digital journal

You have an endless amount of options for a digital journal. You could use Google Sheets or Excel and make it as pretty (or as basic) as you’d like. In addition, you could keep a running Word or Google Doc with your progress. For something more involved, you could make a free Notion account, or use an online journaling app. One major benefit to a digital journal is having the ability to link to other documents and pages for easy reference.

2. Junk journal or bullet journal

If you’ve never heard of them, junk journals are handmake books with scraps of materials, memories, magazine cutouts, and other components you can paste with a glue stick. Bullet journals are dot grid notebooks where you can create your own creative spreads. These are best for individuals looking for a more creative outlet while still keeping track of your progress.

Junk journals are great for storing travel memories and excerpts of print materials. You can use this as a creative way to make a sort of collage of your learning experience.

Bullet journals allow their user to make calendar spreads and tracking sheets, similar to the digital journal above, but analog. It can be a very meditative experience designing your own spreads in a visually-appealing way while still making a useful tracking tool for yourself.

3. Composite notebook

If you’re looking for a simple, uncomplicated way to keep track of your progress, a handy dandy notebook works great. At the top of the page, you can write the date and what you worked on. Then, you can write out a short summary with key points. You can keep a goals section in the front or back and use the rest of the pages to document your experience.

This is a really great option for someone looking to write out their experiences, since you have pages and pages just waiting for you to write out your thoughts and emotions.

Conclusion

Feel free to try out different methods! I know I’ve tried dozens of different journaling methods until I found one that I enjoyed and consistently used.

Also, don’t worry if you feel like you’re already deep into your studies. It’s never too late to start setting goals and tracking them!