The fundamental mistake language learners make is to constantly translate between English and Hungarian, and this is a terrible challenge for students. It can also be very tiring after a while. To get rid of this, I'll give you a few tricks, no matter what level you are at now.
Here are 9 tips to help you think like a real native English speaker.
So, if this sounds interesting to you, come and follow me!
First of all, what's the problem with translating everything into your mother tongue before replying in English? Well, if you are in a conversation or in a situation where you need to process information very quickly and be able to respond quickly at the right time, you really don't have time to translate what you hear. Even if you're super smart, and I know you are, and you already know English very well. Even then, unfortunately, it will still take time to process all the information you hear in English and then understand and translate it into your native language. And after that, you have to think through everything in your mother tongue, okay, am I going to say it now? Finally you get your thoughts in English and start translating everything into English. It's a lot of unnecessary work for your brain, no matter how awesomely intelligent you are, but it will certainly take too long and the speed of your response will not give you back the experience of a natural back-and-forth conversation. So if you're in a private conversational situation, or if you're in a meeting at work, giving a presentation or asking questions, you really need to be able to think in English.
Take some suggestions to get you thinking in English as soon as possible.
First, let's start small. Understanding everything in English and responding in English is like a big meal. You need a lot of vocabulary, i.e. food analogies for a lot of food to digest. Start by taking small bites and digesting them thoroughly.
So let's start with the small daily activities in English. For me, what worked really well for other language learning is learning English while walking the dog.
(1) If you have a dog, you are welcome to use this tip. I take my dog for a walk every day, or sometimes we go for a run. I usually speak to him in Hungarian, but sometimes I speak to him in English just to confuse him. And instead of telling him „come on, let's go”, I say „come on!”. So you can do that too. And every day you can give more and more instructions in English to your pet. You won't even notice it, but after a while you'll be speaking and giving instructions in English for almost the entire time you're walking your puppy.
(2) Even if you don't have a pet, there are other ways to start thinking in English. I bet you have a phone. If you have a smartphone, you can switch to English. That way, whenever you pick up your phone, you'll be practicing your English vocabulary instinctively, because all the subtitles on your phone will be English. You'll probably check your phone several times a day so you'll be constantly repeating English words. Even if you don't say them out loud, they will become part of your everyday vocabulary.
You see! This is another good example of how you can get your brain thinking in English by doing small everyday English activities. But similarly, you can also, for example, convert your computer to English.
(3) My next piece of advice is to listen to more English. The good thing is that it won't take up any more of your time. Wherever you are, give yourself an in-depth English experience. Open up your laptop or smartphone and download some English podcasts, or listen to internet radio, or play an English video on YouTube or Netflix, and once you've chosen what you want to listen to, play it in the background while you do other work that doesn't require intense concentration. Perfect language practice while doing chores or tidying up. You can put on your favourite English music, because it's cool to learn the English lyrics to your favourite song.
But anyway, let me continue with some tips for thinking in English.
(4) Get ahead of things! You know it's going to be your turn to speak soon. Then use the following technique. Try to guess what the native English speakers with you or around you will say in the next moment during a conversation or presentation, or in any other situation. Use your life experience and try to predict what you think people will say. If you can do this, you will be one step ahead, better prepared and more confident. You'll gain time and prepare your brain to absorb information more quickly. You'll be surprised because eight times out of ten you'll probably be right. But don't get too attached to your prediction, because of course others don't know the scenario that's going on in your head. So also be prepared for people's mouths to say otherwise. Simply by analysing the different possibilities in your head and putting together some possible outcomes, i.e. having an idea of what you think will happen, you will feel much more confident and, most importantly, you will be able to process the information much faster. Throughout the process, you will also be thinking in English yourself, because you are already thinking in English when you are trying to guess what will happen next in a conversation.
(5) Stop learning English only through translations. Especially if you have already finished your beginner level of English. Continue learning through associations and personal experiences. Keep your eyes and ears open. Memorize each English word not in its dictionary form, but in some context, related to something or someone. Music, film or extracts from books can help. Individual words on their own rarely convey the real meaning. Rather, the meaning of a word depends on the words before and after it, i.e. the context.
(6) following the tip above, stop using a bilingual dictionary if possible. The best use for a bilingual dictionary with both English and Hungarian is to use it as a coffee coaster in the future, so that your cup doesn't accidentally leave an unsightly and permanent stain on your desk. If you continue to use the bilingual dictionary to learn English vocabulary, you will be constantly practicing your translation. So use that thing as a coaster or whatever, and use a monolingual dictionary instead. A monolingual dictionary means that it will only have one language in it, that is, only English. Don't be afraid of it. It's simple, explaining even the most obscure English word in a few hundred words. Give it a try and you'll see your vocabulary expand exponentially.
(7) Your new weapon of choice will be English tags. You can do this in your head or with physical tags. It's very simple, super fast and easy to do, and costs nothing. Tag objects in your environment. Write the words on tiny sticky notes and stick them on objects around you. For example, if you see a fridge, stick a label on it that says „Fridge”. And so on. Your vocabulary will grow very quickly. You can continue virtually outdoors. If you go to the park, put labels in your mind. Look at the object, say a tree, and put a „tree” label on it. Then continue. Up to 1000 words can be easily memorized using this method.
(8) Speak English to yourself! If you can get yourself to speak out loud, to yourself, you will do a lot of good. Not only will you practise your pronunciation, your speech, your vocabulary, your fluency, but you'll also develop your ability to think in English.
So, what sort of things should you say when you speak English out loud to yourself, and when should you do it? Well, first of all, I suggest you do it in your own home, and not especially around your work colleagues or people who might think you're crazy.
What would you tell yourself? Well, you can ask yourself different questions. For example, if you are wondering what you are going to have for lunch? Then think and say out loud: ”What am I going to eat today?. It's okay if you make a mistake while talking out loud to yourself. It's okay if your grammar is not perfect, if your pronunciation is not perfect. Because the point is not to be perfect. The point is to develop the habit of thinking in English and speaking out loud. In the meantime, it's worth taking notes. Write down the thoughts and sentences you're not sure of. Then later you can ask one of your friends or your teacher how you should have said it correctly.
If you like to sing, another effective way to speak aloud is to learn a song. You don't have to have a good voice. No one can hear you while you're singing. So don't let that hold you back. Let the knowledge that at least you're on the right track and you know that if you practice your speaking out loud more and more, you'll become more confident and fluent.
(9) Be your own mentor. You know! Nothing works without motivation. Make your motivation a little mantra or motto, or some phrase that automatically sets you on autopilot.
For example, I am improving my English every day!
It's important to put all your emotions into it. Loud and strong! Very, very important, even if you look crazy, it doesn't matter. It helps a lot. It puts you in a good mood and gives you the energy to improve your language skills.
(10) Finally, my last tip is to stick to gradualism. You don't have to think in English all day. It is enough to spend just a few minutes thinking in English at the beginning. So don't push yourself. Start with 30 seconds. I am sure you will find it easy. Maybe you could set a reminder on your phone to go off every morning at 9am and start your 30 seconds of thinking in English. It doesn't matter what you think is simple or silly, just make sure you stick to this exercise. It's the best thing you can do. What matters is that you start and that you are consistent. So do it every day and gradually increase the amount of time you spend thinking in English and you'll see that after a short while you'll be able to think in English all day long.
If you like these tips, share this article with your friends who are also learning English, or your friends who are learning other languages, because these tips apply to all languages.
Thank you very much for reading my article.