How To Think In French

Thinking in French is something we all want to do as learners. Having to think in English and translate things in our heads seems so inefficient and that is because it is.

However, it can be confusing to understand how we can think more in French. Do we just need to think more in French, to get better at it, or do we just need to learn more French, so that we can end up thinking more in French.

You can see how that can be confusing, but which way should you do it? Honestly, there is no right or wrong way.

You kind of need both, so keep learning more French, but also keep trying to use what you already know to think in French.

If you do both of these thing, you will get better overall at French, as well as be better at thinking in French.

How Does Your Brain Think In French?

Our brains will happily think in French once it is comfortable with the language. The reason it is not comfortable now is because everything is new to us and we are unsure about things.

If you want to be comfortable in French, you need to have more exposure to it and start making yourself comfortable with the language.

The best two ways to do this as are to learn more, and practice more. This is why if you think in French, it will become easier after time. You brain is going to get more comfortable with it and its going to be able to do it more easily.

It almost sounds to simple, but this is how it works.  

It Takes Time To Think In French

If you want to think in French, it takes time. While it is something you can start right now, it is not going to be at the level you want, like I said, you need to be comfortable with it and this takes time to achieve.

Thinking is more of gradual process that will increase proportionately with your skill level.

As you get better at French, things you learned in the beginning will seem simple and you will quickly get comfortable with these. If you keep practicing, the French you know will get strong and easier, making you much more likely to be able to think in French.  

Start Slow And Build It up

In the beginning you are not going to be able to do much thinking in French. Really all you do is try and think in individual words or small phrases.

As you go about your day try and use as many French words in your brain as possible. Every time you look at something, try and say what it is in French. Every time you go and do something, try and say what you are doing in French.

You will very quickly notice you lack a lot of vocabulary, but that is totally normal.  Over time this will grow and just keep telling yourself what you doing in French.

If you do find you have gaps in your knowledge you can look these words up and add them to vocabulary.

Actively Think

It’s very easy to just think, not even in English. If you need the toilet you probably just get up and go. It’s a feeling inside you. You do need to say to yourself in English, in your head “I need the toilet”.

You need to force yourself to vocalise things in French in your mind. This can seem a little strange, but you will get used it after a while.

It’s sort like having a chat with someone, but it’s all in your mind. If talking to someone in your mind helps make this easier, then do that. The good thing is that you have the time to look up words if want, or say things over and over again, it’s not like a real conversation.

You can also do this out loud if you want to practice your speaking skills too. 

Journal In French

Another good way to get better at thinking in French is to actively journal. All you need to do is take some time at the end of the day and go through everything you did that day and summarise it.

You can write this all down if you want, which will of course help your writing skills, but you can do it all in your head too.

I just do it in my head and tell myself a summary of what I did. Even if you have been talking to yourself through the day, its sill good to have this little recap before bed.

Integrate French Into Your Life

To think more in French, you need to have French as part of your life.

Don’t just have 1 hour a day dedicated to the lessons; use it constantly throughout the day.

I’ve already talked about trying to think throughout the day and journaling, but you should try and engage with more of the French language through the day.

This is often called immersion, but really you just need to watch more French TV and listen to more French radio.

Hearing the language more is going to get your conscious and subconscious brain thinking about what it is hearing, which will increase your ability to think over time.

This just goes back to making things comfortable in your brain. The more you hear French spoken, the more you are going to hear the same words and phrases over and over again, which are all going to start to get really comfortable and you will stop having to think about them in English, they will just be French words you know.

While this seems like you are not thinking at all, it actually means you brain is thinking in French and the information is just going directly into your brain and being understood, which is pretty cool.

Read More

One of the quickest and easiest ways to do more thinking in French is to read more.

This is basically a form of immersion as you will start to see the same words and sentences over and over again, which is perfect for your subconscious and your ability to think in French.

Reading aloud in your head is going to allow your brain to get very comfortable with your internal voice talking in French which will make it more comfortable with thinking in Ffrench. 

Learn About Other Things Using French

Once you get to an okay level in French, you can start to use the language as a language. You can actually use French to learn about things.

If you want to learn a new skill/hobby, try and learn it in French. There is going to be as many websites and youtube videos about the topic in French, as there is in English, so you have no excuse.

Doing this will also make a lot of the vocabulary around this topic be in French and will force you to think in this language first whenever you are thinking about the hobby.

You will probably find that if you try and talk about this topic in English, you will struggle, as you only know the French words for everything.

Commit To Doing It

One of the hardest parts about all of this is just doing it. It’s so easy to think in English, or not think at all. If you really commit to trying to think in French and stick with it, you will see results.

Your few words will grow to full sentences and with time you will be thinking a lot in French without even realising it.

You brain is going to get comfortable with it and just do it.

Conclusion

As can see on paper, thinking in French looks easy, you just have to do it. This is true and it will work, but it takes effort and is uncomfortable for a long time.

The more you do it and the more you struggle through, the sooner your brain will get comfortable with French and allow you to think more and more in the language.

Just trust the process and start trying to think in French right now, you will be doing it a lot in no time.

(If you are wanting to learn French you can check out my unofficial French Course and get a grasp of the basic structure of the language)