How to create habits with the help of technology?
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Challenging myself - learning Spanish
I wanted to learn Spanish for a very long time. I remember I liked the language since I was a little girl and my grandma was watching Argentinian telenovelas with Polish "lektor" (it's a voice-over which is a form of dubbing done by one narrator when you can still hear the original track). Surprisingly, I learned a few words just by watching it with her as a kid! Yet, even though I tried a few times to learn the language properly (I had a course on my computer and later I used Memrise) I ended up giving up.
Finally, I tried a different approach. I'm doing weekly reflections and plans as a part of the Fearless Training Program. It's already 47 weeks since I'm in the program and I never missed a week. In September, I added "learning Spanish 20 min a day" as one of my practice and I've been making progress ever since. I'm also using a different app and even though I sometimes missed a day, my app still shows 191 days of learning (you can freeze a day if you miss just one). I think it's fair to say that I have a new, solid habit.
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What I’ve learned from my experience?
This time I'm using the Duolingo app*. I also listen to their Spanish podcast from time to time and a couple of times I joined an event on Zoom with other learners to practice the language. The app has many lessons that build on each other. It also has a Stories feature which gives the words you’re learning new context. There was a moment when I started to compete through the app and wanted to gather as many points as possible during the practice to win the weekly competition with other users. However, I noticed that my remembering new words and phrases dropped by focusing on the points. At some point, I realised it's more important for me to focus on learning rather than getting points or winning. I purposefully stopped looking at the table where you can compare yourself with other users. It wasn't serving me well. The app is a lot of fun but I also want to learn as much as I can.
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The free version of the app has limited hearts and takes one away if you make a mistake. That was very annoying to me so I tried the paid version of the app where you have unlimited hearts but then I discovered that I didn't pay much attention to do the practice right. Even though I found it punishing to get something wrong and lose a heart, it turns out it also serves the purpose of keeping me more focused and careful to not make mistakes. I decided to go back to the free app but this time I work on my emotional attachment to the hearts. It can be disappointing to lose one but it doesn't have to be! I learn to see it as information and not as criticism. Still, it's the most annoying when I lose a point because of a typo and not a lack of knowledge. It happens quite often but hey, maybe the app will also teach me to type better? I can get angry and annoyed that "I know it correctly and it was just a typo!" but I also can let it go and learn to have an indifferent emotional reaction to it. Who knew that learning Spanish can also help with my emotional reactions?
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I've been writing down all new words and decided to revise them from time to time. When I go through the list of words I try to find a surprising association with the word and imagine a story that will help me remember. And so a word yellow - "amarillo" springs to mind Ross Geller in his yellow costume of armadillo in one of the episodes of Friends. The word is close enough and I don't think I'm gonna forget it!
How I kept myself going with the new habit this time?
My focus is - 20 min of Spanish every day. How does that look like? Most of the time it's doing a few lessons on the app which I find reinforcing. From time to time I want to revise the words I wrote down. Going through the list of words is not as much fun as doing the lessons but I aim to do it at least once a week.
I think the most important thing is that I never criticise myself for not meeting the target. Even if I do 5/7 days - that's still a win! I sometimes do less than 20 min and that's great too - I already make some progress. I celebrate it all. I never found criticism helping me make progress (it can motivate me in the short term but eventually it stops working). Now I look at it from a completely different angle and doing a lesson already became a habit just like brushing my teeth before bed. It's just one of the things I do, not something "I have to do". Rephrasing it is one of the reasons I keep on making small progress for over 6 months.
The app in itself is designed to reinforce our behaviour however we are all individuals and what one finds reinforcing, the other might find punishing. That's why I chose what I focus on in the app. I found what works for me and what doesn't and now the reinforcement drives my behaviour.
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How is my Spanish now?
It's still a work in progress and I understand much more than I can speak. I think I'm ready to add more conversations with people through Zoom so I can practice speaking. I don't have a set deadline but I also notice that through this experience I learn much more than just Spanish. I learned a lot about myself, my preferences, and my reactions, which will be helpful for any new habit I will decide to take on.
Will you join me?
* Please know that I’m not affiliated with them and don’t get anything from them to mention their products. It’s an honest review of something I find useful.
Many times we don’t even bother trying to learn a new skill. We convince ourselves that it’s not for us. When what we could do is to find the first successive approximation and start learning through a fun and successful process.