Building a habit is a key part of achieving your language learning goals. Here’s our guide on how to make the most of Babbel and make learning a language a part of your daily life.
How to build a habit:
- Find a time of day that works for you
- Integrate learning into what you already love
- Track your progress over time
- Find people to practice with
1. Find a time that works for you
The most important part of making anything a habit is to find time in your schedule to do it. The good news is that Babbel’s courses are all 10-15 minutes long so you can easily fit them into your busy day. Now you’ll just need a time that works for you, whether that’s on your daily commute, on your lunch break, during your nightly “me time,” or another moment that’s convenient for you.
Ideally, you should practice learning your language every day, or at least at regular intervals. That’s why Babbel made learning reminders a key feature of our app. Pick a time of day that works for you, set the number of days per week you want to be reminded, and leave the rest up to us.
Read how to set learning reminders here.
2. Integrate learning into what you already love
Making learning fun is a major part of staying motivated. Try doing some of your favorite activities in the language you’re learning — it’s a great way to mix “me time” with language practice.
For example, if you love following the news, try reading, watching, or listening to the news in your new language. Several news sites and other independent podcasters record the daily news at a slower speed just for language learners. If you unwind by watching Netflix, try binge-watching a show in your new language (with subtitles in that language) instead of English. The same can be said for movies, books, YouTube, podcasts, and even social media.
Read more about using TV shows, movies, books, and podcasts for learning.
3. Track your progress over time
Visualizing your progress is an easy way to stay motivated and to make something a habit.
We’ve made this progress tracking an integral part of learning with Babbel on desktop with the “My Activity” module on the dashboard. View your progression, visualize your weekly activity, and feel accomplished as you make your learning a natural habit.
If you prefer to visualize your progress another way, find something that is intuitive for you. If you love your wall-mounted calendar, mark your progress with notes or stickers. If you have a paper planner or journal, you can also note your learning there. The most important tip is to find something that works for you.
4. Find people to practice with
Speaking a language is a social activity, so it’s important to find people you can practice with and make part of your weekly schedule. Luckily, we know that many users started learning a language for loved ones or to connect to their community, so this should be easy if that applies to you.
For everyone else, you can try finding someone who’s learning the same language as you (perhaps nudge a family member to learn French alongside you), or even finding a tandem partner online. Regardless of how you practice, learning with a partner is not only fun, but a great way to stay on track.