Don’t waste time – Think in English

How much time do you waste in a day? Have you thought about it before? Most people waste time commuting to work, waiting for people to turn up to meetings, waiting in lines, the list is endless.

Why not use that time to practice English? For this simple tip:

• you don’t need a teacher
• you don’t need to buy any special materials
• you don’t need to download anything
• you don’t need to pay for anything

So, I bet you are wondering what the tip is. It’s very simple:

Think in English

Think about whatever you want. The important thing is to do it in English. If you are on the train, try describing the other passengers in your head. If you are waiting for a meeting, think about the agenda in English. Wherever you are, there’s always something to think about.

How will thinking in English help me?

First of all, it will help with your fluency. Thinking in one language then translating into another is what makes people have to hesitate and causes unnatural speech rhythms. Once you can think directly using the language you are speaking, your fluency will improve dramatically.

Thinking in English also helps you to discover what you don’t know. If you are waiting for a train, thinking in English and can’t remember how to say which direction the train is going in, you have identified a weak spot in your vocabulary and will be able to work on it later. Knowing what your weaknesses is very valuable because it can help you to focus and make the most of your practice time.

I tried this technique when I was learning Indonesian and I found it worked really well here because people are often late and I had a lot of waiting to do!

What would you like to think about in English?

Today’s photo is by Paulo Correa.