January Language Recap

Celebrating my DELF B2 diploma, and deciding my next French read!

We’re fully into the new year now!

I started strong with my language studies, but I gradually fell out of habit toward the end of the month. This was partly due to returning to work after the holidays and having less time to study, and partly because of moving. I did make the most of packing by listening to some audiobooks, but overall, my study time dropped significantly by the end of the month.

Writing this monthly recap did help me realize that I did accomplish more than I thought I did, so let’s see how January went!

🥐 French

I finally have my physical DELF B2 diploma! I took the exam in June 2025 and received my results six weeks later. After half a year of waiting, I was eager to finally have the diploma in my hands.

I contacted the exam centre, and they told me they already had my diploma and were slowly reaching out to candidates. I was able to pick it up the same day they replied. It feels strange to hold a diploma for an exam I took by choice, but it’s nice to have something to mark my achievements.

Reading

During the month, I finished two books: one audiobook and one ebook. The first was Moi qui n’ai pas connu les hommes. I originally listened to it in English last year and later learned it was first written in French. Listening to the original was a nice experience, and at one point, the narrator counted using the Belgian French system, since the author is Belgian. It was a fun detail to notice as I listened!

The second book was La Fauchause. I have had this on my TBR for years. It feels so good to have finally finished it! Halfway through the month, I noticed that I also had an audiobook copy, which helped me make progress in the last 30% I had left. I’m not sure if I’ll continue the series in French, since I don’t own the remaining two books. I also have so many other French books on my TBR that I’d like to get to.

This is where I need your help: please help me choose the next French book I should read. I’d like it to be a physical copy, so all three of the options below are books I already own in that format:

1. Document 1 - François Blais (180 pages)

2. Wayward Pines (Révélation) - Blake Crouch (315 pages)

3. Le Café du temps retrouvé - Toshikazu Kawaguchi (216 pages)

Studying

Outside of reading, I had a goal to finish at least 1 of my French workbooks. This was part of a resource challenge I did with a few other language learners. I did well, making progress in a few lessons between 2 workbooks, but didn’t end up completing either.

Journaling

I journaled for 12/31 days, a total of 610 words during the month. I averaged 50 words per entry. Although I didn’t journal every day, I noticed that when I did journal, the words flowed easily. The main issue I’m having is not in the writing but in remembering to write and having the time to.

My goal is to write more words than I did last year (~3,000), and I think I’ll easily achieve that!

🍜 Japanese

In the last newsletter, I shared a bit about how I plan to learn Japanese this year. I was really happy with how consistently I reviewed Japanese on Migaku at the start of the month. My longest streak was 8 days, and I managed to do some reviews on 21/31 days. I thought I had studied fewer days, but now that I look at it, I’m pretty happy with those results!

Current Migaku Progress

• Academy Course - 204/1966 cards complete

• Fundamentals Course - 111/223 cards complete

• Total Active Words Known: 125

I didn’t get to complete the fundamentals course as I planned, so I’ll aim to do that in February. As for the 6-week conversational Japanese course I found during the month. I’m not sure if I’ll try to catch up. It may not have been a good time to start it.

📅 Plans of February

February will be about finding a new routine. I think it’ll still be a bit messy, but I hope that by the end of the month, I’ll feel more consistent in my language learning routines!

🎂 Study Notepad Anniversary

This newsletter hit 3 years in the month of January! I just wanted to say thank you all for reading and subscribing. It means a lot to be able to share my language learning with other language learners!

In my last poll, many of you voted that you would like language learning templates. I’ll make sure to work on some this year! You can look forward to more monthly recaps and deep dives into the language challenges I attempt.

Thanks for being here, see you in the next letter!