🎧 Good headphones tick all the Atomic Habits rules for language learning

Stats, pros and cons, and the model I got for myself

Dear reader,

This past month, I have been using a lot of public transport. This could have been a good opportunity to study languages, except my poor earbuds weren’t cut for it: I couldn’t hear a word in noisy environments.

When I got back, I finally decided to get proper headphones to study. It turned out to be an excellent decision. See for yourself.

My time spent with foreign languages the past 30 days. Guess when I got headphones?

I cannot believe I waited so long to treat myself. While writing my takeaways, I realised this purchase ticks all the Atomic Habits¹ rules. This might explain why it was so easy for me to build the habit of listening to more Korean for these past couple of weeks. Let me break it down with the rules from the book:

1️⃣ Make it obvious

Having my headphones always charged and ready to pick up when I get up makes it so frictionless to start the day with a podcast. If I already have my headphones on for music, yoga, TV and games, I might as well listen to some Korean when I’m done.

2️⃣ Make it attractive

The headphones are so comfortable, I’m actually looking forward to putting them on when I get up or when I get off work. The noise-cancelling feels calming and quickly became a must-have in public places.

3️⃣ Make it easy

When I turn the headphones on, they automatically connect to my phone and a second device that is turned on (my tablet or laptop). When I play a video or podcast, it switches seamlessly between devices. I can also walk around the flat, tidying or cleaning up, cooking or watering the plants, and keep excellent quality sound since they’re wireless.

4️⃣ Make it satisfying

I was used to listening to poor audio quality, so I feel like it’s so much easier to understand spoken Korean. Of course, real-life conversations will not always sound as clear, but breakthroughs are so hard to come by in language learning, this alone was enough to 10x my listening time.

You might be wondering if I noticed any downsides in this experience. Here is a recap so you get the full picture.

• This is an investment. I got the Bose QC35 II, which cost around €250-300 if new. I got them refurbished for €175, but it’s still quite expensive. My second choice were the Anker Q30 for €80, but since I could afford better quality ones, I decided to go for comfort.

• You can disable the noise-cancelling option, which I thought would be useful to navigate the city safely. But to be fair, you still have thick earmuffs over your ears, so it’s not like you can hear the outside noises very well anyway.

• You have to remember to plug them every other day, I try to do so every evening, but I sometimes forget. Now that I’m used to it, I would be disappointed if they ran out of battery.

If you haven’t invested in good headphones already, and if you can afford it, you should definitely give it a try.

Best,

Lou

✍️ Dear language learner

Here are a few sentences to test yourself. You can add them to your notes or spaced-repetition system if you’d like!

🌱 Beginner

I listen to beginner podcasts.

🌿 Intermediate

I like to listen to conversations about my topics of interest.

🌳 Advanced

My favourite type of podcasts are debates around geopolitical issues.

Thank you for reading “I heard from Lou”. It can be hard to find people who share your passion for learning. If you have friends who might like this letter, let them know.

1. This is an easy book to read, with lots of doodles and tables to help you understand how to build good habits. You can also easily find summaries online if you’re curious but don’t want to commit to reading the full book.