Fluentish: Language Learning Planner and Journal

On our daughter's birthday wish list. She was delighted to receive it and we were happy to give something she had suggested several months before. The way it was designed suited her perfectly.

There’s nothing like a beautiful, tactile journal to really kickstart your language-learning motivation! Perfect gift!

This is an early review. I received "Fluentish" yesterday. It looks well-conceived and offers many tips, bits of advice and, for example, prompts for writing and learning tasks. Of course, there is much empty space that the learner needs to fill. The approach and layout is very methodical and date-based. It's a good and quite novel (it seems) idea and I look forward to using it on my language learning journey. My gut feeling is it's less suitable for "dead" languages like Old English or Latin, though.

In the old days of language learning you would go to night school and learn alongside a class of other people. You would be able to discuss problems, sound each other out, find out how you were doing in comparison to others. Your teacher would be keeping an eye on you and suggesting where you needed to concentrate, perhaps work a little harder. Today language learning is a very solitary online experience. You have nowhere to reflect. Step back and analyse your progress. Nowhere to set future goals or celebrate achievement. Keeping a journal is the best way to keep track, and this purposely designed journal is perfect for the job. it contains habit trackers, goals, planners, monthly self assessment pages, check-ins to think about how you are doing against goals, note pages and pages to record new or tricky vocabulary and grammar. This could all be achieved with a blank notebook, but this notebook has it all ready. This would make a great gift for someone starting out on a language journey, or a treat for yourself to make the solitary experience a little more enjoyable.

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 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. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

I was quite disappointed upon opening the book after it came so highly recommended. Over the last few years there has been an influx of BS habit trackers, journals and "productivity" workbooks from lazy entreprenures trying to cash in on the productivity market. ALL of them have been a complete waste of time, leading people into the sensation of busy-ness for the feeling of achieving something, rather than providing anything of value. The overriding value of this book is the list of prompts for you to journal your own answers to in your chosen language. There are exactly 86 prompts, spanning 4 pages, in a 233 page book. The majority of the remaining pages are monthly goal fillers and a broad space for journalling. This book would be best suited to someone who likes busying themselves with ticking off endless lists and feeling like they've accomplished something, without necessarily needing to achieve anything. For everyone else, you would be better off with a blank journal and a series of questions/prompts to answer in your chosen language. This one just isn't for me.

Fluentish by Joanna Franco is a refreshing cross between language learning and journaling. It’s a brilliant companion to language learning journeys at any stage. Littered with writing prompts, exercises, planner spreads, motivational quotes and top tips, Franco encourages you to explore new approaches to language learning that are fun, immersive, and (most importantly) sustainable. I would recommend picking up a physical copy of this title to make the most of the hands-on journaling activities. This wasn’t quite a five star for me because I personally would prefer more reading material on language learning even if it’s at the expense of the journal pages. If you are learning a new language and don’t know where to start, or (like me) have never managed to stay consistent - do consider investing in a copy! Fluentish is out now. Thank you to the publisher, Teach Yourself, for my Netgalley review copy.

This was really useful to help give me a focus and direction to both my language learning and my journaling. The ebook is obviously not the ideal format but I will be buying the print version for myself. I'm also a language teacher and I'll be adding it to my list of recommendations to my students. *Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC. I gave chosen to leave a review*

First of all, the quality of the book is just insane! it looks like it was meticulously crafted to make every detail count. At its core, this book ingeniously combines structure and practical techniques that will help me follow and review my improvement, discover myself in a different language, and unlock a new way of thinking through prompts that the book generously provides. As a culinary enthusiast, I believe that consistent use of this method will elevate my food storytelling in different languages! I’ve just filled in the first two sections and I’m already visualizing how this is going to roll, I definitely recommend it!

This is the kind of tool that will help you do the work every day. 💪 It takes just a little bit of creativity to customize your study routine, but then the follow-up is smooth! Love it! ❤️ I am on day #6 since I started using this planner/tracker/journal and I am enjoying it a lot! I recommend! When I finish it with my current target language, I may want to start all over again with another language. 😅

Genial. Recomiendo 100%. Estoy usando para aprender Italiano. Este cuaderno + Duolingo + Pimsleur es perfecto.

This is an amazing book!! The pages are thick so there is no bleed through from the other side when using markers and fountain pens. The covers are durable to you take it on the go. The sections are broken down to help learn in small sections. My favorite part is the journaling section with prompts that encourages you to use your new language skills in a fun and inactive method with out feeling like it is studying.

I have been using this journal since it arrived on 11/8, and I have some initial thoughts: I like the hardback cover, and I like the blue and yellow colors (perfect because I'm learning Swedish). At first I didn't like the three bookmark ribbons, but after using it for a couple days I realized that the ribbons are very useful, and I see why they were added. I've been flipping back and forth between the sections a lot. So far the best aspect of this journal has been the habit tracker, it is easier to stay accountable and consistent when using it. I also have been going back to the monthly 'my goals' section, for when I need more direction on what I should actually be focusing on. I've been less sure of how to use the 'workspace' section. I'm not very familiar with the notes/highlights/questions format, but I have only filled out a couple pages so far. Regardless of the format, I like that the notes are in the same centralized place as the habit tracker and the goals. The new language section hasn't been used much yet. For the vocab and grammar, I've noticed that I tend to just put it in the workspace instead of flipping over to the new language section, as I'm doing my lesson or watching a video. That being said, I haven't really dived into Swedish grammar yet, so I do foresee using the new language section more later on. I am most excited to use the prompts/journal section. I like that the prompts aren't at the top of the page, instead they are all grouped together by their level of complexity. Journaling in a new language is kind of intimidating to me, and I think being able to choose from different complexity levels helps it to be more accessible. So far this journal has helped me be consistent, and it has been a good reminder of my goals. Fluentish has become a valuable tool for my language learning journey, and I've already started to see real progress. I would recommend Fluentish to anyone who is learning a new language, or as a gift to someone who is learning a new language.