Translate-forget-translate: a helpful strategy for learning English
Is it a good idea to translate from your native language when learning English?
The short answer is „no.“ It’s not helpful to rely too much on your native language when learning English.
Translation is a special skill and can be very tiring. Trying to use two languages simultaneously (at the same time) is like working with two radio stations—it doubles the effort and can cause confusion.
Let’s remember that when we were learning our native language as children, we didn’t have another language to rely on. We had to learn everything in context. This process, along with the funny mistakes that amused our parents, helped us learn the language faster. Hearing the same combinations or blocks of words in different situations helped us understand how the language works.
As adults, we often go back to our native language when learning new words in English to make sure we really „know“ what they mean. However, it’s important to learn authentic English phrases, not our own versions influenced by our native language.
Anyways, there is one translation-related technique that can be useful when learning English or another language:
1. Take a sentence or a short paragraph from a text in English—something you would like to use or be able to reproduce. Then translate it into your native language, making sure it sounds as natural as possible. If you’re having trouble, you can use a text that has already been translated (e.g., subtitles in videos or product instructions). Think carefully about the translation.
2. The next day (once you’ve had the chance to forget the original), translate the text back into English and compare your version with the original.
3. Use different colours to code the differences. For example, use yellow to highlight using the wrong tense; use pink to highlight using the wrong preposition, etc. This will lead you to what part of language learning needs your attention the most, which colour dominates?
4. You’ll often find surprising differences. This exercise helps you remember real English phrases, which you can use in conversations and spot mistakes that you make most often.
!Remember: It’s better to regularly translate short texts or sentences than to try a long, difficult translation.
Translation as a technique can help us feel more like ourselves in a foreign language.
For example, when teaching business English—writing emails, letters, or reports in English—we no longer ask students to start writing directly in English because correction and reformulation can take a lot of time and still lead to awkward results. Instead, everyone first writes the message in their own language. This ensures that everyone fully expresses themselves in their own way.
Then, together, we reconstruct the original in English. Many phrases are standard and predictable. For example, „if you have any further questions / require any further information / I look forward to hearing from you…“. Students record the new phrases and learn them for future use with the confidence that they are authentic and appropriate.