In the previous chapter, I asked you a question: when you want to speak English, does the idea come directly in English… or do you first build the sentence in French and then try to turn it into English?
It sounds like a simple question, but it can explain a lot.
Imagine this. Someone asks you a question. You basically know what you want to say. But inside your head, something like this happens: idea → sentence in French → search for English words → grammar check → English sentence.
Meanwhile, the other person is waiting. One second, two seconds: you hesitate, you change the sentence, you search for a word. And sometimes, by the time you are finally ready… the moment has already passed.
I call this the translator in your head. Not a hidden mechanism inside your brain, just an image. A simple way to describe a habit many learners know very well: systematically going through French before producing English.
And today I want to show you something important. You do not need to “kill” that translator. You do not need to ban French. You do not need to become English inside your head. You simply need to start creating more situations in which some thoughts and some sentences no longer need to make the full journey.
That is what thinking more in English means. And you can start much more simply than you might imagine.
Translation Is Not the Problem
Let us be clear from the beginning. Translation is not bad. It can help you understand a new word, check a nuance, learn something, compare two expressions. It can be extremely useful.
The problem begins when it becomes the compulsory route before almost every sentence. Imagine someone says:
How are you?
If you still have to think: They’re asking how I am… what am I supposed to answer again?… ‘I’m fine’… how do I say that in English? the conversation becomes exhausting. But if I’m fine, thanks is already a very familiar expression, you probably do not need to rebuild the whole answer. It is available.
That is the difference we care about. Not: memory versus no memory. Not: French versus English. But: a sentence you know as information versus a sentence familiar enough to access quickly.
You probably already have a few expressions like that.
I don’t know.
Thank you.
I’m tired.
I’m hungry.
I’m sorry.
You may not even notice all the work you are NOT doing when you use them. You are not analyzing every word. You recognize the whole expression. That is the kind of availability we want to develop.
Thinking in English Does Not Mean Thinking Everything in English
This is a common misunderstanding. When people hear: “Think in English,” they may imagine that they suddenly need to transform their entire inner life. Think about work in English. Do calculations in English. Think about all their problems in English. Analyze their deepest emotions in English. And never allow a single thought in their first language.
Of course, if you begin like that, you will probably just exhaust yourself. Thinking more in English begins much lower. With tiny thoughts.
You are walking: I’m walking.
You are cold: It’s cold.
You are tired: I’m tired.
You need to leave: I need to go.
You need a break: I need a break.
You look at the road: The road is empty.
You remember something you need to do: I need to finish this. Or: I should call my friend.
Nothing impressive. And that is exactly the point. To create a more direct connection with English, you do not need to start with complex thoughts. You need to begin with thoughts you can genuinely produce.
Stop Chasing Complicated Words
Many learners underestimate small sentences. They want sophisticated vocabulary. Complex structures. Impressive expressions.
But during a normal day, how often do you need to say:
I don’t know.
I’m not sure.
I need more time.
I don’t feel like it.
That makes sense.
I need a break.
A lot.
These expressions are valuable because they can become real units of thought. You do not build: I + am + not + sure. You recognize: I’m not sure, as one unit.
The same thing happens in your first language. You do not construct every sentence word by word like a grammar exercise. You already have thousands of familiar patterns available. In English, you can gradually build more.
You can call this a “loop” if the image helps: hear → understand → meet again → reuse → retrieve more easily. But there is no need to turn it into a complicated theory. The idea is simple: the more familiar a useful expression becomes, the less you need to rebuild it from scratch.
Start with Your Real Life
The most useful sentences for you are not necessarily the ones a textbook placed on page 42. They are also the sentences you might genuinely think today.
If you are exhausted: I’m exhausted.
If something annoys you: This is annoying.
If you are unsure: I’m not sure.
If you are happy: I’m so happy right now.
If you need to stop: I need a break.
These sentences have context. They match something you are actually experiencing. And that changes their value for you. You are no longer practicing a sentence because it appears in an exercise. You are meeting it because it matches a thought you might genuinely have. That is when English begins moving closer to your inner life.
Try It Now — The Flash Thought
Here is the first experiment in this chapter. It is deliberately tiny.
Today, at three different moments, simply notice one very simple thought. For example:
I’m hungry.
I’m tired.
I need to leave.
It’s raining.
Then ask yourself: Do I already know a simple way to think this directly in English?
If you do: use it.
I’m hungry.
I’m tired.
I need to go.
It’s raining.
And stop there. Do not start analyzing the grammar. Do not search for a better version. Do not turn the experiment into homework. One thought. One sentence. Then continue your day.
If you do not know the English phrase, do not struggle with it for a full minute. Check it later if you want. The goal is not to pass a test. The goal is to start creating a few small shortcuts: situation → English instead of always: situation → first language → English.
Three thoughts are enough to begin.
Your Inner Voice Can Use English Too
We talk to ourselves constantly without opening our mouths. We comment, plan, remember, imagine. Sometimes we encourage ourselves. Sometimes we criticize ourselves too.
Naturally, that inner voice mostly uses our most familiar language. There is nothing wrong with that. But nothing prevents you from giving it a few minutes of English sometimes.
You are walking and think: It’s cold today. Then: I’m going home. Then: I need some coffee.
A thought in French appears? Fine. It appears. You have not failed. You can simply return to another small English thought afterward.
This distinction matters. I do not want you to fight your first language. It is not your enemy. You are simply adding another possibility. Sometimes your first language. Sometimes English. And with time, some simple things may begin to come more spontaneously in English. That is the real change.
What If You Get Stuck?
This is where many people make the exercise unnecessarily difficult. You are walking and want to think: I absolutely need to finish the complicated file my colleague sent me yesterday because the meeting was moved forward. And you freeze. Of course you do.
Simplify it.
I need to finish my work.
Or even:
I need to finish this.
You wanted to think: “I’m upset because he spoke to me again as if the whole problem was my responsibility.” You cannot say that yet? Start with:
I’m annoyed.
Or:
I’m not happy.
Simplicity is not failure. It is a strategy. You are not yet trying to reproduce the full richness of your thoughts in English. You are training your ability to keep one piece of thought in English. That ability can grow with your vocabulary, experience, and practice.
You Do Not Need to Translate Every Expression
Look at the difference between these two approaches.
First approach:
break = pause
need = avoir besoin
I = je
Then later: “How do I build ‘I need a break’?”
Second approach: you meet the whole expression:
I need a break.
You understand it. You hear it in different situations. You use it when you genuinely feel tired. And gradually, I need a break becomes available as a complete expression.
This is not a war against vocabulary. It is not a war against memory. It is simply another way of storing and using what you learn: not only isolated words, but also expressions ready to use.
That matters in a conversation because you do not always have time to build every sentence like a puzzle.
“But What If My Thoughts Are Wrong?”
Good question. When you speak silently to yourself, nobody corrects you immediately. That can be freeing. You can try, search, simplify. But that does not mean every sentence you create is automatically correct. And that is fine.
If a sentence matters to you and you are unsure, you can check it later. The purpose of this practice is not to engrave mistakes. It is to allow yourself to use English mentally without turning every thought into an exam.
You can alternate: try → sometimes check → adjust → reuse. Not with every sentence. Not all the time. Just enough for what you use to become progressively more reliable.
Much later, we will look at how to use correction itself as a tool for progress. For now, keep your attention on one thing: daring to produce small English thoughts.
Try It Now — Two to Five Minutes of Your Inner Voice in English
Here is the second and final experiment. Choose a quiet moment today. A walk, a commute, a shower, a queue, or simply two minutes sitting at home.
During that short moment, try to give English a little more space inside your inner dialogue. Use very simple sentences.
I’m walking.
It’s quiet.
I’m tired.
I have time.
I need to go home.
I want some coffee.
It’s a nice day.
If a thought appears in your first language, let it pass. Then return to English when you can. If you do not know a word, go around it. If the sentence is too difficult, simplify it. If you are completely stuck, return to something you know.
I’m tired.
I’m hungry.
I don’t know.
Two minutes can be enough, five if you want. The goal is not to maintain exclusively English thoughts. The goal is to discover this feeling: I can use English even when nobody is speaking to me.
And that changes a lot. Because you are no longer entirely dependent on a class, an exercise, or another person to encounter English. You can begin giving it a small place inside your own inner world. Not the whole place, a small place. For now, that is more than enough.
What May Begin to Change
If you return to this kind of practice from time to time, you may notice something. Some very familiar expressions may require less searching.
You may open the refrigerator and There’s no milk may occasionally appear before you consciously build the equivalent in your first language. You may lie down and I’m tired may come naturally. You may look outside and think: It’s raining.
Not every time. Not for every thought. Not overnight. But enough to understand that “thinking in English” is not a mysterious talent reserved for bilingual people. It can also come from having more and more English expressions that are familiar enough to appear directly in certain situations.
That is the key idea. You do not need to wait until your entire inner world becomes English. That is not even the goal. You simply want to reduce the number of times you must go through: first language → translation → English for things you could already recognize and use more directly.
Do Not Turn This into Another Obsession
There is, however, a trap. You may now think: Starting tomorrow, I’m going to think EVERYTHING in English.
Do not.
You would only create another constraint. You do not need to monitor every thought. You do not need to feel guilty when your first language returns. And you certainly do not need to turn your entire day into an exercise.
Later, we will look at how to give English a much bigger place in your life in a structured way. For now, stay with the idea. Three simple direct thoughts, a few minutes of inner English, expressions you know as complete units, not only as collections of separate words.
That is enough. Simple. But powerful.
Because from now on, whenever you freeze before speaking, you can begin noticing what is happening: Do I genuinely lack the English word? Or: Am I trying to translate a French sentence that is too complicated?
And sometimes, the answer will simply be to think more simply. Not: How do I translate exactly everything I would have said in my first language? But: What can I genuinely say in English right now?
That question changes a lot.
Thinking Is One Step. Speaking Is Another. There is still one important limitation.
You may be able to think: I need a break. The sentence may be perfectly available in your head. And yet, when you need to say it out loud… your mouth hesitates. The sounds feel unfamiliar. The rhythm feels strange. You know the sentence, but it still does not come out the way you want.
That is normal. Because making a sentence more available in your mind is only one part of the journey. Next, you need to produce it. Train your voice, your mouth, the sounds, the rhythm.
And that is exactly where we are going next.