How:\u00a0<\/strong>Start by thinking in single words. You might not be able to make important decisions in English yet, but you can notice your surroundings in English by thinking about the names of objects that you see, or actions that you do.<\/p>\n When you wake up in the morning you can think \u201cGood morning!\u201d And when you\u2019re going to sleep at night you can think, \u201cLong day. Tired. Happy. Good night!\u201d<\/p>\n Here are some tricks you can use to remind yourself to think in English once or twice a day:<\/p>\n With just these small steps, you’ll make it easier for you to think in English as you learn more words. The more you grow your skills, the more you can add to your thoughts, and soon you\u2019ll be thinking in full sentences.<\/p>\n When:\u00a0<\/strong>When your mind is clear and you’re not busy, one to two\u00a0times a day.<\/p>\n How:\u00a0<\/strong>A narrator is someone who tells or reads the story. In books, the narrator is the part without dialogue, which describes what\u2019s happening. Many movies\u2014especially documentaries\u2014use narrators to explain certain parts. Now you get to pretend to be the narrator in your life, as if your life were a movie!<\/p>\n Narrate your own day-to-day life as you go through it. You can do this in your own voice, or pretend someone else is narrating your life, like legendary narrators Morgan Freeman<\/a> or James Earl Jones<\/a>.<\/p>\n Your daily life narration might sound something like this: \u201cIt\u2019s morning. She wakes up and rubs her eyes, preparing to face the day. She yawns as she makes herself a cup of coffee, and wonders what she should wear today.\u201d<\/p>\n When:\u00a0<\/strong>When you’re alone and not busy, once a day.<\/p>\n How: <\/strong>To practice conversations, all you have to do is make some up!<\/p>\n Choose a topic and pretend you\u2019re speaking to someone about it. If you\u2019re getting ready for an interview<\/a>, you can pretend to be at the interview. If you\u2019re just trying to learn a new list of vocabulary words, you can ask yourself questions about the words. Any topic is fine! If you’re stuck, you can find a huge list of conversation topics here<\/a>.<\/p>\n For example, if you’re planning to go to a restaurant<\/a> soon you can practice a conversation with the waiter. Think of both the waiter’s parts and yours. Your conversation might look something like this:<\/p>\n Waiter: “Hello, and welcome to our restaurant. Do you know what you’ll be ordering?”<\/p>\n You: “I’m not sure yet. What do you recommend?”<\/p>\n Waiter: “If you like seafood, our fish of the day is fantastic.”<\/p>\n You: “Great, I’ll have that, then.”<\/p>\n I recommend practicing out loud and with a partner after you\u2019ve done some pretend conversations in your head, once you\u2019re more comfortable with the topics and the details.<\/p>\n When:\u00a0<\/strong>Every time you don’t know how to say something in English.<\/p>\n How: <\/strong>There’s always more than one way to express\u00a0something. Even if you don\u2019t know a word, you can get your idea across by thinking creatively and using other words.<\/p>\n For example, if you\u2019re trying to explain to someone that you lost your key, but can\u2019t remember the word \u201ckey,\u201d you can tell them instead that \u201cI can\u2019t open my door because it\u2019s locked,\u201d or \u201cI can\u2019t get into my house, I lost the thing\u00a0you use to unlock\u00a0the door.\u201d<\/p>\n Both sentences don\u2019t use the word \u201ckey,\u201d but they\u2019re both clear enough to be understood.<\/p>\n So if you get stuck while thinking in English, don\u2019t cheat and use your native language. Instead, think of a way around the word. This will be a huge help to you when you\u2019re having an actual conversation and can\u2019t remember a word.<\/p>\n Some ways to describe a word you can’t remember are:<\/p>\n To strengthen your skills in creative speaking, you can try playing some fun games with your friends or a speaking partner.<\/p>\n The games Taboo<\/a> and Catchphrase<\/a>\u00a0challenge you to say things without using specific words. You can play your own variation on the games with your speaking partner by making a list of words you often forget.<\/p>\n Then, try to get your partner to guess what word you’re thinking of without actually using the word.<\/p>\n When:\u00a0<\/strong>Every time you think in English.<\/p>\n How: <\/strong>Carry around a little book or use a note app on your phone. Every time you can\u2019t think of a word (or don’t know a word) in English, write it down. At the end of the day, look up these words in English<\/a> and write them down.<\/p>\n Now that you have a long list of new words, what can you do with them? The first step is to use them in conversations (and your thoughts). A good way to do this is by grouping the words into chunks. Choose a group of around five words every morning, and use them throughout the day.<\/p>\n Something else you can do with your growing vocabulary list is move them to the digital world. Wordnik<\/a>\u00a0is a website where you can look up a word and see real examples of it being used. You can also make a list of words here. Add your new words and learn how to use them. As you internalize<\/em>\u00a0these new words you can move from your “vocabulary” list to\u00a0a “learned words” list.<\/p>\n The Dictionary<\/a>\u00a0website\u00a0(and apps) also lets you add words to a list of favorites, as does the\u00a0Vocabulary<\/a>\u00a0website. Use these websites and lists!<\/p>\n FluentU<\/a> is another resource that can help you learn more words in English. FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n <\/p> \r\n You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month.)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n \r\n \n
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2. Narrate Your Day<\/h2>\n
3. Make Up Conversations<\/h2>\n
4. Get Creative<\/h2>\n
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5. Build Your Vocabulary<\/h2>\n
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