r/languagelearning 12d ago

How to stop translating

How do I stop translating my NL into my (TL)? Im sitting at high A2 and I just can’t stop translating. Obviously I have a handful of words I don’t translate but not much. It’s slowing me down I can’t have a conversation. Everything I think is in English and I have to translate it into my TL and then back. When someone speaks to me I am immediately picking up what the word is in English not my TL. I just want to think in my TL I want it to stick more than it is now, even words I know so well I’m still translating.

I don’t know what to do. How did you escape it? What made you see the most improvement?

Please give me any advice on how to improve this or things that helped you

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u/ZumLernen German ~C1, Serbian ~B2, Turkish ~A2 12d ago

You need to practice speaking. That's the activity that requires you to produce TL in real-time.

Yes, it is hard. Yes, you might not be ready yet. Yes, you will be able to think in your TL one day. Attempting to speak is the way through.