Product in Development
A social book-recommendation app designed specifically for second-language readers. Shh-elf helps readers find books calibrated to their current language-flow threshold — not too far beyond reach, not beneath engagement — and connects them with a community navigating the same in-between space.
Second-language readers face a unique version of the flow problem. In their first language, reading is automatic — meaning arrives whole. In a second language, the evaluating mind takes over: decoding words, tracking grammar, second-guessing comprehension. The result is reading that feels like work, not discovery.
Existing book-recommendation systems don't account for this. They suggest books based on genre or popularity, not on the reader's current language-flow threshold — the level at which a book is absorbing but not overwhelming.
Shh-elf matches readers to books calibrated to their language level and reading goals, with features designed for the second-language reading experience:
Shh-elf grew out of my own experience as a second-language reader. At 16, I came to the United States alone and lost the reading flow I'd had in Chinese. English came word by word, the evaluating mind always running ahead of the feeling. It took years — and the discovery of audiobooks — before I found an English flow state.
My master's thesis at Stanford became the foundation for Shh-elf: a tool built for the readers I once was, and for the millions navigating that same in-between space between languages.