You find it difficult to write in English and don’t know how to express yourself on paper? Maybe you need to write more because you are preparing for an English exam such as the FCE or CAE and you just don’t know how to start. Here are six creative ideas to help you get started:
- Write your weekly shopping list in English. Look up words of items you don’t know!
- If you like watching you tube clips or reading blogs in English, leave a comment in English underneath. Online bloggers and creators of videos are always happy to hear from their fans. Your comment does not have to be long but it gives you a great opportunity to start practising writing in English – sometimes you can even leave comments anonymously, so there’s no need to feel embarrassed about any mistakes you might make!
- Keep a Twitter-style diary in English. Here is how it works: First, buy a small note-book or use your smart phone or tablet notepad. Then start writing a daily tweet about your life. It’s best to do this in the evening and to integrate it into your routine so you don’t forget to do it. Remember: you are limited to 140 characters! Summarizing your day in a few words trains you to become more precise and concise when writing. Here’s an example – although I hope yours won’t be as dramatic!
- Write your to-do list in English. This takes it up one notch. Now you need to write slightly longer items and maybe also use more unusual vocabulary. Here is an example to inspire you.
- Start a Whatsapp group with other students of English and set the rule to only text in English. We are often much more comfortable with texting compared to writing, so this can be the first step you need to take to help you get more comfortable with expressing yourself on paper. You could also ask your teacher to join, or another native speaker you know, so they can text alongside you.
- And last but not least, write a little thank you card or letter to your teacher for helping you with your studies. We love our jobs, especially when we know our students enjoy our classes too 🙂