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Writing in a Foreign Language is EASY, Actually

9 min read

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Summary

Olha’s four-level writing roadmap — from hand-copying single sentences all the way to creative fiction. The central insight is that writing isn’t a skill you develop after you’re fluent; it’s one of the fastest paths to fluency. Journaling trains you to think in the target language on paper first, and that thinking transfers directly into faster, more natural speech.

Notes

The Core Insight

Writing forces a level of processing that listening and reading don’t. When you write, you can’t scan or guess — you have to commit to words, spellings, and structure. That commitment is what makes the language stick. And journaling in particular bridges the gap between passive understanding and real-time speaking: you’re training your brain to find words in the target language before you speak them out loud.

The 4-Level Roadmap

Level 1 — Copying by hand (beginner)

  • Copy sentences, texts, vocabulary lists — by hand, not typed
  • Activates motor skills alongside cognitive skills → deeper, more durable encoding
  • Forces processing rather than scanning; fill-in-the-blank exercises don’t do this
  • Olha credits this habit across all five of her languages

Level 2 — Journaling (A2–B1)

Don’ts:

  • Don’t force a full page — start with a few sentences
  • Don’t look up words mid-flow — write the word in your native language and keep going; look it up after

Dos:

  • Write about what actually matters to you — not textbook topics (global warming, generation gaps, etc.)
  • Build vocabulary around things you already talk about: your job, hobbies, the people around you
  • Use AI (ChatGPT etc.) to correct your writing afterward — instant feedback, zero embarrassment
  • Checking corrections is where the real learning happens: recurring grammar mistakes, vocabulary blind spots

Level 3 — Essays (B1–B2)

  • Focus on structure: opinion essay, pros and cons essay
  • Learn German linking phrases: einerseits / andererseits, außerdem, letztendlich, darüber hinaus
  • Acquire topic-specific vocabulary as you go
  • Edit and rewrite — every word must earn its place
  • Strong enough to pass B2/C1 exams and write university-level prose

Level 4 — Creative writing (C1+)

  • Short stories, fiction, non-fiction, poetry
  • Requires feeling the language — its tone, nuance, rhythm
  • Most people never reach this in their native language; achieving it in a second is mastery

Connection to Speaking

Journaling → thinking in the language on paper (slowly) → thinking in the language in real-time conversation (fast). The transfer is direct. Writing is the slow-motion rehearsal for speaking.

Transcript

00:00 Nobody is afraid of listening to a podcast in a foreign language. Nobody panics when they sit down to read a book. But ask someone to write something, suddenly it’s the scariest thing in the world. Hi, my name is Olga. I’m fluent in Ukrainian, Russian, English, Turkish, and French. And on this channel, I teach you how you can learn languages with efficiency and enjoyment. And today, I want to show you how you can ease yourself into writing in a foreign language, so that by the time it really matters, whether it’s for exams, university, work, or simply expressing your ideas, you’ll be more than ready. Let’s dive in. The first level of learning to write in a foreign language is simply getting used to writing by hand. Now, a lot of people don’t realize how important this step is and skip it entirely. And I mean, it is more time efficient to simply fill in the blanks instead of writing out the entire sentence by hand. However, it’s also the most beneficial thing you can do for yourself when you’re just getting started. Writing things by hand helps you memorize new words, grammar structures, and tricky 01:01 spellings in a much more solid way because it activates not only your cognitive skills, but also your motor skills. And it actually forces you to process what you’re writing instead of simply scanning through the text. And that level of processing is exactly what beginner-level language learners need more of to truly get acquainted with the language. So, when you’re a complete beginner, the easiest way to get into writing is by simply copying exercises, short texts, new words, and so on by hand. I did it in every single one of my languages, and I attribute a lot of my progress to this one habit. The second level, when you’re around A2-B1, is to start journaling in the language. Now, don’t click off just yet because I’m going to tell you exactly how I make journaling easy and frictionless. I’ll start with the don’ts, and then we’ll cover the dos. First of all, don’t force yourself to write a full page. Start small, just a few sentences. You want to ease yourself into writing, and and a new rigid structure would discourage you pretty quickly. Secondly, when you want to write a word that you either don’t know or can’t remember at that 02:07 particular moment, don’t look it up straight away. Write it in your mother tongue and keep going in your foreign language. The most important thing when you’re journaling is to not break the flow. You can look up those words later, once you’re finished writing. >> [snorts] >> As for the dos, write about whatever it is that you actually want to write about. So many times we’re pushed into writing on topics that our textbook or a teacher assigns us, and I don’t know about you, but I’m not particularly excited by global warming, social media addiction, generation gaps, or whatever it is that we typically encounter in textbooks. And journaling is a great antidote to this because it allows you to build vocabulary around the things that actually matter to you, whether that’s your job, your studies, hobbies, the people around you, or anything else that you already talk about in your daily life. When [snorts] you start journaling in a foreign language, you’ll quickly realize that you already have enough grammar and vocabulary to say something coherent. And as a bonus, if speaking is something you’re struggling 03:07 with, journaling will help you there, too, because you’re essentially training yourself to think in a foreign language, first slowly on paper, and then faster in actual conversations. And finally, if you want to take it a step further, you can upload your writing to ChatGPT or any other AI and ask it to correct your writing and explain your mistakes. This way, you can get it checked without having to expose the inner workings of your mind to a teacher or even a native speaker friend. Personally, checking my writing is my absolute favorite part because I always find something that I need to work on, whether that’s recurring grammatical mistakes, vocabulary blind spots, and so on. And this kind of insight is incredibly useful for correcting your course as you go. I’ve actually spoken more about it in my video on why you should be your own language teacher, which I’ll link down below. The third level of writing in a foreign language is essays. Now, by this point, you’re already comfortable expressing your thoughts in writing, and hopefully you’re also working on your reading, listening, and grammar, and crucially, picking up more and more 04:10 advanced vocabulary as you go. At this stage, I’ll assume you’re somewhere around B1 going on B2, and now it is high time to start writing essays on those dreaded topics. What I specifically want you to do here is to focus on getting the structure right, whether it’s an opinion essay or a pros and cons essay, learning linking phrases like on the one hand, on the other hand, in conclusion, moreover, and so on, and acquiring topic-specific vocabulary. Journaling helps you start thinking in a foreign language and also express yourself in a fluid and natural way, and essays help you organize and sharpen your thoughts on a particular topic, expand your vocabulary, and also make sure that the final product is strong and elegant not only in its writing, but also in its thinking. Writing essays also goes hand in hand with editing and rewriting them. Now, let me know if you’d like me to film a separate video about this, but essentially, editing your own essays helps you refine your writing even further by choosing the nuanced vocabulary, tuning into the rhythm and the flow of your sentences, catching any mistakes that you didn’t 05:16 see the first time around, and making sure that every word is earning its place. It’s what makes the difference between a raw and sloppy essay that feels like it was written an hour before the deadline, and the one that is precise, sharp, and straight to the point. If you’ve completed level three, congratulations are genuinely in order. That means your command of the language and your writing skills are strong enough to pass a B2 or even a C1 exam, and to write killer university essays if studying abroad is something you’re considering. You can also totally stop here. That is already an incredible achievement. But if you’re truly obsessed with the language and want to push it one step further, then I have one final, almost bonus level for you. The fourth and final level is creative writing. And this is the highest form of self-expression in a foreign language. To get here, you need a C1 level at the very least, an impressive vocabulary range, and the ability to not just understand the language, but to feel it, its tone, its nuance, and so on. The kind of creative writing I’m specifically talking about 06:20 here is short stories, fiction, non-fiction, and poetry, which demands real craft and the ability to play with the language. And truth be told, most people never reach this level even in their mother tongue. So, if you can do this in a foreign language, then I think it’s fair to say that at that point, you’ve truly mastered it. And that is your complete road map for writing in a foreign language, from copying out your first sentences by hand all the way to dipping your toes into writing fiction. So, start where you are, put pen to paper, and just keep going. And now, I want to hear from you. Where are you on this journey? Are you just getting started? Are you journaling? Or are you perhaps tackling essays? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll see you in the next video. Bye.

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