Learn Hardcore German: Die Versuchung ist groß, beim Lernen Nachrichten zu lesen, aber im Gegensatz dazu bringt Konzentration schnellere Fortschritte. - The temptation is great to read the news while studying, but in contrast concentration brings faster progress.

Predicate adjectives in German do not take endings:
- Die Versuchung ist groß. – The temptation is great.
- Der Film ist lang. – The film is long.
- Die Aufgaben sind schwer. – The tasks are difficult.

So große after ist would be wrong.

Die große Versuchung is different: here große is before the noun, so it’s an attributive adjective and must take an ending that matches gender, case, and number:

die große Versuchung – the great/big temptation (feminine nominative singular)

You could say something like:

Die große Versuchung ist, beim Lernen Nachrichten zu lesen.
- Literally: The big temptation is to read news while studying.

That’s a slightly different structure and focus, but grammatically fine.

What is beim Lernen exactly, and why is Lernen capitalized?

Beim Lernen is:

bei + dem = beim (a contraction)
Lernen is a noun formed from the verb lernen.

So:

bei dem Lernen → beim Lernen = while studying / during studying

In German, when you turn a verb into a noun (a nominalized verb), it is always capitalized:

das Lernen – the act of learning / studying
beim Lesen – while reading
im Schlafen (unusual, but possible) – while sleeping

Grammatically:

bei always takes the dative case
dem Lernen → dative singular neuter (because das Lernen)

So beim Lernen literally means at the learning but is best understood as while studying.

Why is the order beim Lernen Nachrichten zu lesen and not something like beim Lernen zu Nachrichten lesen?

In German zu-Infinitive clauses normally put the object before the infinitive:

Nachrichten zu lesen
Bücher zu kaufen
Deutsch zu lernen

So the pattern is:

[object] + zu + [infinitive]

Putting zu directly before the verb and the object after it (like zu Nachrichten lesen) is not correct word order in German.

In your sentence:

beim Lernen – while studying
Nachrichten zu lesen – to read news

Together:

beim Lernen Nachrichten zu lesen – to read news while studying

The whole phrase beim Lernen Nachrichten zu lesen is one big zu-infinitive construction describing what the temptation is about.

What does im Gegensatz dazu literally mean? How is it built?

Im Gegensatz dazu is made of:

in + dem = im – in the
Gegensatz – contrast / opposition
zu – to
dazu – to that / to this

So the basic structure is:

im Gegensatz zu X – in contrast to X
im Gegensatz dazu – in contrast to that (where dazu refers back to the previous idea)

In your sentence:

First idea: the temptation to read news while studying
im Gegensatz dazu – in contrast to that (i.e. compared with that temptation)
Second idea: concentration leads to faster progress

So:

… aber im Gegensatz dazu bringt Konzentration schnellere Fortschritte.
… but in contrast, concentration leads to faster progress.

In … bringt Konzentration schnellere Fortschritte, why use bringt? Could it be something like führt zu instead?

Bringen in this context means to bring / to produce / to lead to (as a result):

Konzentration bringt schnellere Fortschritte.
– Concentration brings/fosters faster progress.

This is very normal German: X bringt Y = X leads to Y / produces Y.

You could also say:

Konzentration führt zu schnelleren Fortschritten. – Concentration leads to faster progress.
Durch Konzentration macht man schnellere Fortschritte. – By concentrating, one makes faster progress.

All are correct; they just express the idea with slightly different constructions. Bringen here emphasizes the benefit/result that concentration produces.

Which words are subject and object in … bringt Konzentration schnellere Fortschritte, and which cases are they in?

The structure is:

Konzentration – subject, nominative singular (feminine: die Konzentration)
bringt – verb (3rd person singular)
schnellere Fortschritte – direct object, accusative plural

So grammatically:

Wer oder was bringt …? – Konzentration → nominative
Wen oder was bringt sie? – schnellere Fortschritte → accusative

The English equivalent structure would be:

Concentration (subject) brings faster progress (object).

Why is it schnellere Fortschritte with -e on schnellere? What determines this ending?

Schnellere is the comparative form of schnell (quick/fast).

Comparative of schnell:
- schnell → schneller (comparative: faster)
When used before a noun as an adjective, you must add an adjective ending:
- masculine accusative: schnelleren
- neuter accusative: schnelleres
- feminine accusative: schnellere
- plural accusative (no article): schnellere

Here we have:

Fortschritte – plural, accusative, no article
With no article in plural accusative, the ending is -e:
- schnellere Fortschritte

Compare:

Ich mache schnelle Fortschritte. – normal speed, quick progress
Ich mache schnellere Fortschritte. – faster progress (compared to before or to something else)

The -e is the regular plural ending for adjectives with no article in accusative or nominative.

Why is Nachrichten plural? Could we say eine Nachricht lesen instead?

Nachrichten is usually used in the plural to mean the news (as a general concept or as news programs):

die Nachrichten lesen – to read the news
die Nachrichten schauen – to watch the news (on TV)

Die Nachricht (singular) means a (single) message / a piece of news:

eine Nachricht lesen – read a (single) message
Ich habe eine gute Nachricht für dich. – I have good news for you.

In your sentence, the idea is reading the news (e.g. online news, news apps, news websites), so the idiomatic German is Nachrichten in the plural.

So:

beim Lernen Nachrichten zu lesen – reading news while studying (general habit)
beim Lernen eine Nachricht zu lesen would suggest reading one specific message, which doesn’t fit as well here.

Is the comma before beim Lernen Nachrichten zu lesen necessary? What is the rule with commas and zu-infinitive clauses here?

The comma is correct and recommended, but in many such cases it is optional in modern German.

The general rule:

A zu-Infinitivgruppe (a zu-infinitive group) can be set off with a comma, especially when:

it depends on a noun or adjective, or
it is longer/complex and the comma helps readability.

In your sentence:

Die Versuchung ist groß, beim Lernen Nachrichten zu lesen, …

The part beim Lernen Nachrichten zu lesen is a zu-infinitive group explaining what the temptation is about. A comma before it is very common and stylistically good because the clause is relatively long.

Technically:

With constructions like Es ist schön, … zu … or Die Versuchung ist groß, … zu …, the comma is usually used and recommended because the infinitive clause belongs to the adjective (groß).

So:

Die Versuchung ist groß, beim Lernen Nachrichten zu lesen, … → stylistically best
Leaving out the comma is not recommended here.

Can we change the word order, for example putting Konzentration at the beginning or moving parts of the infinitive clause? Would it still be correct?

You have some flexibility, but not unlimited. These versions are correct and natural:

Konzentration bringt im Gegensatz dazu schnellere Fortschritte.
– Still correct; emphasizes Konzentration by putting it first.
Im Gegensatz dazu bringt Konzentration schnellere Fortschritte.
– As in the original; focus on the contrast.

For the infinitive clause, you cannot break Nachrichten zu lesen internally:

✅ Die Versuchung ist groß, beim Lernen Nachrichten zu lesen, …
❌ Die Versuchung ist groß, beim Lernen zu Nachrichten lesen, … (wrong)
❌ splitting Nachrichten away from zu lesen in a strange way

You also shouldn’t move beim Lernen to a place that breaks the infinitive group:

✅ Beim Lernen ist die Versuchung groß, Nachrichten zu lesen, …
– Also possible; the focus shifts to the situation while studying.
✅ Nachrichten zu lesen, ist beim Lernen eine große Versuchung, …
– Stylistically heavier, but grammatically okay.

So: you can shuffle larger blocks (like the entire infinitive group or whole phrases), but internal order like Nachrichten zu lesen must be preserved.

Could we use während des Lernens instead of beim Lernen? Is there any difference in meaning?

Yes, you could say:

Die Versuchung ist groß, während des Lernens Nachrichten zu lesen, …

The difference is subtle:

beim Lernen – very common, everyday; literally at the studying, meaning while studying; stylistically neutral and natural in speech and writing.
während des Lernens – a bit more formal/abstract; literally during the learning; feels slightly more bookish.

Meaning-wise, both express roughly the same time relation (while / during studying). For natural, everyday German, beim Lernen is usually the better and more idiomatic choice here.

What level of formality is this sentence? Would it sound natural when spoken?

The sentence is neutral to slightly formal, and it definitely can be used in spoken German, especially in a thoughtful or explanatory context (e.g. a teacher, coach, or podcast host talking about study habits).

Vocabulary: standard, not slangy.
Grammar/structure: a bit complex (with infinitive clause and im Gegensatz dazu), which is more typical of careful speech or written German (articles, essays, educational texts).

In very casual conversation, people might shorten or simplify it, e.g.:

Es ist total verlockend, beim Lernen Nachrichten zu lesen, aber wenn man sich konzentriert, macht man viel schneller Fortschritte.

But your sentence is fully natural and idiomatic as standard German.