087: How to avoid translating in your head

Pete asks: "I'm learning Portuguese, how can I avoid translating in my head?"

In this episode:

• Translation is inevitable
• It's a useful strategy as a beginner
• Translation stops being useful as you move to higher levels, and you're dealing with nuances in the language which often don't have translations
• Stopping translating in your head is something that happens naturally over time

Tips for moving away from translation:

• Be happy with a certain level of ambiguity in the language - fixating on understanding every word is counterproductive
• Look for patterns and phrases in the language, write them down, notice them being used in different contexts, the begin to use them yourself
• Deal in phrases and sentences, not single words
• When watching movies etc, relax and be present with the language, don't try to understand everything
• Spend time on all four skills