If you dream of acquiring a new language, you must dedicate some time to learn it. One of the most efficient ways to use your learning time is to build habits.
Sounds cliché? There’s more to habits than you think there is.
When set up right, habits can produce tremendous progress especially as a language learner. Not only that, it can be a fun experience too.
So how to do it correctly and ensure you reap the benefits?
Come check out this guide to build your own language learning habit.
What Are Habits and How Do They Work?
A habit is an activity that you do regularly with little thought. When you wake up in the morning, take a bath, eat your breakfast, and go to work, these activities are habits that you’re doing mindlessly and are a part of your routine.
Habits usually start out as a simple activity, but with enough repetitions over time it becomes ingrained to one’s life. Also, it can begin as an avoidance of doing something (say, quitting cigarettes) which when conditioned over time will become forgotten.
There are powerful benefits to building habits. One benefit is it reduces the energy to decide and initiate a task, making it almost automatic by nature. Another is that it helps you make steady progress in whatever goal you’re pursuing because you do it with regularity.
James Clear, author of the book Atomic Habits, even claims that small but consistent habits over a long time can lead to compounding and extraordinary results. His book explains the surprising power of habits in layman’s terms (in case you’re interested to check it out).
Personally, I believe habit formation is a tool that works better in specific domains. I’ve seen it work very well when I’m doing intermittent fasting (I’m now 30 kilograms lighter), investing money in stocks every month, and doing my daily journaling.
That said, I believe the power of habits work perfectly with language learning. Being a journey that it is, acquiring a new language relies on every bit of activity you do to inch closer to the goal, whether it be taking 3 months of language class, immersing in foreign movies, or simply opening your Duolingo app to prolong your 30-day streak.
All these accumulate to lead up to the level you’re in right now. However, this won’t happen without the commitment to doing something consistently for a long time.
How to Start a Habit Using a Simple Formula
Borrowing some insights from James Clear but doing a little modification from the original, allow me to share a working formula to start forming some habits.
As a language learner, establishing this base makes it likely that you’ll take concrete action and avoid procrastinating on your desired habit.
The formula is: What + When + Where
1. What
The first thing to determine is the task you’re trying to turn into a habit. What do you need to do right now to progress in your target language?
It could be creating a flashcard deck then reviewing it every day, shadowing or mimicking a native speaker, or reading 5 pages of a book to improve reading comprehension.
Normally, we choose a particular activity because something motivates us to do it. But as a habit starter, it doesn’t matter whether you’re in the mood or not, you strive to become consistent in your chosen habit. So whatever you choose, understand that you’re going to convert it into a routine and not just when you feel like doing it.
For ideas on what habits to start for language learning, I’ve created a list below of the most common ones.
2. When
The next piece of information is knowing when to do your habit. The more specific the time, the more likely you’ll follow through on what you’ve declared.
You can choose the format of your time:
- Time of the clock (6:00 AM)
- Days of the week (Every Wednesday and Saturday)
- Nth day (15th Day of the Month)
- Regular time interval (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, Yearly)
- Following another trigger (First Thing in the Morning, After Brushing Teeth)
I have to admit, I struggle to get clear with time whenever I do my activities. I like telling people that I will do something “someday” or “when I got the time” which ends up in doing nothing (or there’s a chance I will do it).
By establishing your when, you’re creating space for the habit in your calendar. You won’t have to ask yourself for the nth time if you’re feeling inspired to do it – when the time arrives, you take action. Period.
3. Where
Place is a very good trigger for habits. Combine it with time and your intended habit can become easier to start and maintain consistently.
As a language learner, there may be certain places that are conducive to learning, say your study desk or in the public library or even the café. On the move, I find language podcasts to work well while walking or during the commute. Sometimes I would play apps while queueing up in the line doing errands.
Whatever place you come up with, remember that you’re establishing a routine in that environment. So it might as well be an environment that could help sustain your motivation for a long time with less effort.
What Habits Are Effective In Language Learning?
For those figuring out which habit to start, let me give you some ideas.
You don’t need to do all these at the same time. It likely depends on what your current goals are and what you need to accomplish.
I find these activities to be common for the typical language learner, as well as with experienced ones.
1. Using a language app or course – Thanks to technology, creating language learning habits is easier than ever. You can install apps or sign up for courses then commit to using them every day. This works well for beginners who are just getting their initial exposure to the target language.
2. Learning X number of words – Vocabulary determines the richness of your dialogue and comprehension. With so many words to learn, the earlier you start accumulating words the better you’ll be in the long run. You can get specific on the method (like reviewing 10 flashcards a day) or simply let a vocabulary app automate the habit.
3. Immersing in comprehensible input – This is a general term referring to consuming videos, reading books, and listening to audio in the target language. Regardless of which material you choose, the key is to always be immersing in your target language for as much as you can handle, which is one of the best ways to get better at your language. 15 minutes a day is a good duration to start.
4. Practice writing – You can write words, sentences, or even complete paragraphs and articles. You can do either manual handwriting or digital typing (computer or smartphone), which are both manageable to do every single day. For habit setting, you can go for either word count (100 words) or time duration (15 minutes) as a start.
5. Practice speaking – For a set number of minutes, you can talk to a native speaker or fellow language learner or teacher to practice your target language. This isn’t for everyone, as they may be too shy to do this, or they don’t have access to natives in their area.
6. Reading – Starting to read can be as simple as picking up your language textbook or foreign material. Reading can be enriching because it’s the best way to slow down and deepen your comprehension of the language. You’ll see grammar in action and discover new vocabulary. Not to mention, you build the endurance to read as you get more exposure with foreign text.
7. Listening – Training your ears alongside with the eyes helps you in picking up the sounds of your language. You can pick up a podcast and start from there, then decide whether to listen actively or simply run the audio and do passive listening.
8. Studying – This refers to any activity you do to grow your knowledge of the target language, may it be grammar, vocabulary, learning a new alphabet, or discovering a country’s culture. You can study using a resource (book, ebook, courses), but you can also jot down notes and study in your own notebook.
Balancing Effectiveness with “Fun”
It’s easy to get caught up in language learning hacks and become overwhelmed in turn, thanks to the Internet’s massive reach. So many gurus and polyglots nowadays offer their best advice with utmost sincerity and genuineness to help the struggling learner, including their routine for language learning.
In the end, what matters is what works for YOU – the reader of this guide.
I find that you can simply double down on things that align with your lifestyle. If you like to binge watch movies or TV shows, then you can simply do that in your target language. If reading is your knack, just pick up a foreign language book and start from there. If you like having people around, how about having a native in your social circle and practice with him/her?
Personally, I grew up being a gamer – playing online games in the PC as well as devouring so much time in mobile apps. That’s why apps like Duolingo and Memrise are appealing to me – I could insert some learning while still having fun. It may be less effective than the other methods, but these apps ensure that I will come back the next day.
By having this balancing act between effectiveness of a study method or habit and having fun, you can continually make progress without burning out.
Turning Language Learning Into a Routine
The majority of this post focused on the early stages of a habit. Going beyond this stage is something different and you’re lucky if you could reach it.
That said, not everything about language learning has to become a habit. Everyone is different in their learning style, having different goals as they enter the language.
The question then for the habit starter is: How can your newly-started habit benefit you in the long run?
Personally as an example, after maintaining a 1,000-day streak in Duolingo Korean (then breaking it later), I ended up proving to myself that I’m a dedicated Korean learner (building my “identity”). It wasn’t necessary that the lessons were correct (or even have strange sentences), it was a matter of “staying” in the language.
From there, I explored different resources to further continue my learning. I searched for apps, subscribed to membership sites, followed YouTube channels, explored podcasts, and whatever I could get my hands on for immersion. Not to mention, I start to notice everything Korean that’s around me, including Korean food, music, people, and even news about the country. Since then, I never looked back.
If you can’t see the benefits of learning your target language right away, can you at least give it a chance? Can you let it stay for 7 days, 21 days, 66 days, or even 365 days and beyond?
Otherwise, if creating a ritual doesn’t work, then you can always learn in short bursts. You can take 30-day challenges for example and see how it benefits you. Or perhaps take a language learning break then come back later.
The key is to do what works. Anything to make you progress, whether it’s a habit or not, will create progress nonetheless. Stick with it and see for yourself.
