Why Do We Get Stuck in the Middle of a Conversation and Can’t Express Our Opinion Properly?

Sometimes, second language learners face difficulty during a conversation; they get confused when they want to express their opinion on a topic. As one of the most critical factors, we can mention translating a sentence or a word from the mother tongue to the second language.

At the beginning of learning a new language, due to the unfamiliarity of the words, sounds, terms, and grammar, it is very natural for the language learner to try to translate the words into the native language to understand them completely and accurately. For this reason, during that time, the process of speaking and conversation is slow.

But at higher levels, students can quickly talk about subjects and express their points of view, even using simple words. What is very common and sometimes causes problems in the conversion process is the translation of sentences and phrases from the mother tongue to the second language.

One of the translation issues is that sometimes the structure of sentences and grammar between the mother tongue and the second language is entirely different. For instance, the student is not only involved in finding the word’s meaning but also tries to understand the sentence structure and grammar and change it to the second language in a proper form. So this causes them to lose their focus on the subject. Suddenly lose their self-confidence and stop the conversation altogether.

Fortunately, nowadays, teachers can easily apply many modern methods and exercises to help students.

First, students should get used to not translating any sentence by doing related exercises and defining or explaining something based on their understanding of the words and terms they have learned. And in the next step, they should instill the feeling that they don’t need to use advanced words from the beginning; the most crucial principle in an efficient and correct conversation is proper grammar and correct structure sentences.

Today, due to the high amount of information and videos shared in the media, they are taught that they are not good at all and must use certain words to have a proper conversation, which is not entirely true.

They can quickly start with simple words then after understanding the structure and grammar, they can increase and strengthen their vocabulary and use more advanced words.

We, as teachers, are here to help, motivate, and encourage them.