Have you ever been taught about thinking in English in your school? If so, you are really lucky. Thinking in English can help us to be fluent in English. I would even say thinking in English is the key to fluency. It's because our thought processes will become similar to those of native speakers.
Despite its huge benefit, I have never been taught to think in English until I graduated from high school, and I really regret the amount of time I spent learning English without knowing it. It would be a shame if you happen to share the same fate as I am. That's why, in this opportunity, I would like to share my knowledge about how to start thinking in English.
What Does It Mean by Thinking in English?
Before explaining its benefits, I would like to define what thinking in English means. To put it simply, thinking in English means that we think, narrate, and process our idea using English.
Now, let's determine whether or not you are thinking in English!
- Firstly, pay attention to how you are understanding this article. Do you translate the words into your mother language before understanding them? If so, you are not thinking in English.
- Secondly, try to speak some sentences in English. Do you arrange your idea using your mother language before translating them into English? If so, you are not thinking in English.
- Lastly, try to talk to yourself in your mind. Do you talk using English? If so, congratulations! You are thinking in English.
So, have you been able to think in English? Please let me know in the comment below!
If you are not able to think in English yet, don't worry! I believe that all of us have the capability to think in English no matter what our mother language is.
From our observation above, we can conclude that the most important aspect of thinking in English is that we don't need to translate ideas into our mother language before understanding or producing them. To be concise, there is no translation process required in thinking in English.
What Benefits Do We Get from Thinking in English?
From our mini-observation before, you might have realized how beneficial thinking in English is. The main point is that it will be a great help for us to develop our English language skills.
First of all, we can comprehend better in our reading and listening. When we think in English, we no longer have the need to translate what we read and listen to. Instead, we will be able to straightly process the written and spoken ideas in English, and then we can understand them faster.
Then, when we write and speak in English, we can produce the idea faster and better. Because the translation process is not required, we will be able to produce and arrange ideas like how native English speakers will do. Our brain will have been trained to understand and implement correct grammatical rules, so we can produce fewer grammatical errors. This way, we can surely manage to speak fluently and produce good writing.
How Exactly Should We Start Thinking in English?
Considering the benefits above, it is really important to develop the ability to think in English. Like any other ability, thinking in English also requires us to practice. Here are the eight easiest ways to start thinking in English.
1. Start from Single Words
The very first step is to think in single English words. You may not be able to make critical judgments in English just yet, but you may become more aware of your environment by thinking about the names of objects you see or actions you perform word by word.
For example:
- Tell yourself how you are feeling in single words. If you are tired, you can say, "tired", "exhausted", or any other words which describe it.
- If you are going to sleep, you can say, "good night".
- If you are going to eat, you can mention the food you want, such as "sandwich".
After getting used to thinking using single words, you can begin thinking using phrases and sentences. Don't forget to enrich your vocabulary by trying to think using synonyms of your frequently used words.
2. Make Descriptions of Unkown Words
This second way to start thinking in English is still related to the previous one. If you feel stuck, and you cannot name certain things with an exact word, try to describe them using words you are already familiar with.
For example, if the word "dawn" doesn't come into your mind, you can say, "a time just before the sun rises". After that, you can open your dictionary to find the best expression for what you wanted to say.
3. Use English to English Dictionary
To develop your brain to think in English much faster, using English to English dictionary might become a great help. By avoiding using regular vocabulary, your brain will get itself used to understand without any translation.
You can start using it gradually in order not to get confused. Try using it twice a day, and then do it every time if you have already been used to it.
There are many benefits of using English to English dictionary. First of all, while you try to look for the definition of the unknown words, you can also get to know other unfamiliar vocabularies. Then, you can also develop your reading comprehension by continuously read the definitions without referring back to your mother language.
4. Think in Sentences
After you are used to thinking in single words and phrases, you can start thinking in sentences. It might sound easy, but it can get a bit tricky, especially for those whose mother language grammatical structures have many different features from the ones of English.
Thus, I recommend you to study English grammar and do a lot of reading and listening simultaneously at this phase in order to strengthen your grammar knowledge. This way, what you are practicing in thinking in sentences is grammatically correct.
You can think about what you want to do, what you want to buy at the grocery store, or even describe what you are feeling. For example: "I'm so hungry."
5. Explain Your Activities
If you have already used to think in sentences, you can move on to the next step, explaining your activities. Explaining activities can actually be done using single sentences. However, in this step, you are encouraged to use at least three sentences to describe what you have done.
For example, "I have cooked dinner, but mom and dad haven't come home yet. I actually want to eat right away because I have many other things to do. However, I prefer waiting for them just for a bit because eating with them is joyful."
6. Make Up Conversation within Your Mind
After getting used to doing monologue within your mind, it's time to start jumping into conversations. It might sound weird to have a conversation with your own self. However, it can be a good start for you before having a real-life English conversation.
You can start by asking questions to yourself, such as "how will I go to school?" when will I start studying?" or any other questions you like. After that, answer those questions by yourself, for example, "I will go to school by bus with my friends."
7. Expose Yourself to English Daily
Exposing ourselves to English doesn't mean that we must live in an English-speaking country. Reading books, watching movies, and listening to songs in English are also some of the ways to expose yourself to English. The more frequent you do them, the more likely you will be able to think in English without even you realizing it.
The most important thing to note is that if you need to find the meaning of unfamiliar words, you should not look them up in your native language dictionary. Remember to always use English to English dictionary in order to increase your exposure to English.
8. Do Regular Practice
The key to learning English and any other language is practice. In order to train your brain to think in English, you should practice it regularly. Don't be afraid of making mistakes, and remember that practicing doesn't make any loss for yourself. It would be better if you find a friend or community to encourage you to learn continuously. Besides, you should also pay attention to how to learn English effectively in order to get the full benefits from your practice.
To sum up, thinking in English is when you understand something in English without translating it into your native language in your mind. Thinking in English is beneficial to increase your English language skills, especially in increasing speaking fluency. To start thinking in English, you should begin from the easiest one to the most complicated one, depending on your current ability. Don't forget to practice it regularly to get the best result.
Good luck!
Comments
Cool article, thank you :)
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