Along with journals being useful in professional and scholarly settings, they are extremely useful for second language learners; motivating students to use the target language in a personal way. Our particular experiences (EFL) center on two major issues: students' lack of confidence in conversational ability and the fact that they do not see a direct correlation between reading/writing and speaking. Given the time frame in which we must work, we decided that developing our own materials was the best way to handle our frustration at not having appropriate materials.

This coalesced into an expression journal. Designed to help students find words to detail the ideas that prompt their thoughts and opinions, it's a way of discovering who they are, what they find important, and what their views are. Students are required to explore ten new words each week, using art and other images to personalize their expressions; thus helping them develop their unique viewpoints, which eventually become entire target language essays. In the end, students get to keep their journals as a testament to their growth and a documentation of their journey.

Every week, students participated in a gallery walk, viewing each other's expression journals and learning a bit more about their classmates. These gallery walks served as a forum to inspire deeper thought, and build community. With this kind of on-going self discovery, their writing also became more meaningful, thoughtful, and inspired. We achieved our goal: the "aha moment" when they realized that speaking, writing and reading really are related.