Thinking in a Foreign Language Made Easy

Thinking in a Foreign Language Made Easy Thinking in a Foreign Language Made Easy We’ve all heard that thinking in a foreign language is a sign of  real fluency.But I bet you havent heard that its the  fifth key language skill  that all learners must developâ€"falling right in line with speaking, listening, reading and writing.But is thinking really a skill?Yes, yes it is.After all, thinking is a constant and intimate process. If you can think in a language, surely you must have assimilated the language to such an extent that it’s now a part of you.You’re no longer translating from your native language to the new one. Thats why someone who thinks in their target language will speak faster  and more smoothly, and they won’t have any lag when they’re trying to understand something.Sure, all of that is true, but what people don’t often realize is that thinking in a foreign language can be its very own path to fluency, not just a result of fluency.What does this mean for you?It means that thinking in your target language is absolutely learnable. Its someth ing that you canâ€"and shouldâ€"start working on  right now. All it takes is some practice! Just like speaking, listening, reading and writing. And the best part? Thinking is naturally the root of all those other skills, so you’ll see them all improve drastically in turn.Here, were going to show you how to make this happen. Thinking in a Foreign Language Made Easy1. Translate Your ThoughtsYou could have thought of this one, right? Sure, it seems like the most obvious step to take, but not everyone does it. Some people are very visual or quantitative, meaning they dont have streams of words constantly going through their brains.If you don’t already narrate your life in your head, then start doing it consciously! This kind of active exercise is where you’ll get the most practice.When you remember conversations, translate. When you think about your daily schedule, translate. When you’re cursing the weather, your neighbors, the long line at the grocery store… translate!Pract ical StepsIs this easier said than done? Here are some mini-steps you can take to start working toward narrating your life in your target language.If you’re a beginner, try simply taking some time out of the day to describe what’s around you. When you see a tree, you could think “tree” in your target language. If the correct word for tree isnt coming to you, think “green,” “wood” or anything else that can describe it. Same goes for buildings, animals, clothing, whatever. If you’re really limited in terms of vocab, you could even count people, animals or objects in your head. Anything helps!Soon enough, though, you’ll graduate to wanting to translate two-word phrases and beyond. When you’re able to start doing this, you’ll want to double check everything you’re translating, either with a native speaker or by googling the phrase with quotation marks to see if lots of native speakers are phrasing it just like you are. (Hint: If you get less than 1000 hits or h its that include only learners’ dictionaries and forums, you probably have something funky going on.)If you can’t figure out how to say what you’re thinking, make up an approximation that you’re still absolutely sure is 100 percent correct. Because you’re thinking much, much more than youre speaking or writing, it can be easy to fall into bad habitsâ€"thats why double checking your language usage is still key. Concrete nouns, verbs and adjectives are quite easy to translate, but idiomatic phrases get trickier, so youll want to  be especially sure that you’re using the correct idioms and expressions all the time.2. Start Using Monolingual DictionariesNow we’re getting to less direct but oh-so-essential steps to making the language yours.A monolingual dictionary is just what it sounds likeâ€"instead of translating your target language into your native language and  vice versa, you’re looking up a target-language word and getting a target-language definition, just like when you pick up a dictionary to check a word in your native language.Using a monolingual dictionary can mark an important step in your language learning journey because it means that you’re using the language itself to learn.A small caveat, however: Monolingual dictionaries are most useful if you try them out at the mid- to high-intermediate stage when you can already understand a mainstream novel or follow formal news radio. Otherwise, youll spend a lot of time looking up words in the definitions of other wordsâ€"though that can be a valuable exercise, too.You’ll be pretty amazed at how monolingual dictionaries help you think in the language. While studying, you’ll no longer be translating back and forth. Consciously using a monolingual dictionary while filling out SRS flashcards,  reading novels or working through a textbook will pay off in all your other skill areas. Youll even start to think in terms of the language itself, rather than  only within the framework of your n ative language.Practical StepsFirst of all, find a good monolingual dictionary! WordReference has a great online Spanish-Spanish dictionary (plus monolingual options in many other languages).  I’ve personally used Larousse for French. Guoxuedashi is a good example for Chinese. Searching “dictionary” in your target language will land you with something, but quality is pretty important, so try asking other learners on sites like Quora or Language Learners’ Forum.Now what? Monolingual dictionaries work great when paired with sentence flashcards on SRS. Thats rightâ€"each flashcard will have a whole sentence on the front, and then you can use  your monolingual dictionary to define words you don’t know on the backs of your cards. You can embed definitions if there are words you don’t know in the original definitions.  Check out the blog  All Japanese All the Time  for a  complete explanation  (and a great post on monolingual dictionaries!).  This unconventional approach to fl ashcards  is a great way to learn vocabulary and grammar in context.If the definition is impossible to understand (think: definition for “oak” or “ladder”… simple concepts with confusing, convoluted definitions), paste in an image so that you get the meaning without any interference from English!3. Write in a JournalBecause journaling is writing down your thoughts, it gets you into the habit  of thinking in your target language, especially if youre finding thinking itself to be difficult at first.Basically, it’s just another way to practice Step #1, but it’s slower and you’re in one spot so you can look things up. Its also a good option if youre busy most of the time and dont have the freedom to glaze over and think purposefully in your target language. It doubles as writing practice, too!I discovered this myself when practicing writing in Spanishâ€"I found myself thinking in Spanish for some time after I completed a quick writing session and put down my pen. Spendin g some time deliberately formulating thoughts in Spanish definitely got me into that “zone” of thinking in my target language.Practical StepsTry writing a daily monologue. This can include whatever’s on your mind! Stuff about your work, about your familyâ€"it doesn’t matter. Opinions work well, too, because you might have a lot to say about them. You can just keep a diary in your target language!Get corrections and feedback from natives and learners on  services like italki. On italki, you can even hire a private tutor to work with you one on one, to get the best feedback possible. No matter how you get them, corrections will help you avoid writing things down wrong and cementing bad habits in your mind.Despite the importance of staying away from bad habits, I recommend keeping a private, hard copy journal on good stationery. It’s a great break away from Internet-heavy language learning, and the privacy gives you free reign to write about whatever you want!4. Read More Fir st Person LiteratureReading is so important when it comes to learning a language. If you read books written in the first person, you’ll see direct benefits when it comes to thinking in the language.Obviously, first person books give you the main character’s thoughtsâ€"you get to read someone else’s thoughts so that you can think your own! How cool is that?For all those hard-to-translate idioms and phrases from Step #1, you’ll get solutions from books. You’ll learn how native speakers express abstract concepts, which vocab they use and how they use it.Practical StepsGet some young adult fiction, stat!  Why young adult? Because fiction aimed at that age group loves first person perspective right now, and the language is casual and very realistic. Even if you’re not into reading in that age group normally, I highly recommend you check it out for this purpose (and you might find some new favorite books while you’re at it).As always, translations of books you’ve already r ead work wonderfully because you already have that crucial context that makes understanding a target language so much easier. But if you’re at a loss for what to find, I recommend translations of the Percy Jackson  books or The Hunger Games.  Both are popular (and thus widely translated) and both have fun stories that will keep you engaged.To find the translated titles of these books, simply translate the Wikipedia page into your target language. Then you can search for the title on Amazon!Commit to reading 20 minutes a day to get into the habit of thinking in your target language. It won’t be long before you start remembering phrases you see over and over, but to speed things up, dust off that SRS once again. Enter the sentences or phrases you think you might want to use in your own thoughts, and over time, you won’t forget them!And that’s that! With these four steps, you’ll get past all that clunky translating you’ve been doing in your head.You’ll be well on your way to thinking in your target language and making it your own.Once you’ve gotten the hang of thinking in your language, the rest is smooth sailing!