How to start thinking in English
Good communication skills are essential in the business world. It can be fluent spoken or well written English language. People, especially in business, are often stuck in one place because of a lack of common ground. If you are just starting out and are just beginning to learn the language, there is a good chance you will translate English from your mother tongue into your mind before you speak. Here are a few reasons why should we stop translating in our head –
Why You Should Stop Translating in Your Head and start thinking in English?
Time-taking:
Translation takes a lot of time due to which you might miss your window of opportunity. It takes a lot more time for us to process the information and look for words and grammar structures suitable for the information. So, stop translating in your head and start thinking in English and it will help you to speak with ease.
Message:
Translation of your message from your mother tongue to the English language doesn’t always successfully convey it. Every language is unique and has its own grammatical structures. Therefore, even if you find the words meaning precisely the same in the English Language, they might not convey the same message.
For ex – In Hindi, ‘Main sone ja raha hun’. Here, the word ‘sone’ can mean either sleep or gold. Therefore, when you translate word by word, it might become, “I am going to gold”, which doesn’t make any sense.
Mistranslation:
When you are just learning English, you may be confused between the words, which means the same thing in your native language, but very different from the English language. You can misuse them while talking. For example, you may be confused when to use ‘leave’ and when to use ‘left’ when speaking in English as both words have the same meaning for you in your native language.
How to start thinking in English?
Think in words, sentences, and conversations:
First off, start by thinking in terms of a simple word,’ table,’ ‘chair,’ ‘pen,’ etc., and try to build your vocabulary about the things around you. Slowly, start making small yet straightforward sentences, without thinking of them in your native language, like ‘How are you?’ etc. Gain some practice and confidence in them, and after that gradually, start thinking in the terms of conversations and practice the same. For example, practice small talk like, ‘how are you?’; ‘I am fine, thank you, etc.
Start thinking of association:
Another method to start thinking is that of association: Try associating words with a clear image in your head, like the image of a file to that of its word. Try to understand the word’s emotion and meaning. Therefore, after some time, if some say the word “file-case,” you automatically associate it with a file and a case and know what it means and implies. Hence, you would automatically grasp words and won’t spend time translating it.
Circulate:
Another effective way to speak English fluently is to circulate: Try and speak as much as possible in English; read English newspapers, novels, etc .; watch English stories, English films; listen to English songs, etc. This will gradually build your vocabulary, sentence structure, and speaking skills, and you will be able to speak well without the need for translation.
Go online:
Yes, you can go online and practice your English language skills in the form of various minigames that are available on the internet, which forces you to think in English. The idea is to develop how quickly you can think in English without looking at your accurateness as that is something which can be worked at after the game, taking as much time as you want.
Learn vocabulary in phrases, not single words
Our brain is a pattern-matching machine that remembers objects placed in context. If you can’t come up with any examples of context, you look up the Cambridge Advanced Student Dictionary or google it.
Talk to yourself in English
Talk to yourself as much as you can as it will help you in explaining yourself to people. Do this activity everyday and analyse your performance. After analysing, start practicing again so that you can start thinking in English.
Get an English-speaking friend or partner
It is always easy to improve English with your partner especially if you are a native speaker. So, find a partner and start practicing wit him/ her.
Conclusion
English is a good language, though it is a little complicated for a beginner. It will take time to become proficient in the language, but the important thing is to practice as much as possible and to ask for help whenever you are stuck somewhere so that you stop translating and start thinking in English. Try the steps listed above, and soon you will be fluent in both languages.
