Many English students find that one of the main obstacles preventing them from becoming fluent is their habit of translating everything in their minds. You already know what it is you want to say in your own language; however when you try to speak in English, you try to translate every single word before you utter it in English. This causes you to hesitate, makes your speech halting and stilted, and makes you struggle to speak in a natural and easy way. The end result is that it feels impossible to hold an entire, fluent conversation in English, even for something as simple and straightforward as describing your family or talking about yourself and your life.
There is nothing wrong with the size of your vocabulary. In many cases, it is not too small. In fact, many of your problems will stem from the fact that you do not speak English because you are still thinking in terms of translation. It means that you still see English as something you have to translate, not as a natural way of communicating.
To overcome the problem of always thinking in your own language, you will have to change the way you learn English. If you have always learned English word by word, and if you have never learned the common patterns of everyday speech, now it is time to start. Start to learn full phrases. When you learn English, learn ready-made expressions. If you know the word “you,” learn the phrase “Can you help me.” If you know the word “eat,” learn the phrase “I would like to eat dinner.” If you know the word “go,” learn the phrase “I am going to the store.”
Slow down. It is not necessary to be able to speak fast; however, it is necessary to avoid speaking in short, choppy bits. Instead, start to speak in sentences. You do not have to speak perfectly at first. If you need a short amount of time to think about what to say, that is alright. The more sentences you practice, the faster you will start speaking.
Speak as much as possible. Even though you may be able to improve your ability to think in English without speaking out loud, it is always the best way to practice. It may take a long time before you start speaking English without translating everything first, so the more you talk, the better. You can practice on your own, if necessary; you can also do some listening exercises. For example, every time you hear someone in real life say something in English that you need, repeat what they said as many times as you can until you do not even have to think about it anymore. It sounds like a ridiculous thing to do, I am sure, but if you really want to learn to think in English, this is the best method.
Do not forget to practice speaking. You will be surprised by how long it will take to think in English without translating; you must constantly remind your brain that English is a language and not just a foreign subject that you must translate into and out of. Every time that you hear a word in English, repeat what the person who just said it said, or say it out loud yourself. The next time, say something else in English without translating. Keep doing this, and you will find that your thoughts slowly start turning into English and not your own language.
Remember, the idea of speaking without translating is not one you have to force upon your brain. If you have learned to think in English, and if you have learned common phrases, then it will be easy to simply think in English without translating first. The first few sentences may still feel unnatural; but with some practice, you will find that you can simply start speaking without any kind of hesitation at all.
If you follow these few tips, you will learn how to think in English in no time, and you will finally realize what it is to think in English without having to translate everything first. It will feel like an impossible thing, but with enough practice, it will become a very natural way for you to communicate.