Member Reviews
I am absolutely thrilled to give Fluentish a resounding 5-star rating. My heartfelt passion for languages finds its echo in this book. Although I experienced it digitally, the promise of a full immersion experience has me eagerly awaiting the physical copy's release.
Jo Franco's approach is ingenious—using a journal as a vehicle for language growth. The first half is a toolkit for effective learning, from goal setting to habit tracking. The second half, with its thought-provoking prompts, is a playground for both self and language exploration.
I'm currently 8 months into learning Spanish so I'll try my best to make the most out of this journal with my digital copy until the release of the physical one.
First of all I want to thank NetGalley and the author for this free copy. This is a language learning journal by a language lover. I’m on my journey of learning my 5th language and I find this very useful. It’s full of prompts, habit tracker, planner, lots of space for note taking, a verb and conjugation dedicated area as well as words and expressions, every month has a goal that you can set and a mission with prompts. I really loved the space for the resources as well.
I can’t wait for it to be published so I can get my own copy.
This is serviceable., but superfluous. Why would I waste money on a pre-printed journal with low-value graphic design, when I can just buy an affordable lined alternative with a pretty cover and fill it out myself? I've studied plenty of languages in my lifetime, and don't think the generic prompts here would give anyone an advantage. Just google them. This is free knowledge.
A flexible language learning tool that changed how I thought about fluency, language learning, and journaling.
I’m someone who usually dislikes journaling and struggles with learning the languages that I’m trying to learn. But this journal completely changed my perspective on both of those things. It emphasises a very reflective approach to language learning — it makes you think of all the reasons you want to learn this language, when you’re going to learn, and how. And that’s super beneficial, I think, because if you don’t plan you obviously plan to fail, and this book really helps you plan in a way that will align with your own life and your own goals.
It also takes an interesting approach to fluency, asking how you define it. Which made me think — what will fluency mean to me? And that inspired me, because something that I think a lot of us don’t have while language learning is a concrete end goal in mind. When are we where we want to be with our target language? And this book really makes you think about that, think about where you want to end up and by what metric you want to measure your success with.
That being said, while this book makes you think, it also makes you do. There are a variety of flexible exercises and ideas for one to do to improve at grammar, vocabulary, etc. I didn’t try all of them, as I’m not that far into my target language yet, but they seem tried and true, and encouraging an enjoyment and understanding of the language rather than strict accountability and reprimands. Which works!
If you’re like me and languages don’t come easy to you, I think definitely pick this up - even if you, like me, don’t really like journaling. You’ll be pleasantly surprised - this isn’t your usual journal :)
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.
I think this is a great resource for anyone trying to learn a language. While as a librarian, it might be hard to buy or recommend for the library, if anyone needs advice keeping track of language learning for themselves, I think this journal will definitely come up. The different sections are all useful for anyone trying to organize their thoughts in a whole new language.
I've been learning German for the past 8 years, and I loved the practical tips given. This is unlike any other language learning book.
"Set goals, track habits, organise notes, and tell your story in a new language"
BEAUTIFUL. It makes my heart sing. This is what other language learning books forget. This is what makes it better than any other language learning tool I've discovered.
A section designed to "help you develop your personality in your new language"! Speaking in a language other than your own removes your personality. Using a journal for developing that side of me is magical.
I found the monthly planners and check-ins a bit redundant. I am living in Germany and learning the language, so I don't need this kind of accountability, though I can imagine it'd be good for someone with a deadline. Part of learning is actually showing up, so this along with the habit tracker would be helpful if you need those kinds of things.
The best section for me was the prompts section. Even as a journaler, I had never thought to explore prompts in my non-native language. The prompts are thoughtful and beautiful.
Loved this journal.
Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
I'm rating "Fluentish" more as a piece of stationery, rather than a self-help publication. As a multiple languages learner, I truly liked the first section of this journal that explores the motivations to learn a foreign language, which was a thoughtful and introspective exercise. "Fluentish" also encourages the learner to write up all the resources and plan the study. I loved the section of journal prompts to follow in the goal language. What a fun idea!
Overall, I find this journal a useful companion on a language learning journey, however I personally would do just fine without the habit tracking part, living more space for notes taking and exploring grammar. I am also not sure about the price of the final product, which is nearly $25. Seems quite steep for the content it actually offers.
There are some worthwhile tips and ideas in this journal for practicing language skills. I chose to review this journal because I am a language learner as well as a language teacher. I would be willing to try this journal in my own studies and would recommend it as a learning tool for my students. I currently give students journals with writing prompts and encourage this method of practical application.
This journal is well organized with various sections to record verb conjugations, grammar rules, etc. in addition to journal entries, progress reports, and goals.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
As someone who loves learning, I get very frustrated at my lack of language skills. But this journal has given me hope in my language learning aspirations.
And it's a journal in every sense of the word, so don't expect a textbook telling you how to learn a language. There are beautiful quotes, a habit tracker and there's lots of space to jot down your new words and phrases and to respond to prompts in your target language. It allows you to be explorative and learn through self-discovery.
I especially love that it inspired me into action. To find a TV show in Welsh and start picking out words I understood and taking the time to look up the meaning and write it down. I highly recommend this to fuel your passion in learning a new language through active participation rather than merely being a passive learner.
Thanks to Nicholas Brealey US and NetGalley for sending this ebook for review consideration. All opinions are my own.
Fluentish is a habit tracker, practice planner, resource guide, and all round language tool to aid in the learning of a new language. Got some vocab you've just learned - there's a section for that. Got a tricky intonation or conjugation you need to master? There's a section for that too.
There are frequent self-check ins, for you to assess your own confidence and proficiency of your language, and tips to maintain accountability to yourself. There are pages to track your practice, and monthly goal setting to help keep you on track.
This is a "mostly" blank workbook, for you to fill in at your own pace. I am currently learning Thai, and this will help me keep my notes organised and keep on track.
A highly useful resource to anyone starting on a language journey
~Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.~
As someone who has been following Jo Franco since her early days on Youtube, and a member of JoClub for more than half a year, I had somewhat of an idea of what to expect from her debut book dedicated to language learning, but I was still blown away by how well-structured and well-researched this book is! Jo immediately sets the tone for the book by explaining her "Fluentish" method, describing how nuanced and varied the concept of true "fluency" can be, and encouraging readers to pursue something more akin to consistency instead. As such, the Monthly Goals and Monthly Planner sheets she's organized both work beautifully in tandem for adjusting goals for each month, with helpful "Tips" and "Missions" towards the bottom for how to vary your learning so that it's not dull and one-sided (and both her Tips and Missions also rather reminiscent of the "Challenge" portion of her 21-Day Language Learning Challenge, which I am also a part of at the time of this review!).
I love that Jo points out the mind-body connection that journaling in a foreign language can foster, as well as how journaling in a foreign language about topics that are more personal and introspective can help us feel more emotionally connected and motivated within our target language. The prompts are extraordinarily well thought-out, where even seasoned Intermediate and Advanced learners can easily find ways to answer each level of the prompts provided.
I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book! In fact, I may need to grab a few copies, since I can see this being a helpful tool in my language learning journey for the various languages I plan to study in the future. This is a fun, interactive way to spice up and keep track of your language learning journey, and I can see it being a helpful addition whether for personal study or for a language class taken in a formal classroom for school credit, etc.
Should this book be updated in the future, I wouldn't mind seeing a folder pocket on the inside cover or something similar to collect spare bits of scrap paper or notes, etc., or perhaps a little bit more of a visual component to the book if possible (perhaps some charts, some color coding, some country flags, etc.), or maybe even a bigger version with more blank journal pages, etc. if we intend to use this book for longer than a few months.
All in all, a fantastic and exciting new resource!!
This is a great idea for a book.
This journal is set out to allow you to focus on what you need to do to become fluent in your chosen language.
The journal is set out clearly with lots of planning and accountability.
Think this will be good for someone really serious about becoming bilingual.
First of all, the idea of a language journal is brilliant. I'll probably buy a paper version of it as well, just to give it another more thorough test drive; hope it'll be printed in a way that allows it to open flat as well.
This journal does seem to be targeted at people who already do some journalling though, and look to expand it to incorporate their language learning as well, rather than all language learners. I know it's a matter of taste to a large extent but as a non-journalling person myself I didn't really use the journalling pages inviting the reader to reflect on their current language learning. The pages for resources, prompts and habit tracking were great though - a huge help to everyone who tends to save all kinds of useful resources somewhere deep in their bookmarks folder and then forget about them.
My biggest issue with the journal is that essentially it's 2in1, a journal and an exercise workbook, while I definitely prefer the two to be entirely separate from each other. Oh, and the grammar pages were a bit too European languages-centric and might be useless for some other languages and/or have insufficient space in case of languages where one verb paradigm could take a whole page.
I have been attempting to learn Korean for a few years now on and off, and have been struggling to be constant with my practice, and honestly actually retain much from what I learn. I constantly doubt if what I think is correct is actually correct which keep my going over the same basic level of learning that I should be well past by now. Fluentish is here to help you if you are struggling to keep forward progress in your own language learning journey.
This journal has 7 main sections, as well as around 7 pages at the start to introduce the book, author and other resources that the author uses for language learning. The seven sections that you will use are as follows: Habit Tracker, Monthly Planner & Goal Setting, Monthly Self-Assessment & Check-In, Workspace, New Language, Prompts, and Journal. As you can probably guess from each sections title, a lot of thought has been given to how langue learning is a process that is ongoing, and not just a box to tick. As you continue with your language learning, you will find certain things are retained easier than others, which is why monthly check-ins and plannings are a good place to see how you are progressing.
The section that I personally have found the most use is the prompts and journal section, which are designed to work in tandem. There are 3 level of prompts, and some of the intermediate and advanced prompts can be used in a more limited capacity for lower levels. These prompts are an amazing way of getting your brain to use the league instead of just acquiring it. You could even verbally respond as well as write it to get some spoken practice in at the same time!
I received a digital copy, so I cannot give a fully honest opinion since I do not know the size of the pages and whether there is ample space provided. But what I could gauge is that for the size of journal, that there would be enough written space for most people.
I would recommend this journal to anyone who is serous about language learning, and I see myself using it for the foreseeable future.
I received a digital ARC of this title from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Fluentish is an amazing resource for language learners.
Equal parts workbook and journal, it does a great job of taking you through a language learning journey with a clean, easy-to-follow layout with plenty of space for the nuts and bolts of learning a new language (think notes, visual aids, grammar, vocabulary, expressions) plus tips and missions from the serial language learner author Jo Franco. What I appreciate about the framework she sets up are the monthly habit trackers, goal setting, and check-ins that look easy to use with any language learning program.
What really sets this resource apart from others though is that is is, in fact, a journal that includes prompts at beginner, intermediate, and advance levels so you can practice expressing yourself in the language you’re learning. I love journaling so this was exciting for me, as is the idea of connecting with a new language on a more emotional level than other resources and programs typically afford.
Since this is a digital copy, I haven’t been able to use it as intended, but I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a physical copy once it’s released!
I received a copy of this journal through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Since I received a digital copy of this journal I can't speak to how a physical version would read. I liked the layout of the journal and how it builds on its self. It gives you space to set your goals, indicate how you'll measure them, include vocabulary words, and track your progress. There's overviews by day and month to help you track over time and drill down to specific lessons. It's written in a way to help with repetition of words and practice so if you use it as intended I can see it helping reinforce learning habits.
I read "Fluentish" by Jo Franco on NetGalley. The description gives a warning that the journal is meant for writing so not the full experience, but I could tell that this would be a great journal to use. The journal is intended to help you develop skills and habits with learning a new language.. The 2nd half of the journal has writing prompts. This is the best part in my opinion. I like to write, but sometimes coming up with ideas is hard, especially if learning a new language. This could be used in conjunction with any language learning program.
I love love love journaling and I've been trying to become fluent in Spanish for over a decade now. If I had Fluentish years ago, I think I would be much closer to fluency at this point! It has so many helpful tools- ways to make yourself accountable, a workbook aspect where you can write out grammer rules and verb conjugations. There are prompts for writing and also blank spaces for writing your own notes. It also has places for you to write out your goals and help keep track of them! I think this is such a great concept and will help so many people with their language learning goals, myself included!
Fluentish is a really handy language-learning journal, which is designed to better help people learn new languages and hold themselves accountable in doing so. Although this ARC was only a digital copy, it looked great and made me want to buy a physical copy so I can write in it myself! I loved the different sections on aspects of language learning, including the monthly goals and habit trackers, but my favourite part was the prompt section, as I found the questions to be very interesting and thought-provoking, and I’d like to work through these with my own language learning. I would recommend this to anyone learning a new language or trying to maintain their knowledge in a language, as it is a very well-organised book and I had a lot of fun reading through and imagining what I would write in each section.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Teach Yourself for a digital ARC in exchange for a review.
This book is more of a workbook, providing guides, prompts and spaces for anyone learning a new language. I really liked the structure, which allows learners to build their own resource to refer back to as they continue their language learning journey. The prompts towards the end were a nice way to encourage users to apply their skills in a creative way - my only (mild) criticism is that I would have preferred this to take up more of the book. I have been learning Korean for a few years, so this section is likely to be the section I use the most. I'm excited to try some of these prompts out, and should I choose to learn any other languages in the future, I'd definitely look at using the rest of this book as well.