How to Make Language Learning a Part of Your Daily Routine?

[rdearman]

So how do you do it?

EDIT: How did you make it a habit? Do you get up earlier, do you always study after you have a shower? Do you always study after they go to bed? How do you keep doing it every day? How do you keep your motivation high?

[tastyonions]

As a parent of two young kids: early mornings and late nights.

[rdearman]

As a parent of two young kids: early mornings and late nights.

Yes, but how did you make it a habit? Do you get up earlier, do you always study after you have a shower? Do you always study after they go to bed? How do you keep doing it every day? How do you keep your motivation high?

I should have been clearer in my first post, so I'll edit that accordingly.

[Le Baron]

Mostly with audio. It's the very best thing for input when you are doing other activities. Aside from that there is obligatory reviewing work involving consulting some texts and maybe even doing some written work. Stuff requiring old-fashioned work and no app to solve it for me while I have a nap.

How does it fit into the day? Reading in the morning before I get to work. Sometimes listening, but mostly reading. While on the way to work (if I have to go out) I will be listening to audio - podcast/news/targeted audio. At lunchtime a bit of book reading or checking the foreign papers. If I'm working at home or working on a single task I listen to podcasts. Listening again on my way home.

At home I can't just do solitary listening or I'll have an unhappy wife. So I might watch a film. Though reviewing text work or checking vocabulary/grammar points will be done for about an hour or more. Sometimes I've written those things down the night before and I'll check them in the morning instead of reading or even at lunchtime.

It has to be like this I think. It can't be just a bit in the evenings or an hour split in half morning/evening or it would never happen. To get all those necessary listening input hours in a reasonable time span means snatching every moment.

[rdearman]

What about hardcore study with textbooks?

[luke]

Barry Farber talked about "hidden moments" in his How to Learn Any Language book. That's not all I do, but:

* Read a book or do exercises while waiting in line or for food to be prepared at a restaurant for take-out.
* Listen to an audiobook or podcast while taking a walk.
* Do FSI exercises or listen to an audiobook in the car.
* Listen to an Assimil lesson or FSI drills or the TL radio while using the bathroom and taking a shower.

Non-hidden moment things are like sitting at a desk and doing Anki or reading a bilingual text on the computer or reading a book.

Whether watching YouTube in the TL is a "hidden moment" or not is debatable.

In the end, about 1/2 of my "study" time is "hidden moments".

Hardcore study with books is mostly done in the morning. I'm an early riser and most productive before the work day starts.

I think one of the secrets is figuring out how to make small enough chunks that actually fit in your day and that give you a sense of progress upon their completion.

[Le Baron]

What about hardcore study with textbooks?

Part of the early evening assault for me. Also at the weekend I tend to review the week and try to solve problems. I know long study hours at a desk is frowned upon these days as 'not productive', but I find it is sometimes.

[Picaboo]

The hard part is to start. The book Atomic Habits is awesome, but before I read it, I had learned the hard way (through depression) how to get started on things.

I have the same start time every day. For me, studying starts twenty minutes after I get up.

I have a place I always work.

At around the start time I take a deep breath and take a mental inventory. How do I feel about studying today? Happy? Does it feel aversive? I don't dwell on this. I don't judge. It is a simple five seconds. I then take a last deep breath, get up and move over to my study chair.

If I miss the time to get up because I was busy with something else, I don't mind. I don't judge. I don't use it as an excuse not to start (my old ways). I just go through the same process and start late. If I miss a day for whatever reason, I don't judge, I just treat everything as normal. If I miss two because of depression or whatever, I do mindfulness meditation as soon as I get up until I am ready to get to work.

Once I start studying, I have a goal duration but I never hold myself to it. I can quit early, although I seldom do.

The rest of the time, anything I do is a bonus. I mostly do the things I enjoy, or hard things that I am inspired to do because I think they will help, or are cool, or whatever.

I will listen to a foreign podcast while I exercise, or do chores, etc. But more often than not I don't. Because I enjoy daydreaming time, or use an English podcast that I can effortlessly have on without annoying me when my mind drifts off. The whole "fit language learning into you day" thing mostly stresses me out. Waiting in a check outline, I like to think or observe, not pack language into my cheeks like a language learning chipmunk.

[golyplot]

I think the answer is to... just do it. If you're strapped for time, that is the problem there, not how to make language learning part of your routine.

Activities do expand to fill the time available, so once you start language learning and do it regularly, it should naturally be easier to fit into your schedule, because you'll have stopped doing whatever you were doing before instead. (Obviously less feasible if you have kids)


As for textbooks, I've never used them.

[iguanamon]

When I was actively studying, I would study early in the morning on my tablet. My course books and recordings were pdf's and mp3's. I would do audio (podcasts/pimsleur/drills) on a morning walk or in the car during the day. If I could, I'd try to do something before bed but would often be too tired to benefit from it.

It became a habit over time I guess because I was consistent and wanted to learn the language. It is a tremendous help to have internal motivation. If I missed a session, I felt bad. That's when you know it's a habit.

Having materials/resources to hand makes all of this easier. My tablet is on my nightstand. Reading materials will be on my tablet and smartphone. I don't use the internet on either device. I'm not checking email/social media or mindlessly surfing. In downtime/waiting time I have a curated twitter feed which I can use for languages on my phone- or I can review a lesson from my course pdf- if I am in an earlier stage of learning.

If I were dependent upon physical books and audio, I would not have the flexibility to take advantage of all the hidden moments available to me in a day- which can add up to a lot. These are not my main learning blocks, but they are important to keep my momentum going.

Time to learn must be made and found. Maybe that means making time early in the morning and taking advantage of time during the day. Being consistent wins the game. Being persistent keeps me in the game. Having material to hand means I have opportunity and no excuse. If I decide I am going to learn a language, that's what I do until it happens. If I have a course, I finish it or get close to the end before leaving it behind. I don't go back to it. I move on. I don't try to spread myself too thin either, by studying multiple languages at a low level simultaneously.

First comes motivation. Without wanting to learn, it won't happen. Consistency, persistence, ease of access to materials and resources, and momentum, these all contribute to the habit. These factors make success more likely to happen. To make it a habit you have to keep going, even when you may not want to, or may be "bored". Keep your eyes on the prize. The payoff is very much worth the trouble.