Thinking in a
foreign language is an important step in the long road that is fluency in a
foreign language, but it’s a step that, for some reason, many language learners
tend to ignore. Thinking in the language you are learning is not necessarily
easy, but it’s something you can practice at any time of the day. Thinking in a
new language is a decision you can make, and that
you should make from the very first day!
You might be
wondering why anyone would go through the discomfort of trying to think in a
foreign language, especially during the early stages or learning. Well, for
starters, thinking in the language you’re trying to learn is one of the easiest
ways to review the vocabulary and grammatical patterns you’ve recently
acquired. Plus, by actually forcing your brain to think in a language it is not
used to think in, you’ll also help activate the newly-acquired information by
giving you a real-life use for it. This will speed-up the passive-to-active vocabulary transition. Passive vocabulary includes the words stored in verbal memory that people partially
“understand,” but not well enough for active use. Your active
vocabulary, on the other hand, includes the words that you can readily use when speaking and writing.
Another great reason
to practice thinking in a foreign language is that you will make decisions that
will tend to be less biased, more analytic, and more systematic because a
foreign language provides psychological distance. So by thinking in a foreign
language you will not only be jump-starting your skills in that language, but
you’ll also make smarter decisions.
So how can you
actually start thinking in a foreign language?
#1: The first thing that’s really important to do is to create, as soon as possible, a language bubble around yourself, especially if you’ve reached an
intermediate level or anything above that in your target language.
#2: The second step is to start
making a conscious effort to describe things around you in
your target language.
One easy way to start when you have a very limited vocabulary is to just look
around your room, your neighbourhood, your workplace or school and mentally
label whatever you can. If you know colours, scan whatever is around you and
think the word for the colour of each item you see. If you have recently been
learning about furniture, adjectives, or moods, try the same thing with those.
Whatever vocabulary and grammatical patterns you are currently learning at the
moment, make a conscious effort to think in your target language using those
newly-acquired tools. It is a game, something to enjoy doing. As you begin to
increase your vocabulary little by little, start gradually increasing the
complexity of your thoughts by making phrases and by describing what’s going on
around you. Don’t jump steps and try expressing complex thoughts that are in
sharp contrast with your current level. Don’t worry, in due time you’ll reach a
point where you’ll be able to say more complex things, there is no rush!
#3: If you are a bit more advanced in your target
language, as you go about your day try to think through some typical
conversations you would normally have in your native tongue. If there are some
common words and expressions that you find yourself unable to express, especially
on repeated occasions, write them in a small notebook or in your smart phone,
and in the evening find the translations. That’s an extremely useful way to
quickly gain useful vocabulary that you know you are likely to use in everyday
situations.
#4: Speak to yourself or to a camera. If you are ready to
put aside your shame, and you are alone, it’s also quite useful to talk to
yourself. Aside from being useful in organizing your thoughts, it also allows
you to practice pronunciation. If you don’t like the idea of talking to
yourself, why not make videos of yourself talking to track your progress? You
can organize your videos around themes. For example, in one you might try to
talk about the weather, and in another one you might tell your real or
fictitious listeners how you began the study of your target language, or which
methods you’re using at the moment. Countless language learners and seasoned
polyglots do exactly that and regularly post their videos on YouTube. If you do
the same, you’ll be able to connect with other members of the language learning
community. If you
want to start thinking in the target language you’re learning, you have to get
out of your comfort zone
and make the foreign language a part of your life. Don’t be afraid, nothing bad
will come out of it! It’s something we all hesitate to do because we are all
afraid of the unknown, and we are all afraid of having a feeling of discomfort.
Staying in your language bubble and in your comfort zone are easy options, but
they are unfortunately not what will bring the best results in terms of foreign
language fluency development. Many people approach language learning in a very “confined”
manner. They see language learning as something to be “studied” or “learned”
during a certain period of time during the day and week, and then everything
else they do is somehow totally unrelated to the language they are learning. I
often ask my students what they do outside of class to improve their language skills.
They either do nothing or study a bit through their textbook.
They basically pat themselves on the back for paying for language lessons, and
as soon as the lesson is over they somehow turn a switch in their brain which
means they can totally forget about the language they are learning. Many
students later wonder why they aren’t somewhat fluent after studying the
language for years upon years. The reason why
many people recommend to go abroad to learn a foreign language is that it kind
of forces yourself to step outside of your native tongue bubble. One doesn’t
have to go abroad to immerse oneself in a foreign language. What to do?
#1: Start reading the news or blogs in your target
language. To get into the habit of doing so, make your homepage a page that is
in the foreign language you are learning. These are all websites or programs that
have a changeable language option.
#2: If your phone has a “language” option, change the
language of your phone to the language you are learning. At first it will be
really uncomfortable, but the necessity to understand your phone’s function
will soon be strong enough so that you’ll have no choice but to remember a
whole lot of new words and become proficient in using your cell phone in a
foreign language.
#3: Watch movies in the target language. When you watch
movies in your own language, try to watch them with subtitles in your target
language. As you listen to the movie, you’ll be reading the entire time in your
target language. This will also tremendously help to increase your reading
speed.
#4: The next time you need to install Windows on your
computer, ask somebody who speaks your target language to download the version
in their language. Just as with a cell phone, it will be really uncomfortable
at first, but you’ll get used to it eventually. The same can be done whenever
you download programs such as movie players, etc.
#5: Watch YouTube videos in your target language. Maybe you’ll
be watching stupid videos, but at least they’ll be in a foreign language.
#6: Listen to music in a foreign language. Not only you
will discover new, awesome music, but you’ll be getting used to the language’s
flow, intonation, and rhythm. If you feel like it, get the lyrics and sing
along your favourite songs.
#7: Meet friends
who speak your target language. Visit a website, join a local club, volunteer,
make a language exchange partner online.
By implementing only
a few of these tips you will see, within a short period of time, a dramatic
change in your fluency and in your ability to think in your target language.
See it as a game, and as a way of pushing yourself and making language learning
more than something that needs to be “studied”.
Remember, it’s all
about having fun and challenging yourself!
