As 2025 comes to a close, December offers the perfect opportunity to slow down, reflect on the year that’s passed, and look ahead to a new year of growth and opportunities. For online ESL teachers, this month is an ideal time to introduce reflective journaling. It’s a powerful writing activity that gives your students a chance to think, write, and express themselves in their target language while meaningfully reflecting on their year.

Reflective journaling not only strengthens students’ English writing skills and vocabulary, it also nurtures emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and a sense of personal growth. Many students rarely pause to acknowledge what they’ve learned or how far they’ve come. Giving them dedicated space to reflect helps them recognize their progress, celebrate their wins, process challenges, and set new goals for the year ahead.

Below are some journaling prompts you can use with your students at different levels. Feel free to adjust the wording or create your own questions. You can assign these as paragraph-writing tasks, a year-end portfolio activity or even as conversation starters during your final classes of the year.

Beginner Level

Reflecting on Achievements

• What is one good thing that happened this year?
• What did you learn in English this year?
• What was your favorite day this year? Why?

Reflecting on Challenges

• What was difficult for you this year?
• What is something you want to get better at?
• What problem did you solve this year?

Looking Ahead to the New Year

• What is your goal for next year?
• What do you want to learn in English next year?
• What is one new thing you want to try in 2025?

Intermediate Level

Reflecting on Achievements

• What achievement from this year are you most proud of? Why?
• What English skill improved the most for you this year? How did you improve it?
• Describe a moment when you felt successful or confident.

Reflecting on Challenges

• What was one challenge you faced this year, and how did you deal with it?
• What challenge were you not able to overcome? What do you plan to do about it?
• What would you do differently if you could repeat this year?

Looking Ahead to the New Year

• What goal do you want to accomplish next year, and what steps will you take?
• What English skills do you want to focus on next?
• What positive habit do you want to develop or continue in 2026?

Advanced Level

Reflecting on Achievements

• Which personal or academic achievement had the biggest impact on your life this year?
• How did your English learning journey evolve over the past twelve months?
• Describe a moment when you surprised yourself in a positive way.

Reflecting on Challenges

• What obstacles forced you to rethink your approach or mindset?
• Describe a situation that challenged your values, patience, or resilience. What did you learn from it?
• If you could rewrite one chapter of your year, what would you change and why?

Looking Ahead to the New Year

• What are your long-term goals for 2026 and beyond, and how will you measure your progress?
• How do you want to grow, personally, academically, and professionally in the coming year?
• What new opportunities do you hope to create or pursue?

For beginner and lower-intermediate students, you can offer sentence starters to help them begin the journaling process. Here are a few examples:

• This year, I learned that…
• One challenge I faced was…
• Next year, I want to…

To add a dose of creativity, invite students to include photos, drawings, or decorations in their journals. This allows them to express their personality and make the activity feel more meaningful.

Reflective journaling can be a fun and meaningful year-end tradition in your ESL classroom. Starting December with a reflection activity helps students end the year proudly and begin the next one with purpose and clarity.

Do you use reflective journaling with your online ESL students? Share your thoughts in the comments below!