How to THINK in French (and WHY you must!)
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Join 30,000+ French learners and get instant access to your personalised weekly practice plan for free: https://www.commeunefrancaise.com/you... < >- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Are you still translating French in your head? It’s likely why you’re struggling to speak and understand French with the fluency you want! In this lesson, I’ll explain how you can stop translating in your head and start thinking in French instead. You’ll learn exactly why translating slows you down, why many French expressions don’t make sense when you do it, and I’ll give you some practical ways to make your brain start naturally thinking in French (just like a native speaker). I’ll give you a simple 7-day ‘French Thinking Challenge’ to help you start building this habit, plus some listen-and-repeat exercises of real, everyday spoken French. Want to speak French with confidence and ease? Let’s get you thinking in French! < >- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 0:00 - Intro 0:47 - Problem Definition 1:31 - Why French Requires Different Thinking 3:18 - French Immersion Method 4:19 - Practical Implementation 7:52 - 7-Day French Thinking Challenge 10:32 - Listen & Repeat < >- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ? DOWNLOAD THE PDF OF THIS LESSON < >Read, save and/or print the full written lesson here (free) - https://www.commeunefrancaise.com/blo... LEARN FRENCH WITH GÉRALDINE < >Ready to see faster progress in your spoken French fluency through consistent practice? Sign up for our next 30-Day French Challenge: https://school.commeunefrancaise.com/... EXPLORE THE COMME UNE FRANÇAISE WEBSITE < >Actual spoken French is almost a completely different language than technical written French, which is what you were taught in schools. We specialize in everyday spoken French: speaking and understanding it, at all ages and levels. - https://www.commeunefrancaise.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - At Comme une Française, we specialize in everyday spoken French. We focus on three unique aspects that are different from school French, self-study books, Duolingo, etc:
1. We focus only on the specifics of speaking/understanding/being understood in everyday French and have unique ways to help you learn it properly & faster. 2. We focus on shortcuts to help you make progress faster, which also means we tell you exactly what you can stop learning to prioritize what’s really important. 3. We use French culture as the subject to make it fun and interesting for adults. Take care and stay safe. from Grenoble, France. Géraldine #ThinkInFrench #LanguageLearningHack #FluentFrench #PolyglotTips
1. We focus only on the specifics of speaking/understanding/being understood in everyday French and have unique ways to help you learn it properly & faster. 2. We focus on shortcuts to help you make progress faster, which also means we tell you exactly what you can stop learning to prioritize what’s really important. 3. We use French culture as the subject to make it fun and interesting for adults. Take care and stay safe. from Grenoble, France. Géraldine #ThinkInFrench #LanguageLearningHack #FluentFrench #PolyglotTips
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Intro
0:15
were you trying to translate that in
0:16
your head just now word by word that's
0:19
exactly why you're still struggling with
0:21
French look if you've been studying for
0:24
months or even years but freeze up the
0:26
moment the French person starts speaking
0:29
it's not because you don't know enough
0:30
French it's because your brain is stuck
0:33
in the translation trap today I'm going
0:36
to show you how to flip the mental
0:38
switch that makes French finally click
0:40
in your brain this is one of the fluency
0:42
secrets but it's what separates those
0:44
who speak French from those who just
Problem Definition
0:47
study it
0:52
let me show you what's really happening
0:54
in your brain right now when you
0:56
translate you're creating a mental
0:58
traffic jam you have an idea you
1:01
translate it to French you search for
1:03
grammar rules you check for exceptions
1:06
and finally you speak by then the
1:09
conversation has already moved on every
1:11
day that you practice French for
1:13
translating is reinforcing the wrong
1:15
neural pathways you've literally trained
1:18
your brain to be slow at French think
1:21
about how you speak your native language
1:23
do you consciously think about grammar
1:25
rules of course not you simply express
1:28
your thoughts that's what you need to
1:30
achieve with French
Why French Requires Different Thinking
1:33
[Music]
1:36
here is another problem with translation
1:38
many French expressions make absolutely
1:41
no sense when translated directly let me
1:44
show you
1:48
this literally means to have the
1:51
cockroach
1:52
cockroach that's what you say but it
1:55
means feeling down or feeling blue
2:00
means since he left I've been feeling
2:02
down
2:06
it literally means to fall into the
2:09
apples but it means to faint for example
2:19
When she saw the blood she fainted
2:22
another one
2:28
it literally means to have a lightning
2:30
strike but it actually means love at
2:33
first sight for example
2:45
It was love at first sight when I first
2:47
saw him a fourth one
2:53
do you know this one it means to have
2:56
the peach literally but it means to feel
2:58
energetic for example
3:02
this morning I'm feeling energetic
3:06
laes your brain needs to connect these
3:10
expressions directly to their meaning
3:12
not through English when a French person
3:15
says jilapes they're not thinking about
3:17
fruit
French Immersion Method
3:22
so how do we break the translation habit
3:25
and start thinking directly in French
3:28
the answer is surprisingly simple fake
3:31
it till you make it
3:33
why is your native language so
3:35
effortless because your entire world was
3:38
built in that language every thought
3:41
feeling and expression was directly
3:43
connected to those words to achieve this
3:46
with French you need to start living
3:48
like a French speaker not just studying
3:51
like a French student native speakers
3:54
wake up to phones set in French listen
3:57
to French radio making breakfast write
3:59
shopping lists in French express
4:02
emotions in French and even dream in
4:05
French everything in their life happens
4:08
in French because their brains are wired
4:10
to think in French this isn't about
4:14
studying harder it's about creating a
4:16
French mental environment
Practical Implementation
4:20
here
4:23
is where most French courses fail you
4:26
they concentrate on grammar rules and
4:28
vocabulary lists instead of rewiring
4:31
your brain to process French directly
4:35
you don't need more French you need to
4:38
use the French you already know
4:40
differently it's not about creating
4:42
extra time in your day it's about
4:45
upgrading the French moments you already
4:47
have instead of studying French for 30
4:50
minutes leave in French for 30 minutes
4:54
here are 10 powerful ways to implement
4:56
this in your daily life talk to yourself
4:59
in French while doing routine activities
5:03
i'm brushing my teeth
5:07
i'm making my coffee you can also label
5:10
items around your house in French you
5:13
can put sticky notes on objects with
5:15
their French names and gender lump
5:19
you can also create a French corner in
5:21
your home a dedicated space where you
5:25
can only think and speak in French
5:28
another idea is to keep a small French
5:31
journal you can write like three
5:33
sentences every day about what you did
5:36
for example
5:42
you can also convert your daily routines
5:44
to French for example shopping lists
5:51
don't forget to put the articles so you
5:53
learn them too your to-do lists
6:00
you can also listen to French during
6:02
dead time walking the dog commuting
6:06
cooking cleaning
6:08
another idea is to think in simple
6:11
French sentences instead of I'm hungry
6:16
instead of it's cold today
6:21
another idea is to narrate what you see
6:24
while you're driving or walking in the
6:26
street for example
6:30
I see a red car
6:34
this woman is wearing a black coat want
6:38
another idea express your feelings in
6:41
French for example
6:44
for I'm tired
6:47
for that annoys me or
6:51
I'm looking forward to and at last this
6:54
is not easy but you can try to change
6:57
your inner monologue to French when
6:59
you're making decisions you can try
7:02
thinking
7:05
instead of what do I want to eat you
7:08
know the biggest challenge when learning
7:10
French is not knowing your exact level
7:12
and what you should be practicing next
7:14
without a clear structure you might end
7:17
up stuck translating in your head
7:19
instead of thinking directly in French
7:22
that's why I created the weekly practice
7:24
plan with this free resource you will
7:26
get a clear assessment of your current
7:28
level and specific exercises tailored to
7:31
your needs you'll find exactly what to
7:34
practice each day of the week how to
7:37
overcome common obstacles and a simple
7:39
method to track your improvement join
7:42
over 30,000 French learners who've
7:44
already downloaded this free resource
7:46
click the link in the description and
7:48
start your structured French practice
7:50
today let's continue
7-Day French Thinking Challenge
7:55
here is your 7-day challenge with
7:57
specific tasks for each day day one is
8:01
French morning change your phone
8:03
language to French name 10 objects you
8:06
see when you wake up in French fill in
8:08
the blank and say this out loud
8:21
name all the foods and drinks in French
8:24
during the day you can also practice
8:26
these phrases at meals for example
8:29
for I'm hungry
8:32
for it's delicious
8:36
for I would like a bit more day three is
8:39
all about French emotions you can
8:42
express your feelings in French
8:43
throughout the day you can also practice
8:46
these emotional phrases for example
8:50
That makes me happy
8:54
it annoys me when
8:59
I'm stressed because of ready for day
9:02
four day four is about French decisions
9:06
make small decisions in French you can
9:10
practice these decision phrases for
9:11
example
9:14
I prefer this one
9:19
i should do this now
9:23
i wonder if day five is all about French
9:27
descriptions for example describe five
9:30
people you see during the day in French
9:33
you can use phrases like
9:37
this person is wearing
9:40
or
9:41
he or she looks
9:46
he or she is in the process of on day
9:49
six you can start planning in French you
9:53
can plan your weekend in French for
9:54
example you can also use future
9:57
expressions for this for example
10:01
I am going to or weekend
10:05
this weekend I will do or even
10:09
I feel like and on day seven you can
10:12
concentrate on French self-t talk you
10:15
can have a full twominut conversation
10:17
with yourself in French you can record
10:20
yourself and listen back to this these
10:23
are connecting phrases you can use
10:26
first I'm going to
10:29
for then
10:31
for finally
Listen & Repeat
10:36
let's do a bit of a listen and repeat
10:38
exercise repeat these everyday phrases
10:41
after me and connect them directly to
10:44
situations not to English translations
10:48
seagraph seagraph is really useful when
10:50
you spill something or make a minor
10:53
mistake for example you drop your keys
10:56
instead of thinking it's not a big deal
10:59
try to think
11:01
repeat after me
11:07
one last time
11:11
good now on
11:15
is for when you're ready to leave
11:17
somewhere for example you're getting up
11:20
from a restaurant table and you say
11:21
"Oniva." Repeat after me
11:29
a third time
11:33
good
11:37
is when someone suggests something that
11:39
you like for example a friend suggests a
11:43
movie
11:45
repeat after me
11:49
good and when you cut the in it will be
11:55
one last time
11:58
good
12:00
this is for when you're shocked or
12:02
surprised for example you're seeing an
12:05
unexpected price
12:08
repeat after me
12:13
one more time
12:16
and you might already know that in
12:18
everyday spoken French we tend to cut
12:20
the in the middle of
12:23
so we would say
12:26
"Okay that was a bit more difficult."
12:30
Samar is for when you're agreeing to a
12:32
plan for example you're confirming a
12:35
meeting time
12:38
repeat after me
12:46
good
12:48
is very useful it's for when you're
12:50
excited for something in the future
12:52
something you can't wait to do for
12:55
example there is a really fun event
12:56
tomorrow night at your local Alian Franc
12:59
you can say
13:08
good
13:10
toy is for when you're accepting a
13:13
disappointment for example the store is
13:16
out of your favorite item
13:26
when you will see someone later in the
13:28
same day you can say
13:31
for example you're leaving for a short
13:33
time you can say see you later in French
13:41
don't forget between to and
13:47
good when you stop translating and start
13:50
thinking in French something magical
13:52
happens it's like suddenly taking the
13:54
training wheels off your bike you
13:57
realize you've been making it harder
13:58
than it needed to be all along this
14:01
isn't something that happens overnight
14:03
you need to practice consistently for
14:05
several weeks or maybe months but each
14:08
time you catch yourself translating and
14:10
redirecting your brain to thinking
14:12
directly in French you're building new
14:14
neural pathways the breathing analogy
14:17
really explains it all most of the time
14:19
you don't consciously think about
14:21
breathing it happens automatically in
14:23
the background when you translate French
14:26
becomes like breathing with a stuffy
14:28
nose it's all that you can focus on but
14:32
when you think directly in French the
14:34
language itself fades into the
14:36
background and your ideas flow naturally
14:39
that's what true fluency feels like it's
14:41
not perfection it's freedom the freedom
14:44
to express yourself without being
14:46
trapped in translation don't forget to
14:49
download your free personalized weekly
14:51
action plan a step-by-step road map with
14:54
daily activities tailored for your level
14:57
progress tracking tools and proven
14:59
strategy to overcome common French
15:01
challenges if you found this approach
15:04
eyeopening you'll love my video on the
15:07
real French that no textbook teaches you
15:10
it shows why schools teach the wrong
15:12
kind of French and how to learn what
15:14
actually matters to you click here to
15:17
watch it next abento
Transcript
Search in video
Intro
0:15
were you trying to translate that in
0:16
your head just now word by word that's
0:19
exactly why you're still struggling with
0:21
French look if you've been studying for
0:24
months or even years but freeze up the
0:26
moment the French person starts speaking
0:29
it's not because you don't know enough
0:30
French it's because your brain is stuck
0:33
in the translation trap today I'm going
0:36
to show you how to flip the mental
0:38
switch that makes French finally click
0:40
in your brain this is one of the fluency
0:42
secrets but it's what separates those
0:44
who speak French from those who just
Problem Definition
0:47
study it
0:52
let me show you what's really happening
0:54
in your brain right now when you
0:56
translate you're creating a mental
0:58
traffic jam you have an idea you
1:01
translate it to French you search for
1:03
grammar rules you check for exceptions
1:06
and finally you speak by then the
1:09
conversation has already moved on every
1:11
day that you practice French for
1:13
translating is reinforcing the wrong
1:15
neural pathways you've literally trained
1:18
your brain to be slow at French think
1:21
about how you speak your native language
1:23
do you consciously think about grammar
1:25
rules of course not you simply express
1:28
your thoughts that's what you need to
1:30
achieve with French
Why French Requires Different Thinking
1:33
[Music]
1:36
here is another problem with translation
1:38
many French expressions make absolutely
1:41
no sense when translated directly let me
1:44
show you
1:48
this literally means to have the
1:51
cockroach
1:52
cockroach that's what you say but it
1:55
means feeling down or feeling blue
2:00
means since he left I've been feeling
2:02
down
2:06
it literally means to fall into the
2:09
apples but it means to faint for example
2:19
When she saw the blood she fainted
2:22
another one
2:28
it literally means to have a lightning
2:30
strike but it actually means love at
2:33
first sight for example
2:45
It was love at first sight when I first
2:47
saw him a fourth one
2:53
do you know this one it means to have
2:56
the peach literally but it means to feel
2:58
energetic for example
3:02
this morning I'm feeling energetic
3:06
laes your brain needs to connect these
3:10
expressions directly to their meaning
3:12
not through English when a French person
3:15
says jilapes they're not thinking about
3:17
fruit
French Immersion Method
3:22
so how do we break the translation habit
3:25
and start thinking directly in French
3:28
the answer is surprisingly simple fake
3:31
it till you make it
3:33
why is your native language so
3:35
effortless because your entire world was
3:38
built in that language every thought
3:41
feeling and expression was directly
3:43
connected to those words to achieve this
3:46
with French you need to start living
3:48
like a French speaker not just studying
3:51
like a French student native speakers
3:54
wake up to phones set in French listen
3:57
to French radio making breakfast write
3:59
shopping lists in French express
4:02
emotions in French and even dream in
4:05
French everything in their life happens
4:08
in French because their brains are wired
4:10
to think in French this isn't about
4:14
studying harder it's about creating a
4:16
French mental environment
Practical Implementation
4:20
here
4:23
is where most French courses fail you
4:26
they concentrate on grammar rules and
4:28
vocabulary lists instead of rewiring
4:31
your brain to process French directly
4:35
you don't need more French you need to
4:38
use the French you already know
4:40
differently it's not about creating
4:42
extra time in your day it's about
4:45
upgrading the French moments you already
4:47
have instead of studying French for 30
4:50
minutes leave in French for 30 minutes
4:54
here are 10 powerful ways to implement
4:56
this in your daily life talk to yourself
4:59
in French while doing routine activities
5:03
i'm brushing my teeth
5:07
i'm making my coffee you can also label
5:10
items around your house in French you
5:13
can put sticky notes on objects with
5:15
their French names and gender lump
5:19
you can also create a French corner in
5:21
your home a dedicated space where you
5:25
can only think and speak in French
5:28
another idea is to keep a small French
5:31
journal you can write like three
5:33
sentences every day about what you did
5:36
for example
5:42
you can also convert your daily routines
5:44
to French for example shopping lists
5:51
don't forget to put the articles so you
5:53
learn them too your to-do lists
6:00
you can also listen to French during
6:02
dead time walking the dog commuting
6:06
cooking cleaning
6:08
another idea is to think in simple
6:11
French sentences instead of I'm hungry
6:16
instead of it's cold today
6:21
another idea is to narrate what you see
6:24
while you're driving or walking in the
6:26
street for example
6:30
I see a red car
6:34
this woman is wearing a black coat want
6:38
another idea express your feelings in
6:41
French for example
6:44
for I'm tired
6:47
for that annoys me or
6:51
I'm looking forward to and at last this
6:54
is not easy but you can try to change
6:57
your inner monologue to French when
6:59
you're making decisions you can try
7:02
thinking
7:05
instead of what do I want to eat you
7:08
know the biggest challenge when learning
7:10
French is not knowing your exact level
7:12
and what you should be practicing next
7:14
without a clear structure you might end
7:17
up stuck translating in your head
7:19
instead of thinking directly in French
7:22
that's why I created the weekly practice
7:24
plan with this free resource you will
7:26
get a clear assessment of your current
7:28
level and specific exercises tailored to
7:31
your needs you'll find exactly what to
7:34
practice each day of the week how to
7:37
overcome common obstacles and a simple
7:39
method to track your improvement join
7:42
over 30,000 French learners who've
7:44
already downloaded this free resource
7:46
click the link in the description and
7:48
start your structured French practice
7:50
today let's continue
7-Day French Thinking Challenge
7:55
here is your 7-day challenge with
7:57
specific tasks for each day day one is
8:01
French morning change your phone
8:03
language to French name 10 objects you
8:06
see when you wake up in French fill in
8:08
the blank and say this out loud
8:21
name all the foods and drinks in French
8:24
during the day you can also practice
8:26
these phrases at meals for example
8:29
for I'm hungry
8:32
for it's delicious
8:36
for I would like a bit more day three is
8:39
all about French emotions you can
8:42
express your feelings in French
8:43
throughout the day you can also practice
8:46
these emotional phrases for example
8:50
That makes me happy
8:54
it annoys me when
8:59
I'm stressed because of ready for day
9:02
four day four is about French decisions
9:06
make small decisions in French you can
9:10
practice these decision phrases for
9:11
example
9:14
I prefer this one
9:19
i should do this now
9:23
i wonder if day five is all about French
9:27
descriptions for example describe five
9:30
people you see during the day in French
9:33
you can use phrases like
9:37
this person is wearing
9:40
or
9:41
he or she looks
9:46
he or she is in the process of on day
9:49
six you can start planning in French you
9:53
can plan your weekend in French for
9:54
example you can also use future
9:57
expressions for this for example
10:01
I am going to or weekend
10:05
this weekend I will do or even
10:09
I feel like and on day seven you can
10:12
concentrate on French self-t talk you
10:15
can have a full twominut conversation
10:17
with yourself in French you can record
10:20
yourself and listen back to this these
10:23
are connecting phrases you can use
10:26
first I'm going to
10:29
for then
10:31
for finally
Listen & Repeat
10:36
let's do a bit of a listen and repeat
10:38
exercise repeat these everyday phrases
10:41
after me and connect them directly to
10:44
situations not to English translations
10:48
seagraph seagraph is really useful when
10:50
you spill something or make a minor
10:53
mistake for example you drop your keys
10:56
instead of thinking it's not a big deal
10:59
try to think
11:01
repeat after me
11:07
one last time
11:11
good now on
11:15
is for when you're ready to leave
11:17
somewhere for example you're getting up
11:20
from a restaurant table and you say
11:21
"Oniva." Repeat after me
11:29
a third time
11:33
good
11:37
is when someone suggests something that
11:39
you like for example a friend suggests a
11:43
movie
11:45
repeat after me
11:49
good and when you cut the in it will be
11:55
one last time
11:58
good
12:00
this is for when you're shocked or
12:02
surprised for example you're seeing an
12:05
unexpected price
12:08
repeat after me
12:13
one more time
12:16
and you might already know that in
12:18
everyday spoken French we tend to cut
12:20
the in the middle of
12:23
so we would say
12:26
"Okay that was a bit more difficult."
12:30
Samar is for when you're agreeing to a
12:32
plan for example you're confirming a
12:35
meeting time
12:38
repeat after me
12:46
good
12:48
is very useful it's for when you're
12:50
excited for something in the future
12:52
something you can't wait to do for
12:55
example there is a really fun event
12:56
tomorrow night at your local Alian Franc
12:59
you can say
13:08
good
13:10
toy is for when you're accepting a
13:13
disappointment for example the store is
13:16
out of your favorite item
13:26
when you will see someone later in the
13:28
same day you can say
13:31
for example you're leaving for a short
13:33
time you can say see you later in French
13:41
don't forget between to and
13:47
good when you stop translating and start
13:50
thinking in French something magical
13:52
happens it's like suddenly taking the
13:54
training wheels off your bike you
13:57
realize you've been making it harder
13:58
than it needed to be all along this
14:01
isn't something that happens overnight
14:03
you need to practice consistently for
14:05
several weeks or maybe months but each
14:08
time you catch yourself translating and
14:10
redirecting your brain to thinking
14:12
directly in French you're building new
14:14
neural pathways the breathing analogy
14:17
really explains it all most of the time
14:19
you don't consciously think about
14:21
breathing it happens automatically in
14:23
the background when you translate French
14:26
becomes like breathing with a stuffy
14:28
nose it's all that you can focus on but
14:32
when you think directly in French the
14:34
language itself fades into the
14:36
background and your ideas flow naturally
14:39
that's what true fluency feels like it's
14:41
not perfection it's freedom the freedom
14:44
to express yourself without being
14:46
trapped in translation don't forget to
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download your free personalized weekly
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action plan a step-by-step road map with
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14:57
progress tracking tools and proven
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strategy to overcome common French
15:01
challenges if you found this approach
15:04
eyeopening you'll love my video on the
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it shows why schools teach the wrong
15:12
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