Hey everyone, I'm Oliver and welcome back to the Easy English Podcast.
And today we are discussing a very exciting and useful topic.
How to think in English.
When you start thinking in English, speaking and understanding become so much easier and more natural.
So today we are going to look at how we get started with thinking in English.
Let's go!
Okay.
So for me, when learning another foreign language, one of the most important steps is starting to think in that language.
Whenever we don't think in that language, it can be quite complicated to actually create sentences to get the right words.
Often we are trying to translate in our brain rather than just speaking.
When we think in our native language and translate, we do often get stuck or we lose the flow.
So how the conversation is going.
Thinking in English removes that extra step of translation.
So it allows you to speak faster and with a lot more confidence.
And it will help you to understand conversations more naturally without having to translate every word.
But okay, I know what you're thinking.
That sounds a lot easier than it actually is.
But there are some simple steps that you can start doing to try to improve your ability to think in English.
One of the biggest mistakes that people make, including myself, when studying another language was that you know, naturally I would start to think in that language.
But that is not always true.
Once we develop the habit of translating into English in our head, it is quite hard to stop translating in our mind, in our brain.
And for some people it seems to be an impossible task to start thinking in English.
So these tips are very basic, they are simple, but they can help you to actively try to think in English.
Let's take a look.
The first tip is something I like to teach students, particularly those who are at more beginner and lower intermediate level.
And this is to name objects around you in English.
So wherever you are, it doesn't matter where you are, you can do this at any time during the day.
Start naming in your brain things that you see in English.
For example, if you're in your room or at your office, you might say lamp, desk or window in your mind.
And this helps to get your brain used to associating, so connecting, English words to the things that are directly around you.
It might sound simple and a little bit stupid, but it really does help.
And it's one of those exercises, one of those practices that you can do absolutely anywhere.
Isn't that fantastic?
The second task that I would ask you to do, another tip, which is great to start practicing, that is, to describe your day in simple sentences.
So at the end of the day, try to describe what you did in English.
This can be simple sentences.
For example, I ate breakfast or I worked on a project.
And this helps you to make simple sentences in your brain.
Sentences that you don't need to translate.
Things that you are comfortable with.
Basic, easy sentences.
Try to think with these simple sentences at the end of each day and you should start to notice that you're not actually translating these phrases and sentences, because they are quite easy and you know them well.
Okay, now the third tip that I would like you to try to use, and that is use English when you are making decisions.
So, for example, during the day, if you have a thought about what you should eat, try to actively think this decision out in English
For example, should I have a sandwich or a salad?
And making these small decisions in English helps to create that habit of thinking in the language.
And it's a little bit more advanced than naming objects in the room, for example, or even describing your day.
It's something that you can start to actively do every time that you choose something.
And it will get your brain into that training, into that habit of trying to think in English.
And the final tip that I will share with you in these steps is probably the most simplest or broad.
And that is to simply take two or three minutes every day It doesn't matter when.
And start to think about what you're doing in that moment in English.
It's a little bit like describing your day at the end, but in the present tense.
So what you're doing in that moment.
For example, I am making a coffee.
I want a coffee right now.
I am very thirsty.
I need some caffeine.
So I am making a coffee.
That type of thing.
It can be as simple or as complicated as you want.
But just try to make these basic sentences about what you're doing in that moment.
And try not to translate if you can.
So this leads us to the next important point.
What do you do when you're stuck?
What I mean by that is when you don't know the word for something, or the phrase or the verb, and sometimes you won't, and that's okay.
Try to think around it.
For example, describe what you mean in simpler words.
For example, if you can't think of the word umbrella, you might say something that keeps the rain away.
And this practice helps you to stay in English instead of switching your brain back to your native language.
So it keeps you focused on English.
And this is a tip that you can use, even when you're speaking in English, to try to get around those pauses and those language switches in your brain.
So that's everything that I want to share with you guys today.
Thank you so much for listening.
If you're new, please subscribe to the channel for more great English content.
I hope you have a fantastic rest of your day.
Goodbye.
