The Smartest Way to Develop German Learning Habits

Last updated on July 14, 2024

Here you will see how to develop effective German learning haibts right from the beginining!

Learning German well isn’t about short-term sprinting, but about a system that can be sustained over time, like a marathon.

In other words, we need to develop our German learning habits in small increments and let time be on our side and thus be our friend. Recently, I’ve been reading James Clear‘s “Atomic Habits” and have found much in it that can inspire us in our German learning progress.

1. Starting with an Identity

2. Connect German with Positive Emotions

3. The Power of Fear

4. Establish a Reward System

Set Your Identity as a German User

1. Starting with an Identity

When it comes to cultivating habits, people often think the focus is on the behavior itself. However, “Atomic Habits” tells us that changing habits should start from the inside out and be validated by actions. What does this mean? It means that when we want to change or form a habit, we need to start changing our self-identity, not just focus on the goals and outcomes.

For example, take quitting smoking:

“Not smoking” is a goal and an outcome, but “non-smoker” is an identity.

When you decide not to smoke, you should say “I don’t smoke,” instead of “I’m trying to quit smoking” or “I want to quit smoking.”

See the difference? The former is an identity recognition (a non-smoker), while the latter is merely a behavioral change without changing the identity (a smoker trying to quit).

So,

when I want to read more, don’t start with “I want to read more books” but with “I am a reader.”

If I want to do more writing/output, I should start with the identity of a “writer.”

Therefore, if we want to learn German, we should build our identity as someone “fluent in German” or “someone who can communicate in German without barriers.”

Once we establish this identity, we can then validate it through our actions.

Every time I write a page, I am validating my identity as a writer.
Every time I read a page, I am telling myself I am a reader.
Every time I use German, I am telling myself I am a German speaker.

Or, we can reverse-engineer our desired identity from the results we want. For example:

What kind of person can write a book? — Someone who is persistent, determined, and reads and writes daily.
What kind of person can achieve financial freedom? — Someone knowledgeable about finance, frugal, and knows how to make money work for them.
What kind of person can learn German well? — Someone who loves German, learns and uses it every day.

As someone who “loves German,” what behavioral changes should I make?

Read books in German. Even if my German is not “advanced enough”, I could still read in German.
Communicate with others in German, even if they could speak English.
Watch German videos (Netflix, Youtube)
Listen to German music.
Use German daily.

Interestingly, most German teachers do not emphasize the importance of mindset.

In all the courses I have taken, only one online business German course teacher mentioned this. In this course, the teacher adjusted our mindset from the first class, making us re-examine our attitude towards German, turning negative attitudes into positive expressions.

From “My German is bad” to

“My German is good”
“My German is getting better every day”
“I love speaking German.”

This is a change in inner thoughts and identity. At the time, I didn’t feel it deeply, but after reading this book, I realized there is a psychological basis for this.

Connect Positive Emtions with German Learning

2. Connect German Learning with Positive Emotions

“Atomic Habits” mentions that our habits are always closely linked to positive emotions. For example, people who smoke might associate smoking with “relaxation and stress relief,” even though smoking doesn’t actually make us relaxed and stress-free. The key here is that as long as we “believe” that smoking can achieve some positive goal, we will form this habit.

Knowing this, we can use it to our advantage by associating German learning with positive emotions.

First Step: Change Your Attitude

Reflect on whether your attitude towards German is positive or negative.

Have you had thoughts like these?

I have to learn German so that I can work in Germany.
I have to learn German because the exam is in German.
I have to learn German because the workers in the German government don’t speak English.

In these thoughts, German seems like a “chore” or something we “have to do.” However, our brains don’t like this “pain.” Now, we need to turn these things we “have to do” into things we “get to” or “choose to” do.

I get to learn German so that I can work in Germany.
I get to learn German so that I can take the exam in German.
I get to learn German and it improves my communication with German government workers.

Changing the wording turns a “task” into an “opportunity,” making these things more attractive and interesting (even if they are indeed things we “have to” do).

Second Step: Think About the Benefits of Learning German

Interestingly, when I was a child, my English was not good at first, and I was actually very afraid of English. English class was a torment for me. Later, I became obsessed with the TV show “Lizzie McGuire” and particularly liked the main character Lizzie, wishing strongly to be friends with her. So, at that time, I thought, “If I can speak English, I can talk to Lizzie and be friends with her, how great would that be!” This way, my fear of English slowly turned into a desire. In the end, although I never got to talk to Lizzie, my English became my best subject, and I ended up studying English literature for seven years.

See, sometimes finding our motivation can change the direction of our lives.

So now, how do we fall in love with German? Spend some time thinking about how knowing German can bring convenience and benefits. Not only write it down but also vividly imagine these wonderful scenes, making yourself “feel” them.

For example:

Learning German makes life in Germany easier.
Allows me to communicate with my favorite German soccer star (or singer, actor, Pamela).
Makes it easier to make friends.
Allows me to participate in various activities (exhibitions, book clubs, etc.).
Enables me to enjoy Germany’s rich library resources (books, CDs, cartoons, etc.).
Helps me communicate more professionally at work.
Provides better job opportunities and conditions.
Provides better living and educational conditions for my family and children.
Helps exercise the mind, preventing dementia.

Fear can be a useful tool too

3. Use the Power of Fear to Develop German Learning Habits

Of course, besides positive emotions, another crucial emotion in our genes is fear. Using the power of fear can also help us find the motivation to learn German. Use your imagination to think about the consequences of not able to speak in German.

Missing out on opportunities to go abroad.
Inability to defend your rights (unable to argue when blamed).
Suffering the pain of not understanding others.
Being stuck in a company without good reasons for a raise.
Sitting silently at every gathering.
Not understanding contracts and getting scammed.
Being isolated and unable to enjoy time with German friends and colleagues.
Unable to enjoy rich cultural resources.
Unable to provide better living and learning conditions for children.
Unable to get a raise or promotion.

Reward yourself

4. Establish a Reward System

“Atomic Habits” tells us that the brain repeats behaviors that are immediately rewarded and avoids behaviors that are immediately punished.

To learn German well, we need to learn to give up short-term immediate benefits and pursue long-term rewards. (In today’s popular terms, we need to “do the hard but right things.”) However, this is actually anti-human nature because our brains prefer behaviors with quick returns.

For example, smokers know smoking is not good for their health, but in most cases, they still choose to smoke.

Why? Because smoking gives them immediate satisfaction. As for the illnesses, that’s a problem for the future.

Similarly, I know chocolate and desserts are bad for my health and that health is important, but I can’t resist afternoon desserts.

Now that we know the brain likes behaviors with quick returns, we can adjust to the brain’s logic by adding some immediate visible rewards to behaviors with long-term benefits (learning German).

James Clear, the author of Atmoic Habits, gives an example of saving a certain amount of money in a separate account every time you do something, which can be used as a “reward fund” for a trip, a massage, or a leather jacket.

These immediate rewards can help us “retain” this habit, allowing its benefits to accumulate silently until we reap those long-term rewards.

If you can reach a higher level, you might not even need to actually save money, relying solely on imagination to gain satisfaction from learning.

In “Treat Time as a Friend,” there’s an example.

The author’s friend wanted to get a scholarship from an American university. To get the scholarship, he needed to pass the GRE, which required mastering 20,000 words.

The annual scholarship was $40,000, which was about 320,000 RMB at that time. After tax, it was equivalent to 400,000 RMB before tax. So, if you calculate with one year’s scholarship, it equates to 20 RMB per word.

400,000 / 20,000 = 20 RMB

So, memorizing 200 words a day equates to “earning” 4,000 RMB a day. Using this method, he turned the “torture” of memorizing words into “pleasure.”

The protagonist of this example didn’t actually save money but used mental strength to inject “immediate money rewards” into the act of memorizing vocabularies.

These stories can inspire us too:

Save 1 Euro every time you thoroughly read a German article.
Save 10 Euros for every German book you read.
Save 2 Euros for every German essay you write.
Save 2 Euros for watching a whole movie on Netflix in German audio.
…

This way, every time we study/use German, we can get a reward immediately, combining German learning with happiness.

Summary

To learn German well, we must develop the habit of using/studying German. To establish a German learning habit, we must start with identity recognition, associate German learning with positive emotions, and use some methods to make the brain enjoy and love German.