How to Stop Translating in Your Head and Start Thinking in English
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Stop translating everything from English into your native language in your head, in your mind, in your brain and your noggin and to start thinking only in English. It is possible. Believe me. No matter what level you're at right now, it's possible to think in English and I'm going to show you how. I'm going to give you nine tips that will help you on your journey to thinking just like a native English speaker, so if this is interesting to you then keep watching.
So first of all what's the problem with translating everything into your native language before you come up with a respond in English. Well, if you're in a conversation or some situation where you need to really process information quickly and be able to respond rapidly in an appropriate timely manner then you really don't have time to translate. Even if you're super smart, which I know you are and you're really good at English, which I know you are. It still takes time to process all the information you're getting in English into your native language and then think in your native language“okay, what am I going to say? How am I gonna respond”and then translate that back into English. It's a lot of work for your brain to do and no matter how awesomely intelligent you are, it's gonna take too long in a native speed, kind of fast back an forth conversation. So, if you are in a social situation, if you are in a meeting at work, if you are at a presentation and you want to ask questions, you really need to be able to think in English. So the problem started with the way that we learn foreign languages. Of course it's easy and it makes sense to begin this way because we know vocabulary in our native language, but it actually is hurting us once we get into conversational English. So when I left the classroom, when I left my English classroom and I tried to have a conversation with native English speakers, I was like in total shock, my jaw hit the ground, because I couldn't understand anything and I definitely couldn't respond, because I was trying to just identify a few words that I could recognize, that I could hear, that I could listen to, that I could comprehend and then translate those into Chinese and then think in Chinese to translate back into English and I was a wreck, so I don't want that to happen to you. Maybe you know how that feels already. Let me give you some suggestions to get you started thinking in English.
First let's start small. Understanding everything in English and being able to respond in English is like a big meal. That's a lot of vocabulary or a lot of food to digest, right? So let's start by taking small bites and digest thoroughly. So start by doing small daily activities in English. So for example, every day I take my dog for a walk or sometimes for a run, so sometimes I talk to him usually in Chinese, but sometimes just to really confuse him, I talked to him in English. And instead of saying ”走,出發”, I'll say "come, let's go.”So you could do this in English. Maybe you have a pet, or if you don't have a pet, there's other ways too. I bet you have a phone. If you have a smart phone, you could set that in English. So that every time you open up your phone, there's English vocabulary for you to work with. This is an example of an everyday activity, probably multiple times a day you're looking at your phone that you could do in English. And maybe there's other thing that you can think of too. So what are some other suggestions of small daily activities that you could do in English. Comment! Let me know what you think.
Okay, next, listen to more English. This doesn't even have to take up more of your time. You can give yourself an immersive experience in English no matter where you are. Open up your laptop, or your smart phone and download some podcasts in English, or listen to internet radio, or put on a video on youtube or on Netflix in English and play it in the background while you're doing other work that doesn't require intense focus. I love doing this when I'm just doing housework or like organizing stuff around my room or my office whatever. I will listen to music in other languages because I love learning the lyrics to songs in other languages that I want to learn. So most recently I was listening in English to the song called let it go which is a famous Disney song I highly recommended. But anyway let me continue with tips for thinking in English.
Three, try guessing or planning what native English speaker are going to say in that next conversation or in that presentation or whatever situation that you're going to be in in English. So when you predict based on your life experience what you think people are going to say, you will be more prepared and more confident. You're preparing your brain to receive that information and you'd be surprised probably like eight out of ten times you're going be correct. Now don't get too attached to your prediction because of course other people don't know that script going on in your head, so be prepared for something different that come out of people's mouth. But just by exploring the different options or your prediction or guess of what thing will happen, you're gonna feel way more confident and you're gonna be able to process that information faster and to think in English yourself because you already thinking when you predict what's going to happen in a conversation.
Four, stop learning exclusively through translation, especially once you're out of your beginner English class, we have to learn through association, through experience through observing, watching, listening through touching, through your life experience. You have to associate the word with meaning and not English word with your native language word. Okay, words are just letters. Okay, the real true meaning is what you understand and then you can attach that to the word. Okay, so“book”is not necessarily libro in Spanish , it's a thing with pieces of paper and writing that I can read and learn from. So I hope this is making sense, but you have to stop learning exclusively through translation.
And next very closely related, number five is to stop using a bilingual dictionary. The best use of your bilingual dictionary where there's English and then your native language is actually as like a coaster where you put your coffee cup on top of your table, so it doesn't leave a circle on your table, that's the best use for it. Because if you continue to use this bilingual dictionary to learn vocabulary in English, you're always going to be practicing translation. So just use that thing as a coaster or whatever and use a monolingual dictionary instead. Monolingual means one language, so English to English and you're going to exponentially expand your English language vocabulary when you do this.
Next, number six, label object in your environment in English. You can just do this in your head. It's super simple. It's fast and easy, doesn't cost anything or you could actually write words on paper and tape those labels right to the objects or use sticky notes. And for example, if I see a book and I'm learning Spanish, then I would write on my sticky note libro. Put a label on everyday objects. This is really especially helpful for beginners, intermediate level English learners, but it can be fun to do, just to remind yourself to think in English at any level.
Number seven, talk to yourself in English. When you talk to yourself out loud, it does so many good things for you. Not only are you going to practice your pronunciation, your speaking, your vocabulary, your fluency, but you are developing that thinking and English skill. So what kind of things should you say when you're talking to yourself out loud in English and when should you do this. Well, first of all, I would suggest doing this perhaps in privacy in your own home, maybe not around your co-workers or people that might think you've gone crazy. So what do you tell yourself? Well, you can ask yourself questions. For example, right now I'm thinking what am I going to eat for lunch today. So if I trying to improve my Portuguese, I might think to myself and say out loud…It's okay if you make a mistake talking out loud to yourself, if your grammars not perfect, if your pronunciation is not perfect, it's okay because the point is not to be perfect, the point is for you to develop that habit of thinking and speaking the language. So it's totally okay, just make a mental note of what you're not sure about, if you're not sure if you're supposed to use like the article duh or whatever it is you're not sure about, then you could ask someone, just like I asked you in the comments, you could ask your native speaker friend, your teacher or do some research online. Another way, I really love to talk to myself out loud in languages I'm learning is to sing a song. So I mentioned earlier that I was listening to a song called ….which means you will cry, It's kind of a sad song actually, but I love to actually sing it when I'm just doing house chores or walking my dog. I'll just be like (singing)….so I'm not a great singer, so I'm going to stop, but just to give you an example that is what I love doing and I might even mix in some salsa dance moves while I'm singing.
Eight, just start thinking in English with a mantra or motto or some phrase that just gets you started, like on autopilot, automatically. So my phrase might be I am improving my English every day and I would say that in English out loud to myself or just think it, okay. If I'm learning Portuguese, I might say to myself……..with emotion is really important. Really, really important. Even if I look crazy it doesn't matter. It does help you and it lift your spirits and it gives you energy to improve your language skills.
Finally, number nine, our last tip to help you think in English is to just do a little bit each day. So don't force yourself to think in English everyday from the get-go or the beginning, just start with 30 seconds. I'm sure that you can think in English for 30 seconds. You could set an alarm, maybe everyday at nine a.m. you're going to think in English for 30 seconds. So you know on your phone, put an alarm for nine a.m. and title it think in English and then set your timer for 30 seconds and just think in English, no matter how simple or how silly it is. You can just say hello to yourself over and over and over for 30 seconds, if that's the best you can do. I know you can do better. I know. But it's just an example that it doesn't matter how complicated your English is when you train to think in English. What does matter is that you start and that you are consistent, so do a little bit every day and you're going to be thinking in English all day long in no time.
If you loved these suggestions, let me know in the comments. Share this video with your friends or learning English or maybe your friends who are learning other languages, because these tips totally apply to any language you're learning.
Thank you so much for watching. Be sure to subscribe to go natural English here on youtube. Visit the website GoNaturalEnglish. com. And thank you, muah, love you guys. I'll see you again soon. Bye for now.
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