How to Think in English (20 Simple Steps)

Listen to short stories daily.
Stories teach your brain natural English without rules. Listening is a natural way to learn languages. Children learn their mother tongue through listening because listening trains your brain to not analyze the language. Through listening to short stories every day, you stop thinking too much about the rules and focus on meaning.

Focus on lessons a little above your level.
Start practicing with lessons that are easy enough to understand, but hard enough to grow and learn something from. If you understand 70% of the lesson or more, that’s perfect. Keep going.

Stop translating in your head.
If you understand the meaning, don’t translate in your head. Don’t try to understand why the grammar is such and such and why a word is pronounced in a strange way. Just copy what you hear and read without translating as long as you understand.

Learn phrases, not single words.
Your brain remembers groups of words better than lists of words. That’s because the brain likes meaning and visualizing, not rules and analyzing grammar. When you’re reading a story or listening to podcast episode, and you hear a new word or phrase, write it down with the complete sentence where it’s used.

Listen before you speak.
Babies listen for months before they learn how to talk. Adults have to do the same if they want to learn the language naturally. So, practice listening every single day and get your ears used to the sounds in English.

Repeat the same audio many times.
Each time you listen to a lesson again, you understand more. Each time you to a story again, you train your brain to think less and this will help you speak without thinking. Repetition builds fluency.

Watch English movies shows with English subtitles.
Your eyes and ears learn together. The more you listen and read at the same time, the easier it gets to speak without thinking. The sounds become natural and the words will come out of your mouth without thinking.

Name objects around you in English.
“Cup. Door handle. Phone charger. Counter. Mirror. Nightstand.” Make your environment around you your classroom. And of course, change your phone’s language to English.

Describe your day silently in English.
“I am drinking coffee. The sun is bright. I’m exhausted.” Hey! That’s thinking in English in action.

Read and listen at the same time.
This is the fastest way to connect sound with meaning. There are many tools available to help you read and listen at the same time. Podcasts, YouTube videos, TikTok, most of these apps have caption or subtitles on.

Here are my channels:

TikTok

Choose content you enjoy.
If it’s boring, you will quit. If you love it, you will keep going.

Let grammar come from listening (and reading).
Learning a language is not like math, you cannot learn the rules and then apply them in speaking and writing. You listen; you read; you learn and then you figure out the rules along the way, without thinking too much about the rules.

Say simple actions in English as you do them.
“I am opening the door. I am making tea.” Live your life in English.

If you don’t want people to think you’re weird (hahaha), simply think these actions.

Use slow, clear audio at first.
Speed will come later. Understanding needs to come first.

Listen to and read stories and audio lessons that are easy for you to understand.

Listen deeply, with full focus.
Ten minutes of focused listening is better than one hour of distracted listening and background noise. Remove distractions; find a quiet place; put your phone on Do Not Disturb (DND) and listen and read with 100% focus.

Talk to yourself in English every day.
Talk to yourself in English; push yourself; motivate yourself by recording your voice or talking to the camera. Do not judge and criticize yourself.

Be your own best speaking partner.

I mean, you are always available.

Spend 1 to 2 hours per day reading and listening.
This is the best way to help you start thinking in English and if you want to make real progress in English. Make listening to English your daily routine.

Listen while driving. Listening while walking. Listen while riding the bus or train. Listen while cleaning the house or washing dishes. Create opportunities to listen every day on the go.

Listen more than you study.
Input (listening and reading) first. Output (writing and speaking) later.

This is how the brain really learns information, especially languages.

Give yourself time to improve.
Fluency is a journey, not a race. Trust the process and be patient.

Make English part of your life.
Don’t make English practice a boring chore or a class that you take. Make it a priority and a part of your life that you love and care about like your job, your goals and your future. Ultimately, learning and becoming fluent in English will help you in your job, your goals and your future. So, tread it that way and take it seriously.