Almost every learner goes through it: you hear the question, translate it into your language, think of the answer, translate it back into English and only then reply. By the time you answer, the conversation has moved on. The translation also produces sentences built like your own language, with mistakes a native speaker notices immediately.
Speaking is a reflex, not a calculation
Robin Callan, the creator of the Callan Method, compared learning a language to learning to type or play the piano. A fast typist doesn’t think about where each letter is: the fingers simply go. In your mother tongue you don’t build sentences by consciously applying rules; the words just come. The goal is for English to reach the same point, a conditioned reflex. And reflexes are not created by thinking. They are created by repetition, until the answer comes before you have time to think about it.
Why thinking gets in the way
Callan insisted on a curious point: the more you think, the worse it gets. If you stop to think, you think in your own language and mix the two. That is why, in a Callan lesson, the teacher doesn’t wait. If you hesitate, the teacher gives you the first words and carries on with you, pushing the sentence forward. You have no time to translate, and gradually you stop trying.
Speed is part of the solution
When the teacher speaks slowly, you have time to translate every word. At natural speed or a little faster, translation simply can’t keep up and the brain is forced to process English directly. At first it feels hard. With enough review, every student ends up understanding questions at normal speed.
Questions and answers with the same words
In the Callan Method, the answer uses the words of the question. If the teacher asks “Is Chinese an easy language to learn?”, you answer “No, Chinese isn’t an easy language to learn, but it’s a hard language to learn.” You practise English inside English, without passing through your own language. And by answering in the negative first, you have to recall the opposite word quickly, which strengthens memory. Why full answers?
Review turns knowledge into reflex
Understanding a structure once is not enough. To come out effortlessly, it must be heard and used many times over several lessons. That is why the Callan Method keeps returning to what has been studied. How review works.
Practical tips outside lessons
- Listen to English every day, even for a few minutes: podcasts, series, news.
- Describe what you are doing in English, in simple sentences, in your head.
- When reading, don’t stop to translate every unknown word: keep going from context.
- Switch to an English-English dictionary as soon as your level allows.
These habits help, but the real jump comes from frequent lessons in which you answer quickly and often. With three to five lessons a week, the habit of translating fades naturally.
This article was inspired by Mr Q’s study of the handbooks written by Robin K. T. Callan and by the dozens of hours of conversation he had with Mr Robin Callan at his home, conversations that were recorded and that Mr Q considers a treasure trove of knowledge.