When I was learning Japanese, one of the best ways I practiced new vocabulary and grammar was by keeping a journal. Every week, I wrote a page about something interesting that had happened to me, or a topic I was passionate about. Over time, I noticed that both my writing and speaking improved, because I was constantly using the language I had studied.

Each week, I will use my tutor column to give you a journal prompt so that you too can enjoy learning English through writing.

This week's prompt is: 
Describe a time you saw many people smiling.

Here are some questions to help you start:
- Where were you?
- Why were you there?
- Why were people smiling?
- What did the scene look like?
- How did it make you feel?
- Why do you remember this event so well?

Here is some other words you can use to talk about smiling:
- to smile from ear to ear (idiom) to have a big smile because you are very happy about something
Tim is smiling from ear to ear. He must have heard some good news.

- to break into a smile (idiom) to start smiling
When her favourite song came on the radio, Lia broke into a smile.

- to put a smile on someone's face (idiom) to make someone smile
Seeing the puppy put a smile on my face.

- to beam (verb) to have a very big smile
He was beaming after he won the lottery

Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

Writing a journal is great, and speaking about it is even better. Would you like to practice your pronunciation by hearing your journal read by a native speaker, then reading it out loud? Would you like to practice your speaking skills by answering questions and having a discussion about your journal? If so, I recommend my lesson Journal Writing in English. You can write about anything you want - you are not limited to this journal topic.

New students can access a coupon using this link.