By thinking in English, you don’t have to translate in your head! This can really improve your fluency.
Many ESL speakers think in their native language and then translate to English. In conversations and other situations where you need the ability to process information and respond quickly, thinking and translating slows you down. Let alone, the translated sentences may not sound natural in English because the sentence structure is often different in your native language and in English. By thinking in English first, you don’t have to translate in your head, and this strategy can improve fluency.
The importance of thinking in English
Thinking in English avoids pauses, hesitation and increases your ability to speak fast and fluently. Also, when speaking English in your head, this helps you internalise the language. It means all you need is to speak without paying attention to the rules and pronunciations. Native people speak fluently and correctly by default because they have internalised the language. By thinking without translating, you will also speak English in a less-pressurised and more confident way. You don’t have to worry about whether you are pronouncing correctly or being understood by others. Another amazing benefit of thinking in English is that it saves you time with relearning words and increases your vocabulary words that you will use in everyday conversations.
How to learn to think in English
1. Start small, then go bigger
You don’t have to start with ‘complete sentence level of English’. Instead, start smaller. Start at individual word level. For example, when you wake up in the morning, think of words like: bed, water, bathroom, toothbrush, breakfast, clothes, shoes. Just think of the single English words for everything you see, hear and do.
From there, start thinking in short English sentences, then longer simple sentences. When you become better at English, you have a wider vocabulary and you will be able to use more complex-structure sentences to express your thought and emotion.
2. Think in English most of the time
Read and write in English. Listen to English. Communicate in English. Convert everything that uses languages in your life to English, for example, your phone default language, etc. Even when you take notes, do it in English. Just use it in all the occasions you can get. Living in an English-speaking country like Australia and studying English at Scots give you chance to think in English most of the time.
3. Speak with yourself, in your mind, in English
Everyday, as a matter of routine, mentally talk to yourself about what you are doing, how you are feeling, describe to yourself whatever happened during the day. For example, when you walking: “There are jacaranda trees that in bloom on my way to school. They are gorgeous, even their name is fabulous. I am taking some photos now.” This helps you handle real-life situations in English later on.
4. Speak out loud to yourself
Speaking out loud to yourself in English is a crucial step in learning to think in English. Isn’t that the way we learn our native language?
Don’t worry about making mistakes. It’s much better to practise English by speaking and making mistakes than not to speaking in English because of the fear of making mistakes. Also, speaking aloud will help you find out where you need to improve and anchor English pronunciation into your long-term memory.
5. Get creative
If you get stuck while thinking in English (i.e. don’t know how to say something in English), think of a way around the word. For example, if you’re trying to explain to someone that you lost your wallet, but can’t remember the word “wallet”, then you can tell them instead that “I lost the thing you use to carry cash and credit cards.” The sentence doesn’t use the word “wallet”, but it is clear enough to be understood. This also prevents conversation interruption by your pulling out a dictionary app. Some ways to describe a word you can’t remember are: “It’s something you use to...”, “It’s a place where...”, “It’s the same as/ similar to...”, “It’s the opposite of...”, It’s an action you do when...”.
6. Build your vocabulary
There are times you can’t think of a word (or don’t know a word) in English, which leads you to get creative in #5. As soon as you can, note down the word ‘definition’ in English on a little book or a note app on your phone. At the end of the day, look up these words in English and write them down. You should use a monolingual dictionary (i.e. an English-English dictionary). By reading definitions in English and associating words with concepts rather than words in your native language, you will understand and use the words correctly. You can record new words using images. That way, when you are trying to remember the word, your brain will ‘see’ the picture and recall the English word automatically instead of your native word. You will be thinking in English!
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