Thinking in English
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I have been learning English for 10 years at the school, now I am at the last grade, I have passed an exam for B2 Level, but I still have problems with thinking in English. Sometimes my speech is extremely slow, as speaking is remarkably complicated for me. Thus I have the question: "Is it possible to think in a non-native language?". I'll be waiting for all your replies, answers and pieces of advice. Thanks.
british-english learning
asked 11 hours ago
Motkin IlyqMotkin Ilyq
31
New contributor
Motkin Ilyq is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
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show 2 more comments
I have been learning English for 10 years at the school, now I am at the last grade, I have passed an exam for B2 Level, but I still have problems with thinking in English. Sometimes my speech is extremely slow, as speaking is remarkably complicated for me. Thus I have the question: "Is it possible to think in a non-native language?". I'll be waiting for all your replies, answers and pieces of advice. Thanks.
british-english learning
asked 11 hours ago
Motkin IlyqMotkin Ilyq
31
New contributor
Motkin Ilyq is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Welcome to EL&U. As this site is more about the mechanics of the English language itself, and as your question would apply to any foreign language, I think it might be a better fit for our sister site, LanguageLearning.SE. I do encourage you to take the site tour and review the help center for additional guidance on using this stack.
– choster
11 hours ago
@choster ok, I'll transfer my question there. Thanks for your help.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago
1
I remember my French teacher told us that when you start dreaming in the second language you are actually beginning to master it. One day a fellow student came into the class and told the teacher he had had a dream the past night in French finally. The teacher said "wonderful!...and what was the dream about?" Then he got a really sad look and said, "I didn't understand a word of what anybody in the dream was saying..."
– Cascabel
11 hours ago
@NigelJ I sincerely wish you to improve your English. I merely understand that learning languages is a reasonably important skill nowdays. Also I'm learning French, in some cases for me it is much more uncomplicated.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago
@Cascabel this story is a bit similar to mine. Sometimes thinking about translation doesn't take any time, because I clearly know and understand what I should say. Thinking about these examples, I realize how our brain is absolutely awesome thing.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago
|
show 2 more comments
I have been learning English for 10 years at the school, now I am at the last grade, I have passed an exam for B2 Level, but I still have problems with thinking in English. Sometimes my speech is extremely slow, as speaking is remarkably complicated for me. Thus I have the question: "Is it possible to think in a non-native language?". I'll be waiting for all your replies, answers and pieces of advice. Thanks.
british-english learning
asked 11 hours ago
Motkin IlyqMotkin Ilyq
31
New contributor
Motkin Ilyq is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I have been learning English for 10 years at the school, now I am at the last grade, I have passed an exam for B2 Level, but I still have problems with thinking in English. Sometimes my speech is extremely slow, as speaking is remarkably complicated for me. Thus I have the question: "Is it possible to think in a non-native language?". I'll be waiting for all your replies, answers and pieces of advice. Thanks.
british-english learning
british-english learning
asked 11 hours ago
Motkin IlyqMotkin Ilyq
31
New contributor
Motkin Ilyq is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 11 hours ago
Motkin IlyqMotkin Ilyq
31
New contributor
Motkin Ilyq is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 11 hours ago
Motkin IlyqMotkin Ilyq
31
New contributor
Motkin Ilyq is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 11 hours ago
Motkin IlyqMotkin Ilyq
31
asked 11 hours ago
Motkin IlyqMotkin Ilyq
31
31
New contributor
Motkin Ilyq is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Motkin Ilyq is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Motkin Ilyq is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Welcome to EL&U. As this site is more about the mechanics of the English language itself, and as your question would apply to any foreign language, I think it might be a better fit for our sister site, LanguageLearning.SE. I do encourage you to take the site tour and review the help center for additional guidance on using this stack.
– choster
11 hours ago
@choster ok, I'll transfer my question there. Thanks for your help.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago
1
I remember my French teacher told us that when you start dreaming in the second language you are actually beginning to master it. One day a fellow student came into the class and told the teacher he had had a dream the past night in French finally. The teacher said "wonderful!...and what was the dream about?" Then he got a really sad look and said, "I didn't understand a word of what anybody in the dream was saying..."
– Cascabel
11 hours ago
@NigelJ I sincerely wish you to improve your English. I merely understand that learning languages is a reasonably important skill nowdays. Also I'm learning French, in some cases for me it is much more uncomplicated.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago
@Cascabel this story is a bit similar to mine. Sometimes thinking about translation doesn't take any time, because I clearly know and understand what I should say. Thinking about these examples, I realize how our brain is absolutely awesome thing.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago
|
show 2 more comments
Welcome to EL&U. As this site is more about the mechanics of the English language itself, and as your question would apply to any foreign language, I think it might be a better fit for our sister site, LanguageLearning.SE. I do encourage you to take the site tour and review the help center for additional guidance on using this stack.
– choster
11 hours ago
@choster ok, I'll transfer my question there. Thanks for your help.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago
1
I remember my French teacher told us that when you start dreaming in the second language you are actually beginning to master it. One day a fellow student came into the class and told the teacher he had had a dream the past night in French finally. The teacher said "wonderful!...and what was the dream about?" Then he got a really sad look and said, "I didn't understand a word of what anybody in the dream was saying..."
– Cascabel
11 hours ago
@NigelJ I sincerely wish you to improve your English. I merely understand that learning languages is a reasonably important skill nowdays. Also I'm learning French, in some cases for me it is much more uncomplicated.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago
@Cascabel this story is a bit similar to mine. Sometimes thinking about translation doesn't take any time, because I clearly know and understand what I should say. Thinking about these examples, I realize how our brain is absolutely awesome thing.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago
Welcome to EL&U. As this site is more about the mechanics of the English language itself, and as your question would apply to any foreign language, I think it might be a better fit for our sister site, LanguageLearning.SE. I do encourage you to take the site tour and review the help center for additional guidance on using this stack.
– choster
11 hours ago
Welcome to EL&U. As this site is more about the mechanics of the English language itself, and as your question would apply to any foreign language, I think it might be a better fit for our sister site, LanguageLearning.SE. I do encourage you to take the site tour and review the help center for additional guidance on using this stack.
– choster
11 hours ago
@choster ok, I'll transfer my question there. Thanks for your help.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago
@choster ok, I'll transfer my question there. Thanks for your help.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago
1
1
I remember my French teacher told us that when you start dreaming in the second language you are actually beginning to master it. One day a fellow student came into the class and told the teacher he had had a dream the past night in French finally. The teacher said "wonderful!...and what was the dream about?" Then he got a really sad look and said, "I didn't understand a word of what anybody in the dream was saying..."
– Cascabel
11 hours ago
I remember my French teacher told us that when you start dreaming in the second language you are actually beginning to master it. One day a fellow student came into the class and told the teacher he had had a dream the past night in French finally. The teacher said "wonderful!...and what was the dream about?" Then he got a really sad look and said, "I didn't understand a word of what anybody in the dream was saying..."
– Cascabel
11 hours ago
@NigelJ I sincerely wish you to improve your English. I merely understand that learning languages is a reasonably important skill nowdays. Also I'm learning French, in some cases for me it is much more uncomplicated.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago
@NigelJ I sincerely wish you to improve your English. I merely understand that learning languages is a reasonably important skill nowdays. Also I'm learning French, in some cases for me it is much more uncomplicated.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago
@Cascabel this story is a bit similar to mine. Sometimes thinking about translation doesn't take any time, because I clearly know and understand what I should say. Thinking about these examples, I realize how our brain is absolutely awesome thing.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago
@Cascabel this story is a bit similar to mine. Sometimes thinking about translation doesn't take any time, because I clearly know and understand what I should say. Thinking about these examples, I realize how our brain is absolutely awesome thing.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago
|
show 2 more comments
1 Answer
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The quick answer is yes. It is possible. Thinking is a bit like talking to yourself silently, isn't it? I'm fortunate enough to be fluent in four languages, and I can switch my thoughts between them as much as I want to. There are also languages I can only speak with difficulty, so for example when I try to think in Spanish I struggle to find the right words to anchor the ideas.
You might also be interested to know that the subconscious mind can also function in more than one language. For example, in a situation where you know how many people are supposed to be here and you want to make sure everyone is present, you silently count them in your mind - one, two, three - without even thinking about it. Now if you first learned to speak in German when you were a baby, but you've been working in an English country for 10 years, then sometimes it goes "one two three" and sometimes it goes "eins zwei drei".
But Choster is right. This is interesting but off topic.
answered 6 hours ago
EditingFrankEditingFrank
1,52968
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1 Answer
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The quick answer is yes. It is possible. Thinking is a bit like talking to yourself silently, isn't it? I'm fortunate enough to be fluent in four languages, and I can switch my thoughts between them as much as I want to. There are also languages I can only speak with difficulty, so for example when I try to think in Spanish I struggle to find the right words to anchor the ideas.
You might also be interested to know that the subconscious mind can also function in more than one language. For example, in a situation where you know how many people are supposed to be here and you want to make sure everyone is present, you silently count them in your mind - one, two, three - without even thinking about it. Now if you first learned to speak in German when you were a baby, but you've been working in an English country for 10 years, then sometimes it goes "one two three" and sometimes it goes "eins zwei drei".
But Choster is right. This is interesting but off topic.
answered 6 hours ago
EditingFrankEditingFrank
1,52968
add a comment |
The quick answer is yes. It is possible. Thinking is a bit like talking to yourself silently, isn't it? I'm fortunate enough to be fluent in four languages, and I can switch my thoughts between them as much as I want to. There are also languages I can only speak with difficulty, so for example when I try to think in Spanish I struggle to find the right words to anchor the ideas.
You might also be interested to know that the subconscious mind can also function in more than one language. For example, in a situation where you know how many people are supposed to be here and you want to make sure everyone is present, you silently count them in your mind - one, two, three - without even thinking about it. Now if you first learned to speak in German when you were a baby, but you've been working in an English country for 10 years, then sometimes it goes "one two three" and sometimes it goes "eins zwei drei".
But Choster is right. This is interesting but off topic.
answered 6 hours ago
EditingFrankEditingFrank
1,52968
add a comment |
The quick answer is yes. It is possible. Thinking is a bit like talking to yourself silently, isn't it? I'm fortunate enough to be fluent in four languages, and I can switch my thoughts between them as much as I want to. There are also languages I can only speak with difficulty, so for example when I try to think in Spanish I struggle to find the right words to anchor the ideas.
You might also be interested to know that the subconscious mind can also function in more than one language. For example, in a situation where you know how many people are supposed to be here and you want to make sure everyone is present, you silently count them in your mind - one, two, three - without even thinking about it. Now if you first learned to speak in German when you were a baby, but you've been working in an English country for 10 years, then sometimes it goes "one two three" and sometimes it goes "eins zwei drei".
But Choster is right. This is interesting but off topic.
answered 6 hours ago
EditingFrankEditingFrank
1,52968
The quick answer is yes. It is possible. Thinking is a bit like talking to yourself silently, isn't it? I'm fortunate enough to be fluent in four languages, and I can switch my thoughts between them as much as I want to. There are also languages I can only speak with difficulty, so for example when I try to think in Spanish I struggle to find the right words to anchor the ideas.
You might also be interested to know that the subconscious mind can also function in more than one language. For example, in a situation where you know how many people are supposed to be here and you want to make sure everyone is present, you silently count them in your mind - one, two, three - without even thinking about it. Now if you first learned to speak in German when you were a baby, but you've been working in an English country for 10 years, then sometimes it goes "one two three" and sometimes it goes "eins zwei drei".
But Choster is right. This is interesting but off topic.
answered 6 hours ago
EditingFrankEditingFrank
1,52968
answered 6 hours ago
EditingFrankEditingFrank
1,52968
answered 6 hours ago
EditingFrankEditingFrank
1,52968
answered 6 hours ago
EditingFrankEditingFrank
1,52968
1,52968
add a comment |
add a comment |
Motkin Ilyq is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Motkin Ilyq is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Motkin Ilyq is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
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Welcome to EL&U. As this site is more about the mechanics of the English language itself, and as your question would apply to any foreign language, I think it might be a better fit for our sister site, LanguageLearning.SE. I do encourage you to take the site tour and review the help center for additional guidance on using this stack.
– choster
11 hours ago
@choster ok, I'll transfer my question there. Thanks for your help.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago
1
I remember my French teacher told us that when you start dreaming in the second language you are actually beginning to master it. One day a fellow student came into the class and told the teacher he had had a dream the past night in French finally. The teacher said "wonderful!...and what was the dream about?" Then he got a really sad look and said, "I didn't understand a word of what anybody in the dream was saying..."
– Cascabel
11 hours ago
@NigelJ I sincerely wish you to improve your English. I merely understand that learning languages is a reasonably important skill nowdays. Also I'm learning French, in some cases for me it is much more uncomplicated.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago
@Cascabel this story is a bit similar to mine. Sometimes thinking about translation doesn't take any time, because I clearly know and understand what I should say. Thinking about these examples, I realize how our brain is absolutely awesome thing.
– Motkin Ilyq
11 hours ago