Writing Resources For Language Learning

When it comes to writing while language learning there are not that many resources to help you, but I will still go through what I like to use.

The problem is that writing is an output activity, so it’s a form of practice. You do not learn anything new when you are writing; you only strengthen what you already know in the language.

This is why resources can’t really help you, there is nothing to teach, and you just have to do it.

At best it might give you some ideas about what to write about, but the reality is that just need to sit down and write. So long as you have a piece of paper, or a word document, that is really all the resources you need.

(You can read more about – How To Improve Your Writing Skills In A Foreign Language)

Language Exchanges

For me the best resource you can use to help with your writing is language exchanges. These are simply websites or apps that you can find people to speak with.

These are often see as great places to go to practice your speaking, but really it is all about writing too.

These exchanges are usually started through a message, which means writing. You literally have to have a written exchange with a native speaker, and while it may be very casual and more like a spoken conversation, a lot of these conversations are done through writing.

Unless you move to a country that speaks the language and get a job there, you will probably not do much formal writing, so really for a learner; the majority of your writing is going to be done with friends, which is why language exchanges are so perfect.

If you didn’t have native friends you probably would not be writing much at all, so it really gives you an excellent reason to start writing a lot more.

(You can read more about – Language Exchange Partners)

Langcorrect

Langcorrect is an amazing website that I think needs more recognition. It’s a really simply concept, you go and can write about whatever you want. Your writing is then sent to a load of native speakers who will check your work and give you feedback.

The system works by you doing the same. So you will be able to read a load of learners work in your native language. This is English for me, so I get to read work done by people learning English and I let them know how they did. 

It literally takes 2 minutes and feels great being able to help someone out, or at least tell them they are doing great.

A lot of people don’t like writing when they are learning a language as they feel they have no way to check if what they are doing is correct, well, that isn’t an excuse I want to hear.

This site is free and its whole purpose is so you language learners can have their writing checked by natives.

You could easily say this is the only resource you will ever need for your writing, it’s just brilliant.

Social Media

Social media can be an okay resource for writing, but it’s not perfect.  Social media is great as it is going to give you plenty of opportunities to write, especially about things you like.

You can join all sorts of groups or forums that cover topics you like and talk about them with other like minded people.

There is always going to be something there than can prompt you with something to say. There is always going to be a discussion for you to join in with, which is why it can be great. If you just open a word document the blank page can be pretty uninspiring compared to a group discussion. 

Even if you do not contribute, you will still get a lot of reading practice, so social media is just great for that.

The problem is that these groups are probably going to be full of natives, who are probably not going to correct you, unless that is sort of the purpose of the group. This means you may be making mistakes and you might not realise.  It might just be better to use these groups for inspiration for topics you can write about, then ask one of your native friends to check what you have written, rather than just aimlessly posting online for no one to correct it.

(You can read more about – Can You Learn A Language From Social Media?)

Textbooks

Textbooks are maybe not the best resources now a days, but they can still have their place. A lot of books will have writing exercises, and these can be pretty good.

These writing exercises are usually based around helping you perfect certain aspects of grammar, but that’s okay. This is the part of the language that often trips people up, so it’s good to get some hands on experience with it.

The main problem with textbooks is that you have to buy them and of course you need to buy ones with these sorts of exercises or you won’t be able to use them to help your writing.

Websites

You may be able to find some websites that will provide you with this sort of thing, but it will really depend on your language and what the website is offering.

These types of written exercises are the type of things that people will charge for, which makes sense. They can be a valuable resource and take time to create so it’s only fair that people charge you to get access to them. 

Make Your Own Exercises

One of the great things about writing is that you can write about anything. There is nothing from stopping you just coming up with a list of topics, or questions you would like to cover and then just doing them yourself.

Maybe it’s a little nerdy to do this, but it will end up being the best resource you have.  I can go to some textbook and it might give me an assignment like “write about what you ate yesterday” sure, that’s a great exercise to do, but it is kind of boring.

If you are making your own, you can actually write about things that you like. If you are a football fan, start thinking of things you could write about around this. Set yourself the task of writing about “Who is better Ronaldo or Messi?” …You will probably find this more interesting.

You may end up making the assignments slightly more difficult but that is okay, and the best part is that you covering vocabulary in the topics you are interested in.  This is the vocabulary you are going to be hearing and talking about when you are using the language, so it makes sense to strengthen this area through writing.

What you are writing about is relevant to you and your use of the language, so it’s going to be extremely beneficial.

(You can read more about – How To Practice Writing In A Language)

Conclusion

As you can see the amount of resources are pretty limited when it comes to writing, but I don’t think that is a problem. The few that are available give you all you need and really writing all comes down to just you sitting there and doing it.

The more you practice, the better you will get it. You will also find that other resources for listening, speaking and reading can all be interlinked with writing, so really if you see everything in language learning as connected then you will have all the resources you will ever need to learn a language.

(you can read more about – General Language Resources To Help You Learn)