How to Think in a Foreign Language - Language learning tips

Unless we’re brought up as a multilingual speaker, we spend our entire lives speaking one language. Every interaction you have in that language, from the conversations you have to your own thoughts and the things you read are deeply habitual and your native language is embedded in your behaviours and thought processes, making it difficult to think in a foreign language.

When we first start learning a new language, we’re still consciously checking it in our own language. Your thoughts are essentially divided between what’s deeply natural to you and what’s new to you and to become truly fluent, you’ll need to bridge the gap between thinking in your own language and thinking in another.

Why it’s hard to think in foreign language

So why’s it difficult to think in another language?

Practically speaking, it largely comes down to not having the necessary information to form complete, logical thoughts in that language. If we’re missing vocab then it’s almost impossible to form sentences in your mind which are as free and fluent as they are in your native language. The way we learn new languages as adults isn’t the same as the way we learn them as a child either, and much of the learning is done through comparing the new language to your own and making translations back and forth.

Tips on how to think in a foreign language

Stop translating

When we’re speaking a language which isn’t the one we’re used to speaking, it feels natural to keep referencing your own language. You end up translating words back and forth, generating a sentence in your own language and then trying to translate it. Shaking this habit will take time and the best thing you can do is to try and be instinctive about speaking the foreign language. Instead of hesitating to think about what you’re saying, just try and let the speech flow, even if it’s wrong!

Learn pairs of words

It can be very frustrating when you know many basic words and can use them to form logical sentences, but other parts of the sentence are still filled with blanks, despite them being part of the same context. Think of a sentence where you’re discussing the night time. You may know the word for night, but what about late, or dark? They’re associated words that will often appear in the same context as night time but if you don’t know them as well, then you won’t be able to make complete sense of the entire sentence. It’s good practice to learn words that are closely linked with others in pairs, so you have an array of similar words that allow you to understand similar sentences that used similar words.

Find a descriptive dictionary

Descriptive dictionaries describe a word’s use rather than just stating its definition. Because of the contextual information used to describe the word you’re trying to learn, you’ll view sentences as a whole rather than as a series of translated words.

Grammar is important

Vocabulary is only ever one side of language learning’s two great umbrellas, with grammar being tremendously important in your greater understanding of a language and how it’s used. Understanding the grammar of a sentence tightens your grasp on its contextual relevance and overall meaning. If we’re familiar with the grammar of a language then we can follow the syntax and structure of a sentence a lot better.

Learn idioms and different phrases

Knowledge of the finer nuances of a language are what really separate fluent speakers from aspiring learners. Learning idioms, slang and phrases or sayings give you a personal feel of a language. These types of phrases are gestural in that they help people convey things in innovative ways. They aren’t easy to learn but they’ll help you think in a foreign language by giving you an insight into how personalised words and sayings are used.

Change your phone language and use foreign apps

Changing the daily interactions you have with a language is a powerful way to instil natural thought in that language. It’s the habitual way we think in our own native language that prevents us from thinking in another, like when you view your phone or watch the TV and think about the actions you complete in the way you’re used to. We’re just so used to interacting with these things in our own language, changing them can really throw you off and pull you out of that familiar language comfort zone.

Talk to natives

Talking and communicating with others is why language exists! The most natural way we use language is in conversation. Talking to natives is the number one aid in helping you think like them, improving your entire grasp on their language. Through this genuine communication, you will eventually find yourself thinking entirely in your new language. The power of communication affects your brain profoundly and talking to natives can change your approach to language massively. It’s not easy to speak to natives all the time in person, though, and some may be nervous, preventing them from really opening up if the opportunity presents itself. Instead, we can use great online apps like Bilingua, which connect us to like-minded speakers of many languages worldwide. Matching us on our interests and passions, this app connects learners to natives in an unprecedented way.

Name your surroundings

When we go about our daily lives, we think so much, with or without realising it. You might look at a piece of newspaper on the floor and think something about the way it’s creased, or admire a lady’s hat on a train and every time we do these things, we tend to revert to our own language. Instead of that, force yourself to think those things in another language. Naming your surroundings is a fun way to do it, for example, you could name your PC ‘Tom’ and think up comments about it in a foreign language. You might think, ‘Hello Tom, you’re looking square today!’, or something silly like that to try and train your brain to automatically respond to things we see and think about every day in the language you’re learning.

Start writing

Try and write about things that come naturally to you in your own language, in the one you’re trying to learn. When we write, we stream our consciousness into written sentences. Try and stream from a foreign language, thinking about things in that language as you put pen to page. Even if what comes out is fairly random, keep going!

Don’t forget listening and speaking!

Speaking and listening are fundamental components of language and training on them is vital. Listen to audiobooks and music and watch TV in the language you’re learning. Speak it as much as possible and listen carefully to the natural way natives speak. Try and imagine what they’re thinking about, getting into the groove of their culture and the way their society functions. Adopt foreign philosophies. Trying to emulate the way someone thinks seems funny but if you communicate with enough people for long enough, you’ll gain that genuine insight into foreign thought processes.