Speaking confidence
How to stop translating in your head and think in English
The short answer
To stop translating in your head, learn ready-made English phrases (chunks) for the things you say most, and say them out loud until they come without passing through Sinhala or Tamil first. Thinking in English doesn’t switch on all at once: it grows one situation at a time, through self-talk, describing what you see, and short daily speaking practice with a little time pressure.
By the Chappie team · Updated
Someone asks you a question. You build the answer in Sinhala or Tamil, translate it word by word, check the grammar, and by the time the English sentence is ready, the conversation has moved on. Translating is a normal stage, and nobody switches it off in a day. The goal is to need it less, starting with the sentences you use most.
Why does translating in my head make me pause?
A big reason is word order. Sinhala and Tamil usually put the verb at the end of the sentence, an order linguists call subject, object, verb (see the syntax sections on Sinhala and Tamil). English puts the verb straight after the subject: subject, verb, object. Sinhala and Tamil also put small words like “to” and “in” after the noun, where English puts them before it.
| What you think first | Word by word | In English order |
|---|---|---|
| What you think firstSinhala: Mama office ekata yanawa. | Word by wordI office-to going | In English orderI’m going to the office. |
| What you think firstTamil: Naan office-ukku pogiren. | Word by wordI office-to going | In English orderI’m going to the office. |
| What you think firstSinhala: Mama iye manager-ta report eka dunna. | Word by wordI yesterday manager-to the report gave | In English orderI gave the report to my manager yesterday. |
| What you think firstTamil: Naan netru manager-ukku report-ai koduthen. | Word by wordI yesterday manager-to report gave | In English orderI gave the report to my manager yesterday. |
Look at where the verb sits. If you build the sentence in Sinhala or Tamil first, you wait for the whole thought, verb last, then rebuild it in a different order while someone is waiting. That rebuild is the pause. It’s a speed problem; you know every word in those sentences. It’s also why so many people understand English but can’t speak it as fast as they would like.
Your first language isn’t the enemy. Using Sinhala or Tamil to understand a new word or a correction is useful and often faster. The goal is to stop needing it while you speak.
How to think in English: seven techniques
- 1
Learn chunks, not single words
A chunk is a group of words you store and say as one piece: “Could you send me…”, “I’m not sure, but I think…”, “The thing is…”. You pull a chunk out whole, so there’s nothing to translate. A 2006 study of English learners by David Wood describes these fixed phrases as making pauses shorter and less frequent, with longer runs of speech between pauses.
- 2
Talk to yourself in English
Narrate small things as you do them: “Right, I need to leave in ten minutes. Where are my keys?” Self-talk has no audience, so there’s no pressure, and it trains your brain to reach for English first.
- 3
Describe what you see
On the bus or in a queue, describe the scene under your breath: who is there, what they’re doing, what might happen next. When you don’t know a word, describe around it instead of stopping. That habit saves you in real conversations.
- 4
Prepare sentences for situations that repeat
Your daily update, answering the phone, introducing yourself, asking for leave. Write the two or three sentences you always need, then say them until they’re automatic. Start with “Tell me about yourself”, then the phrases for meetings and phone calls.
- 5
Shadow short clips
Play one sentence of an English video or podcast, pause, and repeat it out loud, copying the rhythm. You are borrowing a whole sentence that’s already in English order, so there’s nothing to rebuild.
- 6
Add a little time pressure
Tell the same short story three times, with less time for each telling: for example four minutes, then three, then two. In a 1991 study by Arevart and Nation, learners who retold a story to different listeners with less time for each retelling performed above their normal level of fluency. You can do it alone with your phone’s timer.
- 7
Move small parts of your day into English
Write your to-do list, shopping list and notes to yourself in English. Switch your phone’s language to English. Each small habit is one more moment where English comes first.
Chunks to learn first
Start with the chunks that do the most work in everyday conversation. Learn each one as a single piece and say it out loud five times. Then use it once that day, for real.
“I’m not sure, but I think…”
Giving an opinion without sounding too certain.
“The thing is…”
Explaining a problem or the reason for something.
“Could you send me…?”
Asking for something politely at work.
“I was wondering if…”
A softer way to ask for something or suggest an idea.
“What I mean is…”
Your first sentence didn’t come out right. Say it again.
“It depends on…”
When the honest answer is “it depends”.
“I’ll get back to you on that.”
You need time to check something.
“That makes sense.”
Showing you have understood and agree.
Direct translations, and the chunk to use instead
Some everyday Sri Lankan phrases follow Sinhala or Tamil patterns word for word. Everyone in Sri Lanka understands them, so there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. They appear in Wikipedia’s list of Sri Lankan English phrases, alongside many more. In an interview, an international meeting or abroad, the chunk on the right is what listeners expect, and learning it as one piece means there’s nothing to translate.
A 15-minute daily routine to think in English
| Minutes | What to do | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| Minutes0 to 3 | What to doNarrate your morning out loud: what you’re doing and what you’ll do next | Why it helpsWakes up your English before the first real conversation |
| Minutes3 to 6 | What to doLearn two chunks from the list above and say each one five times | Why it helpsBuilds your stock of ready-made phrases |
| Minutes6 to 9 | What to doShadow one short clip, sentence by sentence | Why it helpsGives you whole sentences already in English order |
| Minutes9 to 13 | What to doTell one short story three times: 2 minutes, then 90 seconds, then 1 minute | Why it helpsTime pressure pushes you to reuse phrases instead of translating |
| Minutes13 to 15 | What to doSay tomorrow’s hardest sentence five times: your update, your question, your request | Why it helpsThe sentence is ready before you need it |
If you only have five minutes, keep the last step. The sentences you rehearse are the ones you stop translating first. For more ways to practise without a partner, see how to practise speaking English alone.
How long does it take to stop translating?
There is no fixed number of weeks, and anyone who promises one is guessing. What you’ll notice is that translating stops situation by situation. The sentences you say every day go first: greetings, your self-introduction, your daily update. New topics and rare words will still send you back to Sinhala or Tamil for a moment, and that’s completely fine. Even very fluent speakers pause to find an unusual word.
A good sign to watch for: you catch yourself thinking a short sentence in English without planning to. It usually starts with the phrases you’ve repeated most, so keep repeating. If you still go blank when people are watching, read what to do when you freeze in a meeting.
Practise it
Rehearse the situations you meet every week with Chappie, the English speaking app. Answer out loud, get feedback on grammar, word choice and fluency (including pauses and filler words), and repeat each sentence until it comes without translating.
Questions people ask
How can I think in English instead of translating?
Learn common phrases as whole chunks, talk to yourself in English, describe what you see, and rehearse the sentences you use every week out loud. Each of these gives your brain an English sentence it can reach for directly, without building it in Sinhala or Tamil first.
Is it bad to translate in my head when I speak English?
No, it is a normal stage. It only becomes a problem when it makes you too slow to join the conversation. Aim to translate less for the things you say most. Nobody stops translating completely, and you don’t need to.
Why do I pause so much when I speak English?
Often because you are building the sentence in your first language and then rebuilding it in English order. Sinhala and Tamil put the verb at the end, while English puts it after the subject. Ready-made chunks and rehearsed sentences remove most of that rebuilding.
How can I speak English without thinking?
You can’t skip thinking, but you can skip translating. Phrases you have said out loud many times come out automatically, the same way greetings in your first language do.
Does watching English films help me think in English?
Films help your listening and show you natural phrases. To think and speak in English, add speaking: pause a scene, repeat a line out loud, and use the phrase yourself later that day.