Make a Habit of Learning English
2020-11-04
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1Since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, many people have had to change their habits, or usual ways of doing things.
2Some people who used to go to school now study at home.
3Some of them have been trying to get in the habit of learning and studying on their own.
4How might habits connect with studying and learning?
5Today's Education Tips will explore that very question.
6Habits are regular ways of dealing with your environment.
7You generally do not pay attention to them.
8In 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."
9Habits take many forms - eating, exercising, even studying.
10You may not realize it, but habits make up many of the actions that you do every day.
11In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear describes a four-step process by which habits are made.
12These steps are cue, craving, response, and reward.
13The cue tells your brain to begin a behavior.
14The craving is what makes you want to do something.
15The response is the actual habit that you perform.
16The response, in turn, gives you a reward.
17"Rewards are the end goal of every habit," Clear writes.
18Consider this example.
19Maybe you have the habit of often checking social media.
20The cue might be a feeling of boredom while you are near your computer or phone.
21The craving could be a desire to stop that feeling.
22The response is checking social media, and the reward is seeing something interesting.
23When that process is repeated many times, it becomes a habit.
24Clear believes that to create a good habit, you need to follow several steps.
25You need to make your new habit obvious, or easy to see or understand.
26The habit should also be attractive, simple and satisfying.
27Let's think about how you might develop an English study habit.
28You should organize your surroundings in such a way that the cues of your new habit are very obvious.
29For example, if you want to get in the habit of studying English every day, leave English books or notes in a very clear place.
30To make your habit attractive, Clear recommends joining a culture where your new desired behavior is the normal behavior.
31For example, you could join a group of other English learners in online meetings.
32To make your new habit easy, you could decrease the number of steps you have to take in order to study.
33You could also try reducing the amount of time you study.
34Clear suggests beginning your habits with limited, shorter time periods - two minutes for example.
35As you repeat the practice over time, you can go longer.
36An important point to keep in mind is that if you place too many demands on yourself, you are more likely to give up on your new habit.
37Finally, you need to make your habit satisfying.
38You can give yourself a reward after completing your new habit.
39For example, if you study English for 15 minutes, you could reward yourself by listening to a song you like.
40Or you could think about how much progress you have made since you first started studying English.
41Wood notes that your reward should come right after you do your new habit.
42"Rewards have to be experienced right after we do something in order to build habit associations ... in memory," she writes.
43Building new habits can take time.
44You may have to repeat an action many times before it becomes a habit.
45But with time, careful planning and continued practice, you can do it.
46I'm John Russell.
1Since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, many people have had to change their habits, or usual ways of doing things. 2Some people who used to go to school now study at home. Some of them have been trying to get in the habit of learning and studying on their own. 3How might habits connect with studying and learning? 4Today's Education Tips will explore that very question. 5What are habits? 6Habits are regular ways of dealing with your environment. You generally do not pay attention to them. 7In 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." 8Habits 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. 9How are habits made? 10In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear describes a four-step process by which habits are made. These steps are cue, craving, response, and reward. 11The 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. 12Consider 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. 13Clear 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. 14Make a habit studying English 15You should organize your surroundings in such a way that the cues of your new habit are very obvious. For example, if you want to get in the habit of studying English every day, leave English books or notes in a very clear place. 16To make your habit attractive, Clear recommends joining a culture where your new desired behavior is the normal behavior. For example, you could join a group of other English learners in online meetings. 17To make your new habit easy, you could decrease the number of steps you have to take in order to study. You could also try reducing the amount of time you study. Clear suggests beginning your habits with limited, shorter time periods - two minutes for example. As you repeat the practice over time, you can go longer. 18An important point to keep in mind is that if you place too many demands on yourself, you are more likely to give up on your new habit. 19Finally, you need to make your habit satisfying. You can give yourself a reward after completing your new habit. For example, if you study English for 15 minutes, you could reward yourself by listening to a song you like. Or you could think about how much progress you have made since you first started studying English. 20Wood notes that your reward should come right after you do your new habit. "Rewards have to be experienced right after we do something in order to build habit associations ... in memory," she writes. 21Closing thoughts 22Building new habits can take time. You may have to repeat an action many times before it becomes a habit. But with time, careful planning and continued practice, you can do it. 23I'm John Russell. 24John Russell wrote this story for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor. 25______________________________________________________________ 26Words in This Story 27regular - adj. happening over and over again at the same time or in the same way 28context - n. the situation in which something happens : the group of conditions that exist where and when something happens 29trigger - n. something that causes something else to happen - often + for 30boredom - n. the state of being bored or uninterested 31attractive - adj. having a feature or quality that people like 32practice - n. the activity of doing something again and again in order to become better at it 33association - n. a feeling, memory, or thought that is connected to a person, place, or thing - usually plural 34We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.