If you’re working on speaking English more like a native speaker this video is right for you. This is an advanced conversation training lesson that helps you think in English (instead of translating in your head).
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When I was living in Germany, I had a hard time thinking of what to say, figuring out how to say it in German, what words I had to change because my vocabulary was limited, and then finally saying it.
Needless to say, I struggled with conversation. And I know this is true of my students who are learning English too. Even my intermediate and advanced students. So let’s work on that! What if you could start thinking more in English and less in your native language when you wanted to? That’s possible.
There are real techniques to make that happen and today we’ll practice just that. This is part of a series of videos where I outline different techniques training your mind to think in English and today we’re using a more advanced technique, if you’re not ready for that I’ll put a link to a more basic training video in the description.
Today we’re hitting you with conversational questions. You’re going to see a timer and it might make you nervous if you can’t think of a sentence in English, just think of words you would use in your answer. For example, if the question is how did you celebrate New Year’s?
You could come up with:
Nothing.
Too much travel.
Too tired.
Or, if you can’t put together a full sentence you might think:
I had just gotten back from 11 days of travel and was too tired to do anything. I was in bed by 9:30.
Now often, I’m trying to get my students to practice speaking out loud, everything. But this is a little different. We want to work on the house habit of the brain thinking in English so just think it in your head. You’re not coming up with a whole sentence in your native language and then translating. We don’t want to practice that. We want to avoid that. So think in English only. And if you have to simplify what you’re doing then do that and stay away from full sentences.
If you think of a word in your native language, no big deal. Let It go. Guide your mind back to English.
English, English, English.
Let’s do one question then we’ll talk a bit more about strategies. So, I’m going to ask you a question and you’ll have 10 seconds to think of your answer. My question is:
Tell me about something in your life right now that is really important to you.
How did you do? Did you feel nervous on this spot?
Since you’re watching this video in English, I know you know enough about English, you have enough English skills to think of at least a few words associated with the question in English. And if you were able to answer that question in a conversational sentence and maybe you were still going when the timer was over, awesome! You’re pretty advanced in this skill. But no matter where you’re starting, if you’re not yet at your goal, intentional practice, thinking in English like we’ll do today, we’ll move you towards your goal.
If you have no idea what to say then think that in your head in English.
Hmm, I don’t know how to answer that question. I don’t know what to say.
Just think it in English.
Okay, here’s another question: What’s one thing you hope to achieve this year?
You may have started your answer with:
I hope to…
I want to…
I plan to… or I will.
Or maybe: One of my goals is…
Here’s my answer:
One of my goals for this year is to read one novel per month. Reading makes me really happy but I hardly make time for it anymore.
Remember, some of you can put together endless sentences in English and some can’t. Wherever you are, build on that. If you can only come up with a few words, that’s okay. At the end of this video, I’ll tell you how to build on that. Now, I’m going to give you 3 minutes of questions in a row. This is a good place to figure out your stamina for this kind of exercise. The questions will just keep coming at you. Can you stick with it?
If you get frustrated, just wait for the next question. Each question is a chance to start new. Bringing up a few words in English in your mind that relate to that question.
Okay, ready? Take a deep breath, let’s do this.
What’s your favorite way to relax after a long day?
Describe a typical weekend for you.
What’s your favorite meal and why do you like it?
Describe one of your favorite places to visit.
If you could instantly learn any new skill, what would it be?
Who’s a person, real or fictional, that you look up to, and why?
Tell me about a time when you tried something new.
If you could relive any day of your life, which one would it be and why?
What’s one thing that always makes you laugh when you think about it?
If you could meet any historical figure, who would it be, and what would you ask them?
What do you do to stay motivated when studying or working?
What’s your favorite holiday tradition?
Tell me about a goal you’re currently working toward.
Okay, that part is done, it’s over and you did it. Let’s talk about a couple of strategies to improve your English based on this exercise. Actually, really quickly, first, I want to let you know that a while ago, we launched a think in English course as part of my online school, Rachels English Academy, my school focuses heavily on accent training, listening comprehension and spoken English skills. But we recognize that being able to think in English is an important part of that, so we’ve added a course to help you train your mind with exercises like this one here, to think in English on a regular basis. If you might be interested in this, please check out Rachelsenglishacademy.com and sign up, I would love to have you as a student.
Okay, let’s talk about some strategies. First, let’s start with people who found it very hard to think in full sentences in English. You should probably spend some time going back a step to a more simple exercise of naming objects. You can move on to verbs too. For example, if you see someone, you can think arm, and scratch, then you’ll have the building blocks for: She’s scratching her arm. And as you look around you, and you’re naming nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs, if you don’t know the English word for something, look it up in a dictionary, learn it, add it to your vocabulary list. If you can think in sentences, but you want to get more sophisticated, then you’ll want to do some exercises where you are speaking out loud recording your answers. Then you can go back and listen or watch your videos and find words that you use over and over again, look up synonyms, a different way to say something, now that you’re taking the time to figure it out.
You can use an online random question generator to give you prompts as you record yourself. Take the challenge a little bit further. Record a 10-second answer in a video, post it to your Instagram stories and tag me in it so I can share it. Let’s all do the work, watch and support each other, doing the work. Make this a daily practice and I guarantee you’ll get more comfortable thinking in English and an English conversation. It’s all about practicing spontaneously. When you don’t know what question is coming, you have to think on your feet. You can only use what you know. There’s no time to look something up. So you’ll get better at using what you know and finding the gaps in what you know. And I can’t wait to have you build your confidence in English conversation.
Right now, keep your learning going with this video and don’t forget to subscribe with notifications on so you never miss a lesson. Come back tomorrow and watch another lesson, I have over 800 videos here on YouTube, I love being your English teacher. That’s it and thanks so much for using Rachel’s English.
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