Learn Russian: Английский журнал новый.

In Russian, the present tense of the verb "to be" (am, is, are) is almost always left out. You simply put the subject (английский журнал) and the describing word (новый) right next to each other.

Английский and новый are both masculine adjectives describing журнал. Why do their endings look different?

This is due to a very important Russian spelling rule! Usually, standard masculine adjectives end in -ый, just like новый. However, after certain letters—including the letter к—you are never allowed to write the letter ы. Instead, you must use и. That is why английский ends in -ий.

How do we know this means "The English magazine is new" and not "A new English magazine"?

Russian doesn't have words for "a" or "the". Instead, word order gives us the clue. Because новый (new) comes after the noun журнал (magazine), it acts as a statement telling us a fact about the magazine. If you just wanted to say the phrase "A new English magazine," you would put both describing words before the noun: Новый английский журнал.

Журнал sounds like the English word "journal." Would I use it to talk about a personal diary?

No, журнал is a bit of a "false friend." While it can mean an academic journal or a logbook, its most common meaning for beginners is "magazine" (like you would buy at a store). If you want to talk about a personal diary, Russians use the word дневник.