One of the most common problems that learners of any foreign language have is translating to and from their mother tongue while communicating in a foreign language. This is a tiring and quite annoying involuntary process which causes headaches to most students. So, how can it be stopped?
1. Identify names and objects around you Whether you are riding on a train or sitting in a park, there is no wrong place or wrong time for practising this step. Start with detecting and identifying simple objects in your surrounding (e.g. a bus, a tree, a skyscraper) and then try to describe them using adjectives (e.g. a yellow bus, a green tree, a tall skyscraper). This way, you will force your brain to immediately link objects to their names in another language.
2. Describe situations This step is focused on practising verbs. Look around you and try to describe the situations you are witnessing by using simple sentences (e.g. The yellow bus is taking children to school.). Be a silent narrator of your life. You may be unaware of it, but steps one and two actually represent the way children learn their mother tongue. And you know how fast the little ones learn!
3. Find someone to correct your mistake If you want to keep your mind connected to English at all times, you need to study it every single day. In the perfect scenario, your English teacher should correct your mistakes in classes everyday. However, since not everyone can afford to have classes as often, you should try to find a native speaker (e.g. a pen pal) who you can chat with or talk to and who will be so kind to correct your mistakes.
4. Surround yourself with media in English It is important to do the things you love in English. Whenever possible, listen to music in English while reading lyrics, watch movies in English with English subtitles, read books in English, play games in English, and you can even set the language on your phone and laptop to English. Only the sky is the limit.
5. Talk to yourself Although it may seem like a thing that only crazy people do, don’t worry. Asking questions in English and answering them won’t make you a lunatic. Other than talking to another human being, this is the best way to practise having a real conversation. After a while, you may notice that your thoughts come automatically in English.
We might discuss more about what to pay attention to when it comes to starting thinking in English. See you soon and enjoy your day! 😊
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