If you have a big English goal like “become a fluent English speaker”, write down all your successes and achievements.
When you do this, you can see that you’re making progress. It’s motivating to see where you started, the challenges you faced, and the successes that made you feel good.
Here’s how you can keep an English success diary!
Where to write your diary
This is a writing activity where ‘pen and paper’ are a good choice. Find a nice notebook that you only use for your English successes. You can keep it on your desk so you can find it easily.
What to include in your diary
Try to write at least two paragraphs for each success in English. The information you can include is:
– the date of your achievement
– what achievement / success it was (a good presentation you gave, finishing a short story, understanding more of a TV show or film than normal, having a good conversation in English, getting praise for your English, passing an exam or test in English, etc).
– the difficulties you overcame to make it an achievement (having to look up lots of words in a dictionary, having to work hard to feel more confident, doing lots of preparation for it, etc)
– how the success made you feel (happy, proud, confident, etc)
– the next thing you want to do in English (because one successful moment leads to the next)
How to use your diary
Read your diary regularly. You can use it to remind yourself about all the successes you have already had in English, or to remind yourself about the next thing you want to do in English.
You can use it to plan your next goal in English. What do you want to achieve, and what do you need to get there?
You can also look at it every month to make sure you are following your plan.
You can also use it for other people. For example, if you’ve already given a few presentations in English, you can offer to do the next one for your department. If you’ve already chaired a few international meetings, you can volunteer for the next one as well. Tell people in your company that you’re available for English tasks and projects because this will give you more practice in English – which will make you more confident.
How to speak English successfully
If your goal is to speak English more fluently, check out the English Fluency Club. We meet a few times every month, and you get lots of opportunities to speak in English in small groups. Each lesson you will increase your confidence so that speaking English becomes more natural for you.
