“The way you convey information, no matter how independently valuable, affects everything from clarity to engagement”

Priya wished to proceed with her career in the archaeologist stream at Caltech University. She had even passed her written exam for a scholarship, but the challenge was her first interview. She was quite good at writing, however, she had never been a fluent speaker. She came to us with a question: “How can I train my brain to think in English?”

Thinking in English is the initial and foremost step in becoming fluent in it. Learning a language doesn’t happen overnight. People dump a lot of money and time into classes with little success. So, you don’t do that. Here are some 21st-century ways to think in English.

New-age methods to Think in English

So, first, let’s understand what is actually stopping people like you and Priya from thinking in English.

I sat with my team and we had an elaborate discussion on it and came to this conclusion that there are only two major obstacles: Wrong mindset and wrong strategies. Yes! Nothing else. If your brain is not able to think in English then you have to work on these two aspects and you will be good to go. But, here is a disclaimer: This won’t work with outdated learning methods. So, what are those new-age methods to think in English? Let’s understand…

Language Immersion Theory

Immersing yourself helps a lot. You can do this by reading books that will help you see how sentences & phrases are used and will help you in learning new words. Listening to music while singing along will help you remember them better. Actually, it is a good way to practice by familiarizing yourself with the words. Watch TV shows or movies in English. You can start with subtitles that will help you connect with the speech. This will help you to make sentences in English. You will become more fluent while speaking English and you will be able to think in English.

Most importantly, make the effort – when you notice you are thinking in your native language, deliberately try thinking in English instead.

Create an English-rich Environment

Change your phone and application settings to English. With this daily exposure to English, your mind will adapt easily to the language. Label every item in English, every time you see a label it will strengthen your memory. For example, labeling them with their fancy names instead of their names like vegetable baskets, closets instead of cupboards, Trash cans instead of dustbins, etc.

Create a Vocabulary wall

Use a chart of the words & phrases you want to learn along with examples or sentences using those words. Also, you can add a few grammar tips about subject-verb-object and, use of articles or Prepositions. Update the vocabulary wall frequently to include a new set of words and tips.

Describe more or tell a story

Try and keep talking to yourself in English as often as you can throughout the entire day. For instance, express what you are doing at a given time, for example ‘I am preparing breakfast’ or how you are feeling at a given time, ‘I am feeling happy today’. It also helps vocabulary and makes it easy for you to develop sentence structures hence effectively training your mind to think in English.

Pick a topic and try to explain for 3 to 5 minutes alone then try to communicate with your friend or family with the same topic. And slowly increase the time. Don’t care about grammar at first, just speak. Confidence in speaking is more important than correcting grammar.

Expand Your Vocabulary

Use phrases instead of words alone. And use flashcards. It will be useful for you to memorize. It is quite beneficial to revisit some of these flashcards at least once in a while and try to use some of these phrases in a sentence.

Also, reading helps a lot in learning new words, mark the word you find interesting and use it next time in your conversation. Learn at least one new word every day (by getting daily exposure to English this should be easy!), then write it down and use it as soon as you can!

Social Interaction

Ok, so what is your biggest challenge when you interact with people? Look for language practice groups online and offline. Join an English-speaking course that will help you practice more. Regular Speaking is the most efficient way to train your brain to think in English. Also, set specific topics for discussions as it is a good way to challenge your vocabulary.
Like, we have this 21-day English-speaking training which has group fun activities, daily homework, and personalized feedback. It’s not that one person speaking and others listening sort of online classes. But, you get daily chances to participate in speaking so that you can learn how to instantly think in English.

Writing habit

Writing has become interesting because of the era of the internet, it provides us with wide platforms like social media to post our thoughts and opinions. Also maintaining journals is quite a trend nowadays because journaling is writing down your thoughts, it gets you into the habit of thinking in your target language, especially if you’re finding thinking itself to be difficult at first but it’s a great break away from Internet-heavy language learning, and the privacy gives you free access to write about whatever you want! You will be able to think in English and speak in English.

Also as our brain tends to forget things that we find unpleasant and uninteresting so making our learning as personal as possible will surely help you achieve fluency more effectively.

Take your daily dose of English

Practicing English daily is the best way to learn the language and there are many fun ways to incorporate the language into your daily practice. Use apps and online platforms for just five to ten minutes to get quick lessons or watch a small portion of a podcast. Also, several online games will help you provide small online tests to measure your progress. This is your fight to speak confidently, so you have to become a warrior to win it.

For example, you cannot expect to learn dance without practicing it, in the same way, you cannot learn to speak confidently in English without practicing and participating. So, without procrastination take this call and start learning English every day.

Set goals

It is a part of Metacognitive Strategies which involve being aware of your learning process. Setting goals for practicing English should be as specific as possible, but also be achievable like ‘I will think in English for 10 minutes a day” or “I will speak on any particular topic for at least 15 minutes a day.” Document all your achievements and change your goals around to match your new progress to make the goals interesting and fulfilling. This will help you to think in English and to become a confident speaker.

Final Words

Get in the habit of naming things in English in your head. Wherever you are, look around for objects, places, and other things and try to think what they’re called in English (and look it up if you don’t know). Force your brain to associate images with vocabulary. Also, try having conversations in your head in English; counting things in English; describing your actions in English; writing in English (like a journal/diary); writing your grocery list in English; etc. Now what do you think, after doing all this, is there anything on earth that could stop you to think in English? Not at all.

Consume as much English as you can. Books, movies, games, etc. Make English a part of your life instead of just something you set aside to study. That way your brain will begin to receive information in English instead of just your native tongue.

Think in English – FAQs Answered