Five Laws of Thinking in English

Fluent speech is a crucial aspect of effective English communication. But many people are unable to communicate fluently because they must translate in their heads before speaking. Fortunately, the five laws of thinking in English can help you learn English like a native, and speak without needing to translate.

Become fluent and confident in English with our Fluent For Life program.

Table of Contents:

The Possibility and Challenges of Thinking in English
Differentiating Between Learning English As A First Language, And Learning English As A Second Language
Using The Five Laws
Become Fluent And Confident In English Today

The Possibility And Challenges Of Thinking In English

Learning to speak English without translation only seems difficult because most people learn English through translations. But two things prove it’s possible to start thinking in English in order to speak smoothly. The first is that you already speak multiple “languages” fluently, without translating. In your native language, you speak one way professionally, and another way to children, for example. And you can switch between these different “languages” without thinking. So, it’s possible to do this with English as well, if you follow the five laws you’ll learn today.

The second reason you can do this in English is because you’re ALREADY following these five laws as you learn your native language. Your brain applies these things automatically. And once you understand what your brain is doing, you can easily apply these laws with English, to think and speak without hesitating.

Differentiating Between Learning English As A First Language, And Learning English As A Second Language

As mentioned above, most of the difficulty English learners have with communication comes from learning English through translations. This is what we mean by “learning English as a SECOND language.” Basically, you’re learning English through your first, or native, language. So, because how we learn is how we speak, learning through translations makes you translate before you speak.

However, it’s possible to learn English “as a FIRST language,” all in English. And if you don’t translate when you learn, you won’t translate when you speak! So, you can speak English fluently. All you have to do is follow the five laws of thinking in English:

Law One: The Law Of Association

This law is the core and foundation of all learning in general. What everyone does is try to make connections with different things, because human brains aren’t very good at remembering long lists. So, we make associations, which our brains do naturally. What we want to do is learn something in English and then make many associations or connections with this information to help us remember the word.

For example, take the word “exasperated.” You are home and have two babies sitting in high chairs. You are trying to feed them dinner, your other kids are running around the house making a mess, and you are trying to cook, and something is about to boil over. You are getting overwhelmed and frustrated, so you feel not just tired and frustrated, but exasperated.

Notice how the whole “scene” in the story above makes the vocabulary more memorable? You can feel the frustration and worry increasing until you reach the level of “exasperation,” when you’re ready to explode with an emotion like anger or sadness.

This story is just one connection with the word “exasperated.” And ideally, you want to make as many associations with words as possible. Maybe you hear the word again in some other context, like a manager is really frustrated with some poor-performing employees, and finally yells at them when they feel exasperated. These associations will make the vocabulary naturally come to your mind in conversations, so you express yourself in fluent English.

Law Two: The Law Of Substitution

The law of substitution means there is usually more than one way to express something. As soon as we begin making associations, we want to make further associations to make our vocabulary even stronger. This helps us understand different ways of applying things to the same situations to learn further vocabulary.

For example, let’s take the word “beautiful.” You want to think in English about the different ways we could describe something. You notice a beautiful sunset. Next, you might try to think of other ways to describe this situation, using other English words, such as pretty, amazing, wonderful, gorgeous, mesmerizing, and breathtaking.

When you learn with translations, you actually teach yourself that there’s only one way to say something. And if you can’t remember this one thing, you’ll get stuck when you try to speak. But as you apply the law of substitution, you see that natives can express the same situation in many ways.

Law Three: The Law Of Extension

The law of extension helps us broaden, or “extend,” our understanding to learn English fast. This is where we consider the vocabulary we already know, and think about how else we might use a particular word, like from some physical use we can see to something more figurative.

For example, think about the word “navigate.” Your first connection with the word might be picturing yourself on a ship. Maybe you imagine navigating the ocean as you look at a map, to figure out where you want to go.

But what other things could we navigate? Natives often talk about “navigating challenges” in life, and figuring out how to deal with problems. Maybe a high school student has to navigate the college admissions process. See how you begin thinking more in English as you make these associations? That’s the power of following these laws!

Law Four: The Law Of Deconstruction

The law of deconstruction focuses on words and what they mean as we get more examples of things. Let’s say you hear the word “monocle,” and do not know what it means. We start by thinking of other words we may already know, like “monorail.” Both have the prefix “mono” in them.

You might know that a monorail is a train with a single track, rather than two rails. Therefore, we know that mono means single or one. So if we then hear someone say, “The man wears a monocle,” and there’s a picture showing a guy with a single eyeglass, we can conclude that “monocle” means a single eyeglass. As we continue making associations by seeing the connections between words, we come to understand them more like a native, so we can say them without thinking or translating!

Law Five: The Law Of Inquiry

The law of inquiry is taking what we know and extending it even further. For example, we could consider the opposite of a word, or a more casual, or more professional, way of saying something. By asking further questions, we become confident speakers and learn more vocabulary, all while thinking in English.

For example, let’s use the word “beautiful” again. We already know other words that can be used, like pretty, gorgeous, and amazing. So, what might some opposite words be? Maybe ugly, plain, unattractive, awful, and homely.

By learning some opposites of the word, you have expanded your vocabulary. Next, consider how you could say beautiful in a more casual way. For instance, you could say, “You look pretty today,” or “That is a gorgeous dress you are wearing.”

Using The Five Laws

Hopefully you’ve noticed that all five of these laws naturally work together. They blend into each other because this is how your brain wants to understand information. All you have to do now is keep these laws in mind as you learn, to remind your brain to think more in English. This may be tricky at first, especially if you have been translating English in your head for a long time. But the more you apply these laws, the more you will think in English, and the faster you will become a fluent speaker!

Become Fluent And Confident In English Today

Changing how you learn will help you learn English much faster and easier. Instead of trying to translate words from your native language into English, follow the five laws that make you think in English. You will become more fluent and confident when you speak, and will not have to waste time, or get stuck, translating words. Try our Fluent For Life program, where we do all of the hard work for you, so you can start thinking and speaking in English, today!

Reduce your accent to sound like a native English speaker with Frederick: Learn to Read.

Five Laws Of Thinking In English: How Natives Develop Fluent Speech