Thinking in english

michael   Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:48 pm GMT
I would like to start to think in english but in don't know how. I learn it very hard but my native language dominates :/
Guest   Mon Jun 25, 2007 7:56 pm GMT
Thinking is hard in any language :/
Adolfo   Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:01 pm GMT
I think it is nearly impossible, people think (if they do ) in their native language.
beneficii   Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:31 pm GMT
If you`re to the point where you need to use the language everyday, then you would start thinking in it. But if you`re sitting back in your home country, where you speak your home language, then it would be a bit difficult. In general, the language that is thought in by a multilingual person is the one that is the most useful to the person at the moment, and it depends on where they are.
Ryan   Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:32 pm GMT
Just start a constant internal dialogue in your head in English and not your native language and pretty soon it will come naturally to think in English. Of course, you have to be able to speak English well enough to have an internal dialogue to do this.
Guest   Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:36 pm GMT
Immerse yourself. Do all the activities daily......watch movies, read a great deal that grabs your fancy and write something on the forum.....you'll start thinking in your target language in no time.
Jasper   Tue Jun 26, 2007 5:51 pm GMT
Michael, German friends with whom I've spoken have said that it took months or years of living in the US before they began to think in English.

Moreover, little or no exposure to the mother tongue is necessary. This is one reason why Mexican immigrants have it so hard--there is constant exposure of Spanish at a time when its needed the least.
Guest   Tue Jun 26, 2007 5:57 pm GMT
You're all talking about internal dialog. This is not nearly the same as THINKING.
sancho   Tue Jun 26, 2007 9:24 pm GMT
In my viewpoint it may take a few years if you are in the english-language country. In the other way it might a little bit of harder to achieve.
michael   Tue Jun 26, 2007 10:40 pm GMT
I learn english about 10 years but not daily of course. I started to learn it really searious one year ago. Now I'm quite fluent but I don't use advanced words. Especially I use simple vocabulary. What should I do to use advanced vocabulary? I would like to add I practice daily but it is without big effects. :(
JP   Wed Jun 27, 2007 2:11 am GMT
<<I learn english about 10 years but not daily of course. I started to learn it really searious one year ago. Now I'm quite fluent but I don't use advanced words. Especially I use simple vocabulary. What should I do to use advanced vocabulary? I would like to add I practice daily but it is without big effects. :(>>

Some people find it helpful to maintain a notebook of any new or advanced words they come across, along with a simple definition for each entry and any other useful information (such as pronunciation, if this is not straightforward). It can also be useful to read through the entries on a regular basis, or at least when adding a new word. Doing this long enough can help these words to come to mind more readily when they are desired.

By the way, in the second sentence, the spelling is "serious." And while the first two sentences are understandable as they are, I would probably say, "I have been studying English about ten years, but not daily, of course. I started to seriously study it a year ago."
K. T.   Wed Jun 27, 2007 5:27 am GMT
Some people find it helpful to maintain a notebook of any new or advanced words they come across, along with a simple definition for each entry and any other useful information (such as pronunciation, if this is not straightforward). It can also be useful to read through the entries on a regular basis, or at least when adding a new word. Doing this long enough can help these words to come to mind more readily when they are desired.

By the way, in the second sentence, the spelling is "serious." And while the first two sentences are understandable as they are, I would probably say, "I have been studying English about ten years, but not daily, of course. I started to seriously study it a year ago."-JP

This is good advice for learners of any language, btw. The corrections were nicely done as well.
michael   Wed Jun 27, 2007 12:57 pm GMT
Thank you JP. I don't know when should I use perfect tenses. Is anybody who is able to explain it?
michael   Wed Jun 27, 2007 1:00 pm GMT
Perfect tenses are so difficult to me. I tried to learn from grammar books but it wasn't effective - it was understandable and impossible to memorize.
Mr. Richter   Wed Jun 27, 2007 2:23 pm GMT
ALL OF YOU ARE CRAZY! BWAAHAHAAHAH.

That question was a total joke, as if you can train yourself to think. How do you tell someone to think or not to think? Isn't this a fundamental concept of the human character. BWAAHAAAHAH. solamente tu sabes como tu puedes pensar, controlar tu mente.

Only you know how you are able to think and control your mind? Just do it.