7 Ways to Start Thinking in English

Today’s lesson comes from a question I received on YouTube. The question was, ‘How do I learn how to think in English?” Listen to this lesson as I walk through 7 tips for how to think in English.

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A few weeks ago, I posed a video on my Study with Andrea YouTube channel and asked what questions you would like me to answer. Today is the first video in response to the question, ‘How do I start thinking in English?”

Top 7 Tips to Start Thinking in English:

#1 – Focus on English only

When you are trying to find the exact word you want to say, you end up focusing on your first language, instead of your second language. Focus on English. Looking back to your first language for help with your second language is like looking to someone else to speak for you. Imagine you’re talking to a friend in front of you, and your mom is right next to you while you’re talking to your friend. Now imagine that you constantly look at your mom to give you the words to say. Wouldn’t that be weird if you were always wanting her to tell you what to say?

That’s a great analogy, or word picture, of what it’s like to be checking in with your first language all the time. It’s looking to your mother tongue to make sure you’re saying something right. It’s not helpful, and it slows you down. Stop looking to your mom, or first language, for information. Look at the person you are communicating with and focus on what they are saying. 

#2 – Aim for Communication, not Perfection

A lot of the reason that people don’t think in English is because they are worried they will sound stupid. I understand this feeling. You’re so worried about making a mistake that you don’t fully commit to English. You don’t want to say too much because you are afraid of making errors, so you stop yourself from being yourself. You focus on your anxiety and your mistakes more than you focus on the goal of communication.

You should always aim for communication, not perfection. It’s about the energy and information that you share, not your anxiety. The more you commit to the moment, and push away fear of making mistakes is the moment you’ll start to think in English. Live in the moment, and you’ll see what I mean. 

#3 – Don’t grab your translator in the middle of a conversation

It completely stops your train of thought, and stops the energy you have with the person you are talking to. There is nothing more annoying than when I’m talking to a student, and they stop mid-sentence to pull out a translator so they can tell you that “perfect” word they were looking for.

First, it makes your listener wait on you, which is not that fun. Second, that “perfect” word is usually not so perfect. A lot of times, that exact translation isn’t helpful. It doesn’t help your listener understand. It completely stops your train of thought, and stops the energy you have with the person you are talking to. There is nothing more annoying than when I’m talking to a student, and they stop mid-sentence to pull out a translator so they can tell you that “perfect” word they were looking for. First, it makes your listener wait on you, which is not that fun. Second, that “perfect” word is usually not so perfect. A lot of times, that exact translation isn’t helpful. It doesn’t help your listener understand.

Instead, when you come to an idea or item that you don’t know the exact word for in English, just start to describe that word in English. That does 2 things for you:

1. It keeps the conversation moving, and keeps energy in the conversation.
2. Gives you practice with thinking on your feet in English. This means that you are being forced to adapt and be flexible. That’s a good thing in English, and you need all the help you can get. 

So, if there is a word you don’t know in English, and you’re in the middle of a conversation, just start describing it, or move on. You conversation partner will help you through if you just keep the conversation going.  

#4 – Stop translating word-for-word

Languages are so different from one another. Using the exact translations from your language to English makes communication so much slower, and not as accurate. Instead of using a translator, spend your time working on learning English slang and idioms.  

#5 – Really listen to what the other person is saying

When you plan in your head what you’re going to say, you are telling yourself to memorize something to say. When that happens, you can’t hear where the conversation is going, so you get lost. This means you are no longer living in the moment, and you are pulled out of the conversation. You can’t respond to what you don’t hear.

When you go into your head, instead of staying in the conversation, you stop thinking in English. Stay in the conversation. Listen closely to what they are saying. Respond to the words they say, instead of your memorized speech. It’s the only way to grow your language.  

#6 – Practice thinking in English

You might be surprised by this piece of advice. How can I practice thinking? Here is a simple activity you can try: You might be surprised by this piece of advice. How can I practice thinking? Here is a simple activity you can try:

• Set a timer on your phone for 1 minute
• Decide on a subject to talk about (i.e. Education systems, buying a house, your family)
• Click Start on your timer
• Talk about that subject in English without stopping. Even if you run out of things to say, just start talking about anything in English like, “I don’t know what to say,” or “I need to keep talking in English.”
• Talk until the timer goes off
• If you talked for the entire time in English, set the timer for 2 minutes and try again with a new subject. If you struggled with 1 minute, but the time to 30 seconds. 

This exercise helps you stay in English, and not jump to your native language. 

#7 – Consume media in English, instead of your native language

• Watch shows in English on Netflix without subtitles
• Listen to podcasts in English
• Turn the settings on your phone to English 

Whatever you can do to bring more English into your life, do it. You want to make the world around you to be filled with English. This will boost your thinking in English. You want to immerse yourself in English, because when you do that, you will start naturally thinking in English.

Thinking in English actually takes a lot of work on your part. You can’t just expect for it to magically happen. You need to live in the moment, fill your world with English, and do your part to practice thinking in English.

Thanks again for this great question from one of our YouTube followers, English Learning. If you don’t subscribe to my YouTube channel, just go to YouTube.com/StudyWithAndrea.

Lastly, if you’re ready to speak clearer English, going my Clear English Pronunciation course at StudyWithAndrea.com/speak. In this course, you get full access to 23 videos, all focused on the individual sounds of English. People are changing the way they speak with this awesome and interactive course. Go to StudyWithAndrea.com/speak to start the course today!

Until next time, Happy learning!

Andrea