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.

There’s a moment many people know too well.

You’re in a meeting, someone asks you something in English, and suddenly – nothing.

The word you need is gone. Your mind goes blank. Your body tightens. You feel yourself disappearing from the conversation.

A client told me this week: “It’s like my brain shuts down. I know the answer. I just can’t say it.”

And here’s what we discovered:

It wasn’t vocabulary.

It wasn’t grammar.

It was pressure.

When you panic, your brain doesn’t look for words. It looks for safety.

And silence feels safer than speaking.

The solution isn’t more English.

It’s less fear.

Quick win:

When you lose your words, don’t freeze. Say one simple sentence:

“Give me a second.”

It buys you time, lowers the pressure and brings the words back.

Native speakers mix these up every day. Not because their English is bad… because their fingers are fast.

A client sends me something to review. And there it is: their instead of their.

When I point it out, the reaction is always the same: embarrassment. As if it reveals something about their English.

It doesn’t. There and their sound identical. Your ear has never confused them. Only your fingers have.

This mistake shows up in emails from senior managers, in published articles, in messages from people who’ve spoken English their whole lives.

Quick win: If you’re unsure, read the sentence out loud. Your ear knows which one fits.

Some Denglish is confusing.

But some Denglish is perfectly fine – and even native speakers use it without noticing.

A client told me this week: “I keep stopping myself because I’m afraid something sounds too German.”

When we looked closer, half of what she was worried about wasn’t wrong. It was just… English with a German flavour.

And here’s the thing:

Plenty of everyday English phrases sound like Denglish but aren’t.

“Make a photo” is wrong.

“Make a plan” is perfect.

“Control the process” is fine.

“Discuss about it” isn’t.

The goal isn’t to eliminate every German influence.

The goal is to know which parts matter – and which don’t.

Most Denglish doesn’t block understanding.

Stopping yourself does.

Quick win:

Pick one phrase you often hesitate over because it “sounds German.”

Check if it’s actually wrong.

If it isn’t, use it freely this week – without the pause.

This week, someone told me something I hear surprisingly often:

“My English is fine… but I never know if my punctuation is ‘right’.”

She speaks clearly. She writes well.

But every time she sends an email, she hesitates – because of the commas, the quotation marks and the full stops.

And here’s the truth: Most professionals mix UK and US punctuation without realising it – because they’ve learned English from everywhere at once.

So I created a short guide that makes it simple:

UK vs US English punctuation – clear, visual and easy to use.

You can find it here: https://theenglishtrainer.gumroad.com/l/UKvsUSPunctuation

If punctuation is one of those tiny things that slows you down, this might give you a bit more calm and clarity.

P.S. If you’d like to work on your written English in your real work context, you can book a free call. Only if and when it feels right.