Think in English!

Don’t think and write in your language and then translate it into English.

When you try to translate from your language into English, the result is a mess of words or groups of words that don’t make sense. Sentences or idioms in your language may not translate into English.

When I was studying French in Paris, I lived with a French family. I told my teacher that I met the father of my host family. I translated the English word for “met” into French. That was wrong. My teacher corrected me. I should have said I “made the acquaintance of” or “faire la connaissance de” my host father. In English, “make the acquaintance of someone” is very formal, but in French it is normal. I have never forgotten that!

That’s what it means to think in English. Think of the English word, collocation, phrase, or sentence first.

How do you do that? It takes practice. You need to listen and read a lot, and pay attention to groups of words.