LEARNING TO THINK IN ENGLISH
We can all teach ourselves how to think and react much more than we could imagine. Yet, it is not always an easy thing to start, especially if you have never tried before or if you are still blocked by the fear of doing something that you do not know. Think outside of the box. You have my word as a teacher and as a linguist that it does work and if you take up the chal
lenge today, you will be thinking in English by winter and looking back , you will wonder why you had never started before! Just like with any new activity, such as taking up a new sport or instrument or going to the gym, forming a new habit and sticking to it takes some time but it can take as long as you want it to and in the end we all succeed. First time learners, who are usually heavily influenced by their experiences during their formal education at home, often make the massive mistake of supposing that when they go to study in an English-speaking country, it will be enough to do extra grammar exercises for hours after class to end up thinking in the language one day. Sorry to disappoint you but that is just not going to happen. Just as much as there is no application on your Smartphone that you can press to put yourself into English Thinking mode. The result will be that you have done even more grammar exercises than in your own country of origin and by now you will be confused why you cannot communicate with people any better. The Right Conditions
Conditioning is central to thinking in English. It is essential to be comfortable and relaxed in your surroundings with a 'CAN DO' attitude. Soon I will be sharing a few more tips on the blog that are connected to this but for now just feel good and feel surrounded by English. You are making an active decision to push yourself to do something new so make sure that you are in the right environment and correct state of mind. If you do this, your brain will remember all of the contexts and regular patterns step by step. Our brains are just like machines. Put yourself in the right context to suit YOU, tell yourself that you CAN do this and the rest is a piece of cake if you keep up your new habit . Do make yourself a box of flash cards to remember all the new words you learn. It works even better if you use a picture next to the word as the brain responds particularly well to images. Do use a lot of colour in your text book, highlighting as much as possible. Once again, the brain responds well to colour codes. This can be really useful when trying to remember prepositions....everybody 's nightmare I know but if you start highlighting INterested IN or INcrease IN , you are already going to keep those stored in memory for a long time to come,possibly forever. Don't hang out all of the time only with friends who speak the same mother tongue as you. This is so often a huge mistake that so many students make. It is perfectly understandable that far from home, you feel secure and comfortable being with people who speak your language , yet you might want to ask yourself if you are not missing out on invaluable speaking practice and this will certainly not help you to think in English. Do surround yourself with English language sounds: television ,DVD ,music...even if it is simply in the background. Your brain is taking it all in and is processing the new sounds which soon enough you will master too. If you are doing something that you like , with real interest and passion, then you will be receptive. Take the new sounds for what they are, do NOT translate into your language. Your hippocampus is already working hard to process the new sounds so try not to give it too much extra work to do. YOU CAN DO THIS ! YOU ARE A FEW MOMENTS AWAY.....
It is all up to you now. You can make the active decision to start thinking in English when it suits you, when you feel ready. Just do not wait too long. Take up the challenge this week and you can be thinking in English by wintertime . In fact, thinking in English is actually easier than speaking it in some ways, since there is no risk of being shy because it is a totally personal experience that we can have anywhere at anytime . I used to find thinking in my language of study most useful when walking outside or sitting on a bus or train, yet for some reason also whilst doing the washing up ! I will never forget how wonderful it felt during my gap year before University, when I almost smashed a glass I was washing as it was about to slip from my hands when I realised that I was thinking in German and following the radio without my knowing it. I had not been trying to make myself think in the language at all. I was simply relaxed , lost in my thoughts looking out into the garden and wow ! I would really like you to have your own personal experience of this in English too. Thinking in the language does not happen overnight of course. It does need practice and focus. It requires less confidence than speaking but much more determination,motivation and discipline. At first, you might well be using some of your native language more than English, but that is still a start and that is fine too. At least TRY to make a conscious effort to think in English at every given opportunity , even if it is just for a few minutes to start with. Remember that at the start you will NOT be able to think in English about ALL of the things that you have in your mind but you CAN use the words that you do know. Even a beginner in the language can start after a few lessons by
simply looking around on the way to class. Just think about what you
can see and what is happening around you. Describe everything you
know how to say to your mind's eye. What a fantastic way to be in
control of your learning process and all of this before you even get
to class! Your brain is already thinking in English and that makes
you feel great about everything which means that you will be really
receptive for the rest of the morning's study ;)
So, let's go for the challenge. The time is NOW so put this
on your list of things to do and start this new habit which will
bring you so much closer to fluency before wintertime. Let me know
how it is working for you in the comments box below and watch this
space for more really fun and easy tips to help you keep
up your great new habit and take you to another level in the English
:) thinking process.
