Setting
up your Journal:
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Journal Writing is an innocent and gentle
process that has been around for centuries. It is a Powerful tool for
personal growth and personal healing. It helps people discover and utilize
their greatest gifts & hidden resources; it provides a way to mirror
the processes by which they become dynamic and develop themselves -- what
concerns EFL students here is mainly "Communicating in English",
Encouraging Creativity, & Practising Writing and all
of the concomitant thinking skills that underlie writing.
Unfortunately, writing a journal is not as easy a task as it might seem. Our culture is so externally oriented that it is really difficult to stop, shift gears and listen to our inner selves. We have good intentions but find it difficult to turn off the TV or radio, let go of the telephone and sit in the quiet "chamber" of ourselves. The trip inward can be extraordinarily rewarding-once we have begun, since, let's face it, it is the beginning that is so difficult.
So often, when we sit down to do journal writing,
we are caught up in our left brain responsibilities and may have a hard
time switching gears. What we need to do is breathe deeply and begin to
release whatever we have been attached to--to begin to listen to that still
small voice within.
Some people can do this with relative ease, but
others find it difficult ... they often don't know what to write about.
What
should you do if you don't know what
1- You can write about the themes you are studying
at school => Your
Analysis of facts, situations,
what you would do if you were in ...
shoes,what should be done
to avoid ....... / to improve ...... / to make
up for ......
2- You can glue on the inside front cover a
list
of possible topics you
havecollected ourselves (quotes,
proverbs ...), so if you run out of
ideas you have a list to consult.
3- You can collect some texts that inspire
you a lot, and when in need,
youuse them.
4- You can also use the
additional handouts
given by your teacher.
5- You can comment on the songs studied
and movies seen.
6- You can comment on whatever is going on
around you: at school, at
home, with a friend, in Lebanon,
in the world ....
7- You can write about & interpret (or at
least try to) your dreams.
8- You can collect poems, ads, photos, or
newspaper clippings
(interestingones), paste them
in your journal and give your opinion
about them.
9- You can write a list of advice you
would give to your friend, teacher,
parents, supervisor, principal
......
10-You can write about many different areas
including personal
relationships, career and
special interests, body and health, and
meaning in life.
Note: It is much better to match the topic
of the entry with the theme
being studied.
Setting
up your Journal:
- Decide what you'd like your journal to look
like + Buy something to
write with.
- Give your journal a title. The title will be
the first really creative thing
you'll do with your journal, so make your
title witty, unusual, thought
provoking.
- Decorate the cover of your journal. You could
sketch on the cover,
paste on an advertisement or a photo,
or write your favorite quotes on
it.
Don't
forget to:
- Bring your journal with you to
class every week. Your teacher might
read one of your entries to the whole
class (after having had your
permission of course) or she might give
you 10 minutes to write in it.
- Write the date & time whenever you
make an entry.
- Write at least One page every entry.
- Make a List of the entries at the end
of the monthly (on a separate sheet
on your journal), for the teacher
to see and put a grade.
- Be Creative!!
" If we are committed to growth, we should discover and utilize our inner gifts, then we should move beyond our internal critics, move past the darkness inherent in our life and move into our power, meaning, and joy. We should implement this process of opening to ourselves. As we grow in our openness to love and to being loved, we heal...and as we heal, everyone is benefited."
Nada Salem Abisamra
Go to Rehearsing in the Writing Curriculum: The Journal
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