Lesson 6: Make Learning English a Habit

 

   Habits are regular ways of dealing with your environment. You generally do not pay attention to them. In the book Good Habits, Bad Habits, Dr. Wendy Wood notes that “A habit turns the world around you—your context—into a trigger to act.” Habits take many forms – eating, exercising, even studying. You may not realize it, but habits make up many of the actions that you do every day. In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear describes a four-step process by which habits are made. These steps are cue, craving, response, and reward.

The cue tells your brain to begin a behavior. The craving is what makes you want to do something. The response is the actual habit that you perform. The response, in turn, gives you a reward. “Rewards are the end goal of every habit,” Clear writes. Consider this example. Maybe you have the habit of often checking social media. The cue might be a feeling of boredom while you are near your computer or phone. The craving could be a desire to stop that feeling. The response is checking social media, and the reward is seeing something interesting. When that process is repeated many times, it becomes a habit. Clear believes that to create a good habit, you need to follow several steps. You need to make your new habit obvious, or easy to see or understand. The habit should also be attractive, simple and satisfying. Let’s think about how you might develop an English study habit.

How to make learning English a habit:

·      Create a specific goal

Example: Break up the four main skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing) and plan to do one hour of practice in each area at the same time every day.

·      Find a learning or motivation partner

Choose a friend to keep you on target. Your friend doesn’t need to be a language learner. She can be someone who wants to start exercising. He can be someone who wants to write a novel. It is best if you both have a goal.

·      Write out how your life will change when you achieve your goal

-     If I improve my English, I will be able to get a better job.

-     If I take the TOEFL test, I will be able to get into university.

-     If I improve my pronunciation, my customers will understand me.

·      Keep track of your progress

Keep track of your effort in a notebook or online list. Share your progress list with your partner.

 

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