Create a learning habit (Part 1)

What’s the one thing all successful language learners have in common? —They practice consistently over a long period of time.

That’s why this first lesson is all about establishing your learning habit. If you’ve ever tried to learn a language, but haven’t stuck with it, this lesson will help.

What is a habit?

Science tells us that a habit is: a behavior that’s triggered by a cue, which leads to a reward.

For example, when you’re about to go to bed (the “cue”), you brush your teeth—and feel good about taking care of your health (the “reward”). If you’re not in the habit of doing this, it’s easy to forget. But once you build the habit, you don’t even have to think about it.

To create a new habit you will define a specific cue and adhere to it consistently. There’s no magic length of time, but it generally takes weeks or even a few months for behaviors to become “habitual”. Meanwhile, we’ll use some tricks to keep you consistent.

Set up your learning habit

STEP 1: In your typical day, when is the best time to practice Spanish? That’s your cue. Write it down on a reminder note:

Here are some examples of cues that SuperCoco users have found useful:

• … when I walk my dog in the morning
• … when I’m on the bus to work
• … when I’m doing chores around the house
• … when I’m jogging
• … when I’m relaxing in bed before going to sleep

How can you learn Spanish while walking your dog or jogging? SuperCoco is designed to be used just by listening and speaking. You don’t have to be looking at your phone.

STEP 2: Put your reminder someplace where you’ll see it every day at the right time. For example:

• Tie it to the dog’s leash
• Attach it to your bus pass
• Tape it to the fridge
• In your running shoes
• On your nightstand

STEP 3: Keep track.

Your goal this week is to link your cue with learning Spanish every day. It’s not important (for now) how much you practice. Just establish the link between cue and behavior.

If you do the behavior—put an X on your reminder note; if you don’t—put an O.

At the end of the mini-course we’ll assess how you did and help you make adjustments.