English that is not English....

Hi Guys... Greetings from Valerian Menezes...

People say that I should think in English in order to learn it. How could I think in English when my mother tongue is not English? We speak our mother tongue well because we use that language to think. When we start to think in English, its easy to learn.

I learned English all by myself, The most important thing that I believe one should do is to separate language from ideas. I mean, one can have a visual idea (in mind) about a situation, something you want to do, or something you saw, etc; here is where you need to stop "listening" to yourself speaking in your native language.

My advice is that, for example, when you learn vocabulary you learn the word of the new language and the equivalent of your native language. But right after that, you need to imagine the object, or a situation and link the word to it.

If I am told that the Hindi word for "window" is “khidki" then I build the relationship, I learn the correct pronunciation (very important) and then I imagine a window and mentally repeat the Hindi word " khidki ".

I was not lucky and was not able to think in English right from the beginning. I had to translate between my mother tongue and English (actually, when I start to think in Konkani and then try to translate into English it definitely doesn't work out).

Here are some tips that might help you:

-learn vocabulary in phrases, not only the single words (record not only the new words you come across but also a sentence that is meaningful for you

-try to read passages you already know - and try not to translate them into your mother tongue but to understand them directly in English - you might to have to read them several times, so don't worry!- try to "talk to yourself" in English from time to time - for example, when it's very cold think "oh, it's cold" instead of thinking of the phrase in your mother tongue

- if your level allows don't use a bilingual dictionary

-And of course - use English as often as possible - reading, listening, speaking...

Simple English always sounds good. Great orators use simple language to put across their wise thoughts. Its better to use simple words to express ourselves. This is a small initiative from my side to better our english. Thanks for your precious time.

With Best wishes
Valerian Menezes