The myth of thinking in English

People often tell me, “I want to think in English.”

It feels like the goal – it isn’t.

A client said this week: “If I could just switch my brain to English, speaking would be easy.”

But fluent speakers don’t think in English.

They think in ideas – and the words follow.

Your brain doesn’t switch languages like software.

It works in images, intentions, connections.

When you speak your native language, the words appear so fast you don’t notice the process.

In English, the same process is just a little slower, so you do notice it – and then you judge it.

The problem isn’t that you’re thinking in German.

The problem is believing you shouldn’t.

Quick win:

Next time you speak English, don’t force yourself to “think in English”.

Start with the idea you want to express.

Let the words come in whatever order they arrive.

That’s how fluent speakers do it – in every language.