Why should you think and is it worth it?

When you start thinking in a foreign language, you’ve mastered it. It takes a great deal of effort to learn the grammar rules of a foreign language and start speaking it comfortably. It takes even more hard work for your inner thoughts to start flowing in a language that is not familiar to you. Mastering a foreign language is always a way for achieving your goal. Instead of translating everything you hear, think of a response in your native language and then translate it to the foreign language, before you speak up. You will finally be able to communicate with fewer efforts. Most people are not aware of the fact that when we think we actually do so by having a conversation with ourselves, the inner you internally using our native language. We think, justify and make sense of what we see and feel using real language in a continuous conversation within our own minds. We can call it a monologue or inner-voice. Preparing this inner voice or monologue, to use your target language rather than your native language is pivotal in your progress towards fluency.

Why is it so hard to think in a non-Native language?

Every language learner understands it’s hard to translate every single piece of the sentence in their minds before speaking up. Still, then they can’t function without their inner struggle. Some of the reasons that make thinking in a foreign language difficult:

1. People always think in their native language, it’s how it has always been.
2. When you lack terminology or vocabulary, it is almost impossible to form logical sentences in your mind.
3. When you start learning a new language, you learn it through a translation practice process, and every learner needs to go through this process, and the process is really hard for many people.

 

• Stop the habit of translating

The first and most inevitable starting point is to stop the translation process. This practice is futile because of the logical flow of words in your native 

language may not sound well in a foreign language. 

• Focusing on fluency, not accuracy

When you focus on accuracy over fluency, you cannot express yourself, either inside or outside your head. Grammar and vocabulary are extremely important and they need to be learned without any exception. The experts call on perfection paralysis, which is caused by people who focus mainly on accuracy or trying to find out perfection, which eventually causes frustration. 

• Practice speaking, listening, and writing 

Writing practice can help you keep track of progress, and also help you remember things you’ve learned. Trying and noticing the errors will help you prosper in a foreign language. This practice is a stepping stone for becoming a good speaker as well as thinking in a foreign language. Speaking is the ultimate tip that leads you to perfection. Turning to speak and listening as a daily activity, will surely make you positive and accept the essence of every word you hear while having a conversation with another person. Audiobooks of those languages are available all over the internet, and using them can make huge impacts on your speaking skills, which is a deep process considering it as an outcome of thinking in a foreign language. Communication with native speakers who understands your situation can also help you in becoming a good speaker of that specific language.