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Hi, everybody.

My name is Alicia.

Welcome back to top words.

Today we're gonna talk about 10 ways to stop translating in your head.

Let's get started.

Identify objects around you in English.

The first way to stop translating in your head is to identify the objects around you in your target language.

So if you're studying English, that means you look at the objects around the room.

Look at the things in your life.

Don't think of them in your native language.

First think of them in your target language first.

So if I look around the room, I see a computer.

I shouldn't think my native language word.

I should think my target language.

Words.

So start with the items and the situations in your everyday life.

If I say computer in English, maybe I should say Compute the in Japanese I should say not.

I don't know water in English, I should say Oh mi za in Japanese.

So start associating the words in your target language with your everyday life.

Now So if you're studying English, that means start getting familiar with the things in your everyday life in English.

Repeat phrases you hear native speakers use Tip number two is to repeat.

The phrase is that you hear native speakers use.

So if you're watching this channel, for example, or you're watching a TV show or a movie, uh, listen for the way that native speakers make those phrases.

If you hear a phrase you have never heard before or you hear an interesting combination of words, try to repeat them yourself.

Don't just listen.

Try to save them yourself.

If you're in a public space and it's difficult for you to do that, fine practice in a place where you feel more comfortable.

Maybe if you have some private space to practice, just repeat them.

Get your mouth used to saying the words the way that the speakers, the native speakers d'oh.

So if you never actually say words, if you're only taking in, if you're only listening and you're not actually producing the language, it's It's kind of hard thio to practice and to, um to really hone your pronunciation to improve your pronunciation.

So when you listen to native speakers try to repeat after them.

So, for example, if you're studying English, you can try to repeat after this video.

You can repeat after the things I'm saying, because maybe I'm using an expression or I'm using ah certain ah Siri's of vocabulary words together the way a native speaker would.

And it's maybe a good idea to try to practice the ways that native speakers put their words together.

So try to repeat after native speakers, especially when you're looking at media.

Ah, and you can do this when you're reading books to you can try to read out, um, read out loud, interesting lines of books that you find or something that maybe is difficult for you.

Very nice practice to make a situation where you can't escape into your native language, make a situation where you can't escape into your native language Essentially means immerse yourself.

Of course, going to that country are going to a place where you can speak on Lee.

That language is very difficult for some of you, totally understand.

But if in your life you can create a situation in your library, in your room, in your house, somewhere for just a hour or, I don't know, maybe a day.

I don't know what your schedule is like, but if you can create a situation or create an environment where you have no choice but to use that language and you cannot escape, meaning you cannot go back to using your native language as a crutch, you can't use the native language at all.

It forces you to use the language that you're studying.

So, of course, if you are lucky enough to live in the country or to live in a place where people speak the language, you're studying great.

But you have to go out and interact with people.

You have to put yourself in a place where you have new choice but to speak.

It's very hard and it's very scary, and it's very embarrassing at first.

But if you take time to find places and to make environments that air comfortable for you, where you feel comfortable making mistakes and asking questions, it's very valuable for your learning process.

This is actually something that I did totally.

I totally did this.

My Japanese wasn't very good for a long time, but then I started making friends who could not speak English.

Uh, actually, I just did this through finding hobbies.

There was a hobby that I had.

I joined a group I joined, actually a school to where I could learn how to do that hobby and everything was taught on Lee in Japanese, and the people in my class on Lee spoke Japanese mostly.

And then maybe we would go off for drinks and food late at night or on the weekends, and everybody spoke on Lee Japanese.

And if I couldn't communicate even simply in Japanese, I had no hope of keeping that friendship together.

So it forced me to study.

It forced me to think about the words they were using on and to try to learn those words, those patterns as well as how to produce them, naturally myself.

So I was learning the vocabulary words the people around me were using and learning how to apply them on my own.

That was only possible because I had no escape in those situations.

So try to do that, even if you could do it yourself in your house.

It's super helpful, I think.

Watch TV and movies in your target language without subtitles.

Tip number four is to watch TV and movies in your target language without subtitles without subtitles.

So I think that watching ah with subtitles can be very beneficial.

Um, so if I'm watching something or if you want to watch something with subtitles on great.

But I sometimes find that I can.

In my case, I I think too much about reading the subtitles and I forget to listen.

So maybe if you've seen a movie in your target language a few times, Um, with the subtitles on, Try turning the subtitles off and think about the characters, body language, the words they're using.

You can always look that up later.

Look up the You know the words you don't know in a dictionary, but try to do it where you're focusing completely on the way that people are using their words.

Try not to use the subtitle.

So, um, kind of play around with it a little bit?

If there's a word that's difficult for you to hear, you can actually turn on the subtitles in, like the in the native language of the movie as well.

That's something that I've done like if, uh, look if I wanted to study Japanese.

It's very useful when the actual words spoken in Japanese appear on the screen.

Sometimes it's easier for me to catch Ah, word if I see it visually, and I hear it at the same time.

So another way to kind of, um, explore how you can use TV and movies is to actually turn on the closed captions like the the words on the screen in the native language of the movie.

So, uh, so this is sort of two points in one, so one watch movies without subtitles, meaning subtitles in your native language in Hint to is to watch movies with closed captioning on.

But the closed captioning is in your target language, not in your native language.

So you can try those two things with TV and with movies.

Don't bring a dictionary to your lesson.

Tip number five is Don't bring a dictionary to your lesson.

Okay, so give me a second here, so I understand the dictionaries, always especially Elektronik dictionaries we have them on our phones now are very, very convenient.

Um, of course, it's important to use them, and it's, um, they're a great resource tohave However, one thing that really bothers me and that I think is detrimental it's not helpful for students is when students are in a lesson and they're practicing conversation and they reach a point in the conversation where they don't know the word they want to use.

They know it in their native language, and they don't know how to say it.

In their target language.

They pull out their dictionary.

They say to this, the person listening to them, their practice partner in their lesson where they have a limited period of time, just a moment and then they look it up on the phone and it takes a few seconds.

The flow of the conversation stops, and then they say a word.

It's like, Wow, no, that's not You don't have that ability.

You don't have the ability to do that in a conversation with a native speaker.

Most people like if you go to a bank and try to open a bank account, are you really gonna pull out your dictionary and sit there and try to communicate?

You know, just a moment.

Just a moment.

As you look up each word, you don't know no or If you do, that's not a real conversation.

So instead, try using a different strategy.

By that, I mean, if you find a word you don't know in conversation, explain the word to your conversation partner.

Maybe they know the word.

If you're speaking with a native speaker, this is a chance for them to teach you a word.

I find that when people take the time to teach me a word, I remember the word much betterthan just looking it up on my dictionary.

So try to resist.

Maybe you could bring a dictionary to your lesson, but don't use it or try not to use it in your conversation practice.

It's just it destroys the flow of a conversation.

So instead practice the skill of describing the vocabulary word you want to use and learn how to ask the meaning of a word or learn how to ask for ah, vocabulary word from your partner so you can use an expression like, Ah, what's the word that means Bob a block Or, um, you know, it's this thing that does this in this in this, So this is an opportunity for you to describe characteristics of something or find a different way.

You can use your body language.

You can use whatever you have a lot of tools, but try not to use a dictionary in a conversation because it's not realistic.

Train responses to common questions Number six is a quick one.

I think number 6/10 number six I have is just to train responses to common questions.

Train responses to common questions.

So, for example Ah, very common question in English is Hey, how are you?

You should know how to answer this question.

Just have a default response.

Hey, how are you?

I'm good If it takes you.

Ah, long time to answer the question.

Hey, how are you?

You need to practice.

I think that's a pretty good ah, pretty good indicator.

So, for example, sometimes I ask students a question like that.

They haven't quite gotten the idea of how to respond just yet.

They they're not so quick.

It responding, I say, Ah, Hey, how are you?

And they say yes.

And then they think and they go, I'm Ah, I'm a good think.

That's a very common question.

So think about just a default response that you can spit out that you can quickly say, If it's how was your weekend or Hey, what's up?

Or what do you want to do for dinner tonight?

Think about like just a handful, meaning just a few responses to those questions and trained them quickly.

Just how are you?

I'm good.

How are you?

I'm okay.

How are you?

Not bad.

There's three.

So it's just training responses to those questions.

There's no reason to be surprised by a question like, How are you?

Like?

That's a very common question.

So for those common questions, train responses so that we've got a bunch of videos, especially beginner level videos for some example responses you can do so don't get stuck with the little questions.

Just train a few responses, practice a few responses till they feel natural to you.

It'll save you time, and it'll help the person asking the question to to move forward in the conversation study with materials that don't provide a translation.

The next step is to study with materials that don't provide a translation.

So by this I mean, if you're using worksheets and or some kind of textbook or whatever, and it has your target language the language you're studying, and it has your native language next to it.

While this can be useful, I feel that if you can, studying your materials on Lee in your target language and then simplified explanations for more detailed points also in your target language can be a little bit better.

So I don't want to say like you should Onley study things in your target language and nothing from your native language.

Because, of course, it's It can be helpful sometimes to look up a word or two, understand a grammar point in your native language.

But where possible.

If you can find something that provides simplified explanations in your target language, it can be really, really helpful, cause again, you're thinking you're learning to think on like a simpler on a more basic level about the language you're studying in the language that you're studying.

So this can be really, really good.

So finding some materials to use where there's no translation.

Maybe you can practice, of course, with with books and with written materials, but also with like video materials as well.

So there are a variety of different ways that you can, um, find materials in your target language.

Um, like in video and TV.

So some things to think about.

There are the level of vocabulary words people are using in the media content you're watching who the media content is intended for Children, young adults, adults.

Ah, the speed at which the speaker is talking.

So like I have the ability to change the level of difficulty of videos based on the rate of speech, the vocabulary words that I use and how many like idioms and things I use So I could make a video very difficult.

We could make a like a very difficult video.

Siri's by leveling up our vocabulary.

You, sir, by speaking very quickly, Or as you might see in like our English and three minutes Siri's, um, we can also use very simple vocabulary and speak in a low rate of speech.

So maybe right now this is a very intermediate level video, so please think about that.

So not just for written materials, but also for your audio and visual materials.

Think about, um, who your audience is, the level of the material and so on.

It can be really fun.

Uh, and it can be helpful to think about your your target language in your target language.

All right, we're almost there.

Study phrases.

In addition to single vocabulary, the next tip is study phrases in addition to single vocabulary words.

So, yes, of course, vocabulary is important.

But I find it personally very, very useful to look at how a vocabulary word is used in a phrase, because sometimes using it in a phrase, helps you understand the nuance of that vocabulary.

Word really, really well.

So if I like a word like crazy, for example in English, depending on the situation where the word crazy is used, it could mean something different.

It could mean like, ah, person who is mentally confused or mixed up.

It could also mean something really good.

It could mean something really bad.

So if we look on Lee at the word crazy, it's quite difficult to understand really the meaning of the word.

But if you look at the way the word is used in a phrase, you can get a lot more information.

So take a look at the way people use words in phrase is not just a single vocabulary words You can learn a lot more that way, I think.

Do your daily activities in English where possible.

The next step is to do your daily activities in your target language.