Should we strive to THINK in a foreign language?
Vložit
- čas přidán 12. 06. 2024
- 🔥 Learn languages like I do with LingQ: bit.ly/3S3rRk2
🆓 My 10 FREE secrets to language learning: bit.ly/3NSRW2W
CC subtitles available in multiple languages.
The topic of thinking in the language we are learning comes up all the time. In this video I talk about why we shouldn't force the process and why thinking in the language does not guarantee fluency.
⏲️ TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Thinking in the language we are learning
0:06 How do I start thinking in my target language?
0:44 Do I always think in my languages?
1:36 Should we force ourselves
2:01 Will I sound like a native?
3:57 Fossilization in language learning
📺 WATCH NEXT:
How do we get to thinking in another language: • How Do We Get to Think...
How to learn vocabulary without even trying: • How to Learn Vocabular...
🎙️ LISTEN TO MY PODCAST:
Soundcloud: bit.ly/3iZsbic
Apple: apple.co/3z1F1lD
Google: bit.ly/2W3DYmK
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4TbcX8i...
💡 LEARN MORE:
Get my 10 Secrets of Language Learning: www.thelinguist.com
Download my FREE grammar guides: www.lingq.com/en/grammar-reso...
Join the LingQ Discord server: / discord
Read my language learning blog on The Linguist: bit.ly/2MW83Ab
Read the LingQ language learning blog: bit.ly/35yvaqK
✅ FOLLOW ME:
My Instagram page: / lingosteve_
My TikTok: / lingosteve
📲 The app I use to learn languages: bit.ly/3TOKARY
🆓 My 10 FREE secrets to language learning: bit.ly/3TMydWg
❓Do you strive to always think in your target language? Tell me in the comments!
For me it's like I don't need to translate in my head from my first language to the second language. I'm starting to talk in English without necesity to prepare in my head what I want to say in Polish earlier.
My native language is Cantonese, second language Mandarin and third language English. My Mandarin is fluent but with clearly non-native accent, while my English is only conversational and not as fluent as my mandarin.
When I'm talking to Cantonese speakers I think in Cantonese; when I'm talking to Mandarin speakers I think in Mandarin; when I'm talking to English speakers I think in English. Now here comes the fun part: when I'm talking to myself, I actually think in a mixture of Cantonese, Mandarin and English in a kind of code-switching manner!
Right now I'm learning Portuguese as forth language and I hope to achieve a level of Portuguese that is comparable to my level of English.
my native language is Portuguese, your comment impressed me because this is the first time I'm seeing someone interested in Portuguese rather than Spanish lol
Stress stops learning! A relaxed brain (at play, like children) learns the best. I’m 61 and not remotely fluent in my 5 languages but I enjoy them and keep on learning them. Perfection should be dismissed as bunk (unless you’re a professional translator) and humility should be adopted as optimal. Be happy with what you’ve learned and you’ll learn even more. 😊 I can relate to your dads feelings with certain inconsistencies, they are real.
Thinking in my target language (Russian) comes naturally to me, because I have a lot of meaningful conversations and ongoing debates with Russian friends. Those conversations and debates stay with me, and I'm often continuing them in my head as I prepare for the next ones.
Действительно классно, что у вас получается. Успехов вам!
@@sergey8495 Большое спасибо!!!
Красава 👍🏻
I feel you
Очень круто! Продолжай в том же духе😊
*My first dream in English: a reward by years of listening and reading*
I'm learning english since 2020. On 2023 I felt my listening comprehension improved a lot and I began reading more, as a result a few days ago I had my first dream speaking English.
Actually in my dream I was speaking Portuguese, but at some point I had to talk to a foreign and I spoke English. I was fascinated when I woke up because I noticed that my brain has learned that English is a second language and I can use it to talk to people who aren't from my country (Brazil), that's why it switches to English in my dream.
I'm Brazilian too, but I love to speak,read etc in English. I agree we have to think in English if we intend to communicate correctly in English.
Your English grammar and vocabulary is excellent, judging from your comment! Keep it up!
@@stuckupcurlyguy Thank you so much!
Of course it happens ! I speak 5 languages and all it takes is a couple of weeks in the language zone out of the 5 and I start to think in that language ! This is the definition of fluency !
Congratulations on 1 million subscribers Steve!! You’ve been uploading videos on CZcams for well over 15 years and you are very consistent with informative content! Well deserved!
I find it quite amazing that all he needed to do was to reformulate all the known stuff how to learn a language and make it look like a new revolutionary stuff.🤣 Eventually his method is no different to the classical method of learning a language which you will find in any excercise book.
@@kkarx I think I am missing something. Steve's method is the opposite of the classical method of grammar first?
@@ThorIsBoss
Even my oldest language books from the 60s contain:
1. Short stories
2. Audio (disc, cassete, cd, mp3..)
3. List of words
4. Grammar
5. Excercises
So he basically just removed point 4 and 5. but it is still the same thing.
The only difference is the book is designed to teach you to use the language actively and passively at the same time. That is why there are millions of excercises to push you to use the language while Steve gives the main attention to learning the language passively at first.
However this is a very subjective decision as to what to learn first.
You could always learn a language however you liked to learn it if you did it on your own. You could always skip a certain grammatical rules that you found pointless or learn them later.
To me, it's quite possible to absolutely think in the language without even being very GOOD at that language, but it's difficult for anyone else to see or know that you really are thinking in the language.
I have, with 100% certainty of my own mind, had thoughts in Spanish, French and German, none of which I speak very well. But after watching just a tiny tiny bit of Dreaming Spanish, even NOW, 10 months after returning from Mexico, if my son asks me something in English that I don't know, my initial THINKING to respond will be "No lo sé." and then a quarter of a second later I'll think "Actually, "Know it I don't..."" - but neither of those responses will actually come out, because that would be ridiculous, so instead I just say "I dunno."
But my point is that there, I am 100% having basic thoughts in Spanish, even though I'd describe myself as a B1 Spanish speaker.
I relate to this experience. I find myself constantly "thinking in" the language I study. Not only that, but the types of things my internal monologue says is completely different depending on the language. I believe it's most likely due to internalizing mannerisms/expressions I've gotten from input reflecting the speakers I listen to a lot.
In Mexico, we're more likely to say "no sé" instead of "no lo sé".
@@user-qkj5m4p8tg That doesn't at all change what I'm saying. In fact it strengthens it: thinking in the language can happen without necessarily doing it "properly".
@@daysandwordsI'm Mexican as well, and I can tell you for sure that both of those phrases are correct and used in México, they're interchangeable.
I’ve experienced that too
Often times, we think in terms of ideas and concepts not words or sentences; and unless we need to rehearse something in our head for a specific reason, we're not thinking completely finished, carefully constructed sentences in our head before we talk.
I feel like this is a really good video for people starting to learn a language. I also always always have wanted to sound like a native, but honestly when I realized it wasn't possible (or at least probable) a few years ago I was able to relax a bit and focus on the enjoyable parts of language learning rather than the pressure of perfection. I still make tons of mistakes but the joy of being able to communicate, even at a low level, with people that I otherwise wouldn't be able to is nigh unmatched!
Steve, you're also a excellent motivator. You always remind me that learning languages takes time and I'm progressing progressively as continue exposing myself to the language
The only way to achieve fluency in second language learning is to think in the language that one is learning. In term of perfection, let perfection be the motivation and goal As a learner, we just have to keep going, foreign language learning is a life long commitment, work never ends!
So talking and thinking do = practicing? Many claim that it's all about input.
I'm always scratching my head when this comes up (it's a common theme - "which language do you think in?"). But the thing is - I don't think in language at all, until the moment I'm working out sentences (for writing things down), or imagining a conversations. When I'm doing my job, which involves a lot of thinking, I don't think in any language. I simply think. Thinking in words would be.. extremely slow and inefficient. Only when there's time for output or planned output will I think in words.
So no, I don't think in a target language, or my native language.
I *dream* in various languages though. That's obviously dreams where there's dialogue involved.
As for preparing to speak - as I think I understood from the video - I "think" English if I'm in an English conversation. I don't start out thinking about what I'm about to say in my native language, or, if I do, I'm stuck. That's probably because I learned all of my English without any translation involved. I can't translate, to put it that way.
So, if this discussion is about how we think when we're preparing to speak (or write), then yes I can think in English I can speak English, if I don't do it that way it doesn't work. But then again English is a bit special - that's the only language I'm totally fluent in besides my native language. But to the extent I can speak at all in other languages - if I have to start by translating something I have already worked out in my native language.. well that's tough.
EditAdd: I sympathize with Mr. Kaufmann senior.. English spelling has some issues! 🙂
@@tohaasonthe majority of people do have an internal monologue when they think. You might be one of the exceptions (around 20% of people)
Hi from Melbourne Steve. I agree. I've been learning German for years. It's my strongest foreign language. I'm very confident in German but I don't think it's easy to think in German all the time. In fact, it's impossible. The only time I think in German is when I've had a day of listening, reading or chatting to my Italki teacher. On that occasion I sometimes walk away thinking automatically in German.
I think we do think in the language more and more but we shouldn't beat ourselves up for not doing so. It comes gradually.
@@Thelinguist do you remember me Steve ?
Hallo i see your videoes i am 16 years old and i wanna say it is best channel ever i see for language journey
I know through my personal experience that it is possible to think in my second language (English), but in order to do it well, one has to abandon one's native language (at least for a while). Having conversations, writing a diary, and 'running a stream of consciousness' throughout the day as well as active reading and listening in your second language are the key activities.
Then, after mastering our second language, we realize that there are ideas that are better expressed in our native language, whereas some other may be more elegantly expressed in our second language. It is important to be consistent and keep thinking in our second language, and as we think we keep stumbling upon ideas that we find challenging to express, we figure it out, jot it down if necessary and the gaps are being filled in. Actually sometimes we can even find a creative, witty way to express something in a foreign language that is not a common way to express it, yet well understood by native speakers.
It's definitely achievable, but in my case it was a result of almost two decades of my life spent in English speaking country. And I only speak two languages (trying to crack down on my wanting Spanish but it's hard to make a breakthrough :)) Greetings!
Long time no see 好久不见 if enough ppl start using those imported witty expressions in a foreign language it will become part of that language. Words like Ubuntu , zeitgeist are just magical.
ありがとう Steve！相変わらず、役に立ってた！ 明けましておめでとうございます！🎉 頑張ろう！😃
I'm a French native speaker and I'm currently 17, I've been learning English at school for almost 8 years and it has always been pretty useless to say the least. At some point, I don't remember when, I'd say around 3 years ago I started thinking in English after watching and reading a lot of content and books related to my hobbies and interest. As my English improved, my internal monologue started to be more and more close to what thinking in French would be like and theses days even though I'm still not fluent and I still make mistakes I can definitely say everything I want and think and it shows in the fact that in my everyday life my internal monologue is 100% English. I don't even find my self thinking in French anymore and it's already been some years since I became closer to what fluency would be like. In my opinion it's a really great way to become better, especially at expressing our thoughts but it has to be natural and come slowly in the language learning process.
Very important topic, in my opinion, foreign language learners should initiate thinking and organizing thoughts in the target language as early as possible. I've seen numerous individuals attempting to translate directly from their native language to the target language, resulting in sentences that often don't make sense, especially insisting to exactly translate idiomatic phrases like 'ballpark figure' or 'plead the fifth' in Thai. Regardless of the quality of thoughts conceived in one's native language, constructing speech in the target language requires utilizing the vocabulary already known in that language.
Wow, the "ballpark figure" and "plead the fifth" examples are really cringy. I think these folks actually need to learn to be more culturally conscious and start with an English-to-English paraphrase of their thoughts, removing the opaque American cultural references. I feel like some of these phrases should be avoided even when dealing with native English-speakers from outside the US!
@@amypruss8391 I completely agree with you. When someone is still in the process of translating, it's essential to simplify their thoughts to find familiar words. They should also be prepared to rephrase both in their native language and spoken communication. Additionally, it's crucial to learn expressions rather than just individual words. For instance, simple things such as 'takeaway order' translates into Thai as 'return home food' or 'food with a bag' due to differences in logic and expression.
If not thinking in the target language means translating sentences from/to your own language, I think it's only going to be an obstacle to acheiving fluency and increases stress, not decrease it. However, Steve seems to be talking about having all your thoughts in general in the target language which is ridiculous. Of course, when you're not using the target language, you can think in whatever language you want. Like, are you even concsiously choosing which language to think in when you're in the shower etc.? I don't understand why that even comes into question
I think the most important thing is to always strive for improvement by self evaluating and paying attention while consuming content (maybe in a conversation too but usually it is too hard to do this). But it's also important to remember (as Steve mentioned) that perfection is unattainable, so we should just strive to gradually improve bit by bit over time.
As a side note I think it's important to distinguish 'speak like a native' and 'speak perfectly' because natives do not speak perfectly in many ways. You can potentially 'speak like a native' when you speak well enough that with any errors you do make you're just given the benefit of the doubt. But noone speaks perfectly so this abstract idea should never be the goal
Well deserved 1 million subscribers!
I'm an ESL student, and sometimes I find myself thinking in English, not all the time, but here and there throughout the day. Interestingly, when I travel, my thinking automatically switches to English. It happens every time and is almost 100% of the time.
Very good really: don't freak out, stress about it. I know over 40 it isn't easy. I find I'm pretty good in Spanish but if I don't do it, feels like the hole just wants to close.
Thank you so much for sharing your encouraging yet realistic attitude about proficiency in a new language.
Happy new year Steve!
Happy new year 🥳and Congratulations for 1 million subscribers 🎊 🎉
Happy 1 million subs Steve!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations on achieving 1 million subscriber! You are a legend with true knowledge and are the inspiration of many! I wish you a great journey ahead and Happy New Year, Sir 💃
Thanks.
Thank you so much.
Have a good Day 👍
CONGRATULATIONS SIR ON YOUR 1 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS!!
Good on you Steve
amazingsacrifice: Exactly, you couldn't have said it better!😊
Yes we should. Even talking to yourself helps in this.
Professeur, you're absolutely right! You're on to something. I've been learning and speaking french 🥖🍟 for about the past 40 years, and I've achieved a high level of proficiency. I've been able to master and mimic the the various nasal of french and the nuances as well as going "full native" by living in France for a number of years. However, I know there's always something that gives me away away. The concept of "thinking in the language" is and will continue to be a mystery, linguistically, neurologically, and so on. Just enjoy the ride!
Merci le prof.
Guten Morgen Steve. Wir haben einander 2012 in Melbourne kennengelernt. Deutsch ist meine beste Fremdsprache, die Ich gelernt habe. Ich bin der Meinung, es ist schwer die ganze Zeit auf Deutsch oder andere Fremdsprachen zu denken. Das passiert selten. Ich denke automatisch auf Deutsch nur beim Sprechen oder nach einem langen Tag , nachdem Ich viel Deutsch gehört, gelesen oder gesprochen habe. Sehr interessantes Video. Danke schön
I like to talk with French people who can communicate in English but not at a high level. Many of their awkwardnesses are neon signs alerting me of places where the English and French ways of expressing things seem oddly different. I would likely make the same stumbles in reverse if I were not alert to such trouble spots.
Living in the country of the language, real immersion, makes thinking in the language possible.- along with other factors. 20 yrs starting age 40 did it for me. I was thinking and dreaming. Seldom now that I have returned to USA. Another peculiar thing was that over the following 5.+ years, aspects of that language improved, as did my nearly 1st language that I had been relearning starting 3yrs prior to moving overseas having to learn the 3rd. Having to is a factor in itself.
谢谢老师你的建议
This is very interesting. I actually find it easier/more practical to speak English (I think in English, my dreams are in english, I frequently translate from English when I'm speaking my native language), but I keep feeling that I should read books in my native language because my vocabulary is not that great. I guess thinking in my native language again could help too.
I agree with you.Our native language is our identity(talking from experience ,I speak 5 languages,but I still think in Hungarian).
I've never spoken to anyone in real life in English before, except a few times on call and when i do, usually people believe I'm pretty good at speaking English
The reason is because I've spent a lot of time thinking in English and watching videos in English and reading things in English, it's as if I've actually spoken to people
I personally think it's one of the best things you can do
Excellent motivator, thanks a milliom, gift from english learners as second language! learning english is a process not event, you must make more reading and listening, also join non native speakers group record your voice and listening again, fixes your problem in accent and pronunciation, repeat tobics you learn last days and imitate to think and speak in english as well as try to Recall words and phrases you learn last days🎉
Of course you are right. I speak 3 languages that I've learned (English c1, German c2-c1 and italian b1-a2) and i can think in all of them, but i always have spanish in background, it's, in my opinion, impossible not to have this language in background. Dispite this fact I think most of the time weather in german or in italian, english is just a language I've learned just because. I found your channel when i was 15 and you've completely inspired me to learn foreing languages. All this languages were learned after the age of 18. Right know I would really like to learn polish and russian.
I'm a native Greek and Dutch speaker but I'd consider English my primary language at this point. I started learning English in school around age 6 or so through the standard system, but really accelerated my learning around 12-13 when I started playing games online and joined english-speaking forums. I don't really remember when I started exclusively thinking in English but it's now a conscious effort for me to think in Dutch or Greek.
I think the fact that most of my more 'intellectual' vocabulary (I can thank my cringe debating phase for that), and most of my learning about the world came from online sources and reading and listening in English I ended up outpacing my native languages. So when I'd think about something I wouldn't have the vocabulary to fully express myself.
I'm attempting to learn french again now, after attending a Francophone school as a kid, and am wondering if thinking about day to day stuff in French would help accelerate my learning. I wish I could remember how I managed to do such a switch as a child.
I love your videos❤
Sure! Many of us non-English-natives who have to work in English and do other life related stuff in English, do think in English when we have to.
Thinking in your target language just comes naturally the more you immerse yourself in that language. I’m a native German speaker and I’m actually thinking quite often in English even though I don’t intend to do so. It just happens
Hi Steve! I've seen you talking about "thinking in language" quite a few times.
I wonder if you've ever heard/read about mentalese and if you could give us your view on it.
Keep up with the good work 😄
Im a native german speaker and actually half of my thoughts are in English, i happens automatically my brain tends to randomly switch between both German and English
My native language is Korean. I had this very thought a few years back and forced my brain to switch in English. I'd try to reason in English, and talk to myself in English. Now, my head is completely English. I'm currently learning French and I reckon I might try doing the same for it as well.
finally reached one million subscribers 🥳
Interesting video Steve. I kind of have a weird Anglo- Russo accent with hints of French maybe lol. I noticed that with a musician I listen to Alexander Rybak. Despite he has spoken English for many years, I still noticed the vowel stress he put on certain words because he grew up learning Russian and Belorussian from his parents. However, I find it adds character to speech.
I saw it also, but since English is his third language and Norwegian is his second, I would give him a pass. Some people who learnt English as a second language in childhood, like H. Kissinger (German) and M. Albright (Czech), still had noticeable accents.
I don’t think anybody can achieve perfection even in his own language much less in a foreign language. I read one time that there is no such thing as a completely bilingual human being. I don’t think anyone can completely know his own language. When I first began to learn Spanish I hoped that someday I would be able to say and understand everything in Spanish that I 6:37 could say and understand in English and vice versa. I didn’t realize it at the time but that is extremely unrealistic. At the time I was only 14 years old so I think I can be forgiven for that. I did study French in college but since then I have had no exposure to French so I have lost most of what I learned then.
Language is a behavioural habit, so acquisition of a new language mapped against time is a step wise, not linear function compare and contrast learning to swim, ride a bike- After repetition,not understanding we can suddenly swim , ride. After that we improve, but never forget Do what a native speaker does or using the language becomes unnatural , and fluency becomes difficult
Hello from Latvia! I have studied English 20 years ago and now it’s time to improve my knowledges. So I”m thinking, what”s the best way to do it… I can understand easy spoken and written texts, but it is not so well with my vocabulary- so speaking and writing is very hard for me. What would be better- writing everyday notes or maybe rewriting some texts about different themes? Or maybe listening podcasts could be good enough? It’s a lot of different learning videos, but it’s not a simple task to choose from what to start…
Steve,
It seems this is true. I have been at it for a long time and when I listen to conversations, I will hear some words and phrases that are instantly translatable but often not enough to completely understand. But isn't this a matter of just not being familiar with enough words? There are topics I talk with my wife about that I feel I absolutely understand as we always have the same type of conversation (usually food related) daily. Is this "thinking" in the language? Some of these words I only know in Russian because I wasn't familiar in English. I was assuming if I could somehow get enough exposure more topics would get like this. Just kind of hard to do.
The reverse often happens to me, that a certain foreign expression I'm thinking about doesn't find an immediate and accurate translation into my native tongue.
Absolutely. It's useless to try to think in the target language. Expose yourself to the language, get input, keep listening and reading, and you will improve. This is what leads to thinking in the language.
Hey Steve, I am bilingual from Turkey. 2 years ago I had my first son ( second is on the way) and I am trying to raise him bilingual with the OPOL method. Every time you mention perfection is not possible in a second language I think about my process of teaching my son. of course I can't reach a nativelike level but I am striving for it. can you make a video about parents trying to raise bilingual kid please. thanks.😊 your bigest fan from Turkey.
I speak my native language with family and others around, and I think in English
I started to learn english about 3 years ago, and two years ago I realized that about 95% of my thoughts are in English
As an applied linguist and language learner, I think this is one of most important and at the same time most difficult questions in the second language acquisition process. To me, to think in a foreign language means to stop "translating" meaning from L1 to L2 in one’s head. This doesn't seem like a realistic outcome especially for adult learners whose minds and identity have been largely shaped by their L1. A more realistic outcome, however, might be that as learners advance their overall communicative competence, there will be moments in which they may have to think in an L2 to overcome a syntactic, semantic, or pragmatic structure that is absent in their L1. However, how effortlessly can one achieve that seems to be function of a slew of factors (ex. age, amount of exposure to L2, level of awareness, amount of output, to name a few). These factors, therefore, can likely determine the quantity and the quality of a language learner's ability to think in an L2.
I'm not quite sure what they mean when they ask "Do you think in the language you speak?" Does it mean I don't use my native lenguage to formulate sentences in a target language? Are they asking if I can directly put my thoughts into a specific language without going through another? In any case, it seems to me that thought comes before words, which suggests that one doesn't think in any language. Or do they mean that one's atomic elements of thinking are deeply ingrained in one's very thought process by the language one speaks, and are they asking if one can ever get out of the fundamental layout of one's congnition? For that, I would say, yes, that is still possible.
hosseinhj: Congratulations, you certainly are working properly bro.
I am studying listening skill~ like he alwags says, listening takes us so so long time
Yes, it is possible. I even see dreams in a "foreign language".
I do think in English very often, and I'm no native. The more books I read and videos I watch, the more time I will spend thinking in english. I even think in Spanish at times and I'm not good at it and I'm looking forward to think in russian one day, too.
I have no data to back up my theory, only my own experience. I think we only speak one language, the brain stores it altogether just like a wider vocabulary (it´s like when you are speaking with friends or with your boss or reading a speech in public, you don't use the same vocabulary, tone, accent or nuances, but it's all the same language). Something similar happens when you speak different languages. I find myself thinking in different languages all the time, even in those I still don´t master and I'm in the process of acquiring them. Right now, I'm thinking in english while I'm typing this even tho isn't my first language. When I listen to Russian or French, I talk to myself (I do this very often, but not out loud... don't worry) in Russian or French, even tho I still can't speak any them properly. So, to me, there's no doubt in my mind you can think in a foreign language because the brain don't store them separately but all in one place so you can switch back and forth without hesitation. At the very beginning you may only have vocabulary but once you start to acquire the language you think in that said language too.
I have heard that you have not mastered another language until you are dreaming in that language. That is frustrating for me because even after so many years of learning I rarely ever have a dream in which even a few words are in Spanish. For some odd ready when I was studying French in college I had a dream in which I said a sentence in French in my dream. I don’t remember anything else about the dream except that one sentence. I said in the dream, “Je ne sais pas danser parce que je suis un idiot.”
It's not true. I have dreamt in four languages and I really only speak two of them well.
Dreams are a sign, but not the "assurance" you need to say one has mastered the target language. I have dreamed in Hawaiian, but I am no way close to an A2 for that matter.
تحياتي لك يا أخي أخوك من المغرب 🇲🇦
I lived in Germany, but my working language was English. What happened to me was that in a certain moment during a conversation I didn’t realise I was speaking a language that wasn’t my native one. Was I thinking in English?
In my experience, the only way to achieve this is to use your target language more than your first language, and to be completely honest, that’s an extreme that I don’t think most people are willing to go through. This level is also inevitable if you moved to another country and stopped using your first language entirely.
I think in French , but it seems I need a catalyst. Usually if I listen to French music on the way to work it's like I've switched my brain over for the day and too much English conversation knocks me back out of it.
I think trying not to think in your native language is a waste of effort. I think it will happen naturally as you become so used to using certain words and phrases that they become automatic. I don’t think you can intentionally “make” this happen.
I do this all the time, have imaginary conversation in my mind that's probably never gonna happen in a foreign language just I never tell this to people cause I don't want to sound like a crazy person hahah I'm a bit relieved to hear other people do it too
Steve, do you believe in mentalese ? I’m just asking you because english is not my native language, I feel my thought is as though I was subvocalizing.
I grew up bilingual with no memory of being monolingual, although I am sure I was. After acquiring my third language, I do think in it. I even dream in it. I'm frustrated that I often cannot translate from that language to both of my first two languages. Yet I do not have true native speaker facility in my third. Very close, but no.
Thinking in the language, this to me constitutes the real mastery, this is what I strive for in the languages I focus on. So far I've only been able to achieve it with English, but I do believe I'll be able to get there in Mandarin, too. It will probably be a long and arduous journey, but what's life without a little challenge, right? I think it took me about 15 years to get there with English, but I have better tools at my disposal today.
Don't let anyone tell you, "It's hard." That way, you won't know. 😉
Use native materials as soon as possible -- actual films, videos that native speakers watch, monolingual dictionaries and grammar books that native speakers use, and so forth. It's easier than it sounds. In other words, you can switch much sooner than you think.
@@l.w.paradis2108 I can already manage it at times for brief periods :) Thanks for the tips, most of these I'd already implemented naturally. I don't watch as much video content as I'd like, but I wanna work on it. Since I really like to play games, I've switched the language in many of those into 中文. Also my phone, which incidentally changed the language of pretty much all the applications I'm using, including Audible, Spotify, Steam, etc. into 中文 as well. So far I'm handling it comfortably, so I'm sticking with it :)
@@Thedennati Excellent. You are in for some fun!!
This is something I've been commenting for months. Do you ever randomly think in languages you know very well Steve? Even languages you aren't currently studying but know very well. Chinese, French, Japanese, for example. Or do you just not notice?
I don't notice but I know I do.
I've been thinking in English for 2 years it's definitely possible
👍👍👍
-- Merci.
-- Bienvenu.
-- Bienvenu à ou?
The business of a "native accent" is interesting. On CZcams and elsewhere, it's common to hear speakers who at first sound like native speakers, but after a couple of minutes you can be pretty sure they are actually second-language speakers. It's not usually a matter of "accent", but rather, a matter of speaking a bit *too* clearly; not slurring their words as much as a native.
Netušil jsem, že Váš otec byl Čech. Čtu, že pocházíte z česko-německé rodiny. Maminka tedy byla Němka? Kaufmann je německé jméno, ale i hodně Čechů má jména z německého jazyka. Doma jste mluvili jakým jazykem? Oběma? Možná to přispělo k tomu , že jste schopný se naučit tak dobře cizí jazyky?
P.S. Ještě musím říct, že na svůj věk vypadáte naprosto fantasticky.
for some reason, my brain often thinks in English (not my native language), especially if the thought is something like a longer monologue and not just a simple, short thought. I think that is because I watch a lot of English youtubers which do educational / knowledge stuff, which is often the topic of my "monologue thoughts". What often happens is that my brain unconsciously imitates the talking style and voice of a youtuber, which I find kind of funny.
The problem is when I think in English, it's perfect and just sounds like for example Tom Scott is talking right know, but when I speak English, I just don't find any words and have problems with building sentences.
I'm a native English speaker and I'm still struggling to perfect my English. lol
hey steve is there a specific amount of time that we should spend each day learning/studying? im at a point where it feels like i’m not doing enough yet i still am going on lingq everyday.
I try to get in at least an hour a day between listening and reading. If you keep track of your coins at LingQ I would aim for 200 coins at least and then push it to 400. That will ensure you are doing enough, and then spend even more time when you are motivated.
@@Thelinguist alright I can change mine to 200 cause i just used the default 50 coins. idk if I can do an hour each day only cause i am not THAT motivated enough but i also want to keep interest in learning and not make it into a chore so it’s a tough balance im trying to find. i can try the different coin count and then go from there. thanks again steve :) i also did send a friend your channel and was talking about lingq too so hopefully she can start learning languages too!
❤❤❤
Hello, Mr. Kaufman.
I tried your LingQ, it was nice, but I havaa question: How to delete languages?
Why delete them? I don't know how this is done but why would one want to do so?
@@Thelinguist So you mean that even if you accidentally add a new language, you can continue to learn it when you want to try?
you can study as many languages at the same time as you want. You can park a language for a long time and come back to it later.@@user-ue2ih1ys4s
My question is l learn a german vocabulary but while talking i can't remember how do i fix this
I suggest practice speaking out loud to yourself too, and include the new words.
Try talking more! with time you'll get better and not forget words
I call it absence of deep and meaningful input. You "learn" words. That's a problem
You haven’t learned a word until you’ve used it in a sentence.
Normal. Be patient.
С новым годом! Пусть в 2024 году сопутствует вам удача во всём. С наилучшими пожеланиями из Кыргызстана 🇰🇬
couldn't find Kyrgyz in Google Translate so here's Uzbek. Rahmat sizga va yangi yilingiz bilan
We always make mistakes in our native languages despite having a life-long exposure and experience. Why do we have to be perfect in foreign ones?
Considering we don't even achieve perfection in our native languages it's silly to aim for this as a language learner IMHO
Sometimes Mandarin just pops out of my mouth even though at best I am barely intermediate level.
ie 很有意思
I love thinking in Japanese, its a good exercise :)
Thank for the video, hello with Ukraine🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦
Wow, if you start thinking in another language you will start seeing the world like the foreigner using that language. Think in German and you will start Germanizing your mind. This explains (in part) the differences between cultures.
👈☝👍
I very rarely think in words, so this does not apply to me.
Steve kaufmann você é americana?
canadense
I never thought about sounding like a native, I'm striving to be a fossil😂 peefection should only be necessary in situations like those in "Glorious Basterds"
(5:21) Isn't "pronounce" the LAST word that you should mispronounce? 🧐🤔
No, dude. See my other reply. You're thinking of a different word.
@@daysandwords "No, dude."
I beg to differ (dude).
"You're thinking of a different word."
Okay, Mr. Know It All. 🙄🙄