Deja de traducir en tu cabeza: 3 hábitos para pensar en inglés

LeoOkay, confession. Last summer I was in a coffee shop in London, and I prepared my whole order in my own language first.

MiaOf course you did.

LeoThen I translated it, word by word, in my head. When I was finally ready to speak, the barista was already serving the next person.

MiaThat's the translation traffic jam. Your idea is ready, but it's stuck on the road between two languages.

LeoSo, a question for you. Do you build sentences in your language first, and then translate them? Then this episode is for you.

MiaHi, I'm Mia.

LeoAnd I'm Leo. Welcome to FluencyRoad.

MiaIn the next eight minutes, you'll learn three small habits that help you think in English, with sentences you can use today.

LeoIt's a B1 episode. You don't need to understand every word. If you get the idea, that's perfect.

MiaAnd if you like the episode, a like helps us a lot.

LeoSo, what do we mean by translating in your head?

MiaYou have an idea in your language. You look for the English words one by one, and then you try to put them in the right order.

LeoAnd that takes forever.

MiaIt's like taking two buses to cross one street. You wait at the first stop, then you change, then you wait again.

LeoAnd sometimes you miss the second bus completely.

MiaExactly. That's the moment when your mind goes blank, and you say nothing at all.

LeoWhy does our brain do this, though?

MiaWhen you're nervous, you run back to your first language. It's natural.

LeoAnd most learners do it at the beginning. It's not a mistake. It's just a long route.

MiaSo our goal today is not to stop it forever. Our goal is to find a shorter route, a little more often every week.

LeoHabit number one. Learn chunks, not single words.

MiaA chunk is a group of words that we usually use together. Like "Can I get" or "It depends on".

LeoThink of a sandwich. You can buy bread, cheese and tomato and make it yourself. Or you can buy one that's already made.

MiaSingle words are the bread and the cheese. A chunk is the ready sandwich. You don't build it. You just pick it up.

LeoIn that coffee shop, I translated four pieces: "I want", "a coffee", "small", "to take away". Four pieces, four decisions.

MiaWith one chunk, you say "Can I get a small coffee to take away?" One piece, and almost no decisions.

LeoOkay, I admit it. That's faster. Give us a few more chunks.

MiaSure. "I'm thinking about", as in "I'm thinking about a new job". And "That makes sense", as in "Oh, that makes sense."

LeoMy favorite is "It depends". It saves me in every conversation. "Do you like spicy food?" "Hmm, it depends!"

MiaHa. And when you hear a chunk in a series or a song, don't stop at every word.

LeoSo what do I do instead?

MiaWrite the whole group in your notes, and say it out loud a few times.

LeoI call that stealing. When someone says a nice chunk, I steal it. Politely.

MiaGood stealing. My last one was "Sorry, I didn't catch that." Now I use it every week.

MiaHabit number two. Talk to yourself in simple English.

LeoWait. Talk to myself? My neighbors will think I'm crazy.

MiaThen whisper. Be a sports commentator, but for your own life. "And now she opens the fridge. Oh no, there's no milk!"

LeoOkay, let me try. "Leo walks into the kitchen. He's very hungry. He's going to make pasta."

MiaSee? You didn't translate anything. You looked at the scene, and you said it in English.

LeoAnd the words were easy. Is that the secret?

MiaThat's the secret. Small and true is better than long and perfect.

LeoOkay. Give me some chunks for my little show.

MiaTry "Now I'm going to", "I need to", and "Where did I put my keys?"

LeoI did this while I was washing the dishes. The first day was strange. After a week, the English came a little faster. Not magic, but faster.

MiaI do it on the bus, in my head. I describe the people around me. "That man has a huge umbrella. It isn't raining." It's very relaxing.

LeoThat's a little weird, Mia.

MiaIt's in my head, Leo. Nobody knows.

LeoAnd how long do you do it?

MiaOne or two minutes is enough to start. In the shower, in the car, while you cook. Every day is better than one long day.

LeoHabit number three. When you don't know a word, go around it.

MiaThis is when a lot of people stop talking. They need one word, they can't find it, and the whole conversation stops.

LeoBut think of a locked door. If the front door is locked, you don't sleep in the street. You go around the house and use the back door.

MiaSo you describe the thing. "It's a thing you use to cut paper." "It's like a cup, but bigger." "It's the opposite of noisy."

LeoLast week I forgot the word for that bowl with holes, for pasta. So I said, "the bowl with holes, for the pasta water".

MiaAnd the word is "colander".

Leo"Colander." Thanks. Last week the word came back ten minutes later, of course.

MiaOf course. But the conversation didn't stop, and that's what matters. And you can always ask, "What's the word for this?" Most people are happy to help.

LeoThere's one more trap. Some expressions don't work word by word. If you translate them, people look at you strangely.

MiaOh, I have a good one. In Spanish, something very expensive costs "an eye of the face". In Portuguese, "the eyes of the face".

LeoI said that in English once. My friend looked at my face, very worried.

MiaIn English, it "costs an arm and a leg". Different body, same idea. So when it's an expression, learn the English chunk, not the translation.

LeoAnd look: describing a word is not a failure. It's extra English.

MiaOkay, time for a quick word tour. Five words and expressions from today.

LeoFirst, "chunk". We know this one now: words that travel together, like a little team.

MiaFor example, "Can I get" is a chunk. You can say, "I learned a useful chunk from a song today."

LeoSecond, "go blank". When your mind goes blank, you suddenly can't think of anything.

MiaFor example, "In the interview, my mind went blank." Or, "I always go blank when someone asks my phone number."

LeoThird, "narrate". To narrate is to say what is happening, like a commentator or a storyteller.

MiaYou can say, "I narrate my morning in English while I make coffee." Or, "My grandfather loves to narrate old stories."

LeoFourth, "an arm and a leg". When something costs an arm and a leg, it's very expensive.

Mia"That phone costs an arm and a leg." Or, "Rent in this city costs an arm and a leg."

LeoAnd fifth, "fluent". Fluent means you can speak easily, without stopping all the time. Not perfect. Easily.

MiaSay it with me: "I'm not perfect, but I'm fluent enough to order coffee." Or, "She's fluent in three languages."

LeoHere's your mission for today. Choose one small routine, like making coffee or getting dressed.

MiaNarrate it in five short sentences, out loud or in a whisper. Use one chunk, like "Now I'm going to".

LeoIf one word is missing, don't stop. Go around it. Describe it.

MiaQuick recap. One, learn chunks: the ready sandwich. Two, talk to yourself, like a commentator. Three, when a word is missing, use the back door.

LeoIn the comments, write one line like this: "Right now I'm making tea, and next I'm going to call my mom."

MiaAnd to hear chunks the way people really say them, try the free dictation tool at fluencyroad.com/tools/dictation. You listen, and you write what you hear.

LeoThat's it for today. Go and steal some chunks. See you next time!

MiaBye!