No one want’s to hear this, but you’re gonna screw up. It happens to all of us — even native speakers. You’re gonna get tongue tied. A word’s gonna slip your mind. You’re not going to remember the specific word you want to say.
It sucks, I know. But that’s the truth.
That’s where language flexibility comes in.
If your goal is communication — if not, seek help elsewhere — then it’s fine to use the second-best or third-best word. Better yet, just describe whatever it is you want to talk about.
I’ll give you an example, but I need your help. See, I forgot a word. It’s a really simple word. One I use every day. But right now, I just can’t remember it. I want to talk about a thing. It’s a thing you use to go places. It’s faster than walking. It’s a vehicle. It’s got four wheels. It has doors. And a motor. It’s not a bus. It’s smaller than that. You sit down inside it and, um, drive. Yeah, you drive it. You turn a wheel and you drive it. And it uses gas. You drive it on the road. I’m talking about my ….
Did I use the word “car” in that description? (Hint: no.) But did you understand what I meant? (Fingers crossed: yes.) That’s the power of language flexibility.
Here’s the tricky part: Language flexibility isn’t the same thing as vocabulary or grammar skills. I’ve had A2 students who are better at expressing themselves than upper B2 students and even C1 students. Seriously.
In my humble opinion, language flexibility is a separate skill from language learning. It needs to be trained and practiced.
So how do you do it? The first step is to set down that translation dictionary. Seriously, stop it. Whatever it is you want to say, don’t settle for a literal translation.
Describe the thing instead. At least try. It gets easier with practice, I promise.
Additionally, try using a learner’s dictionary in the target language. (Note: This isn’t fun, and I don’t do it myself — but I should, and so should you.)
Finally, I’d like to offer an unpopular opinion. Namely, that non-native English speaker use English better, more creatively, and often times more poetically than native speakers.
Want proof? Here are some simple descriptions of nouns that actual students of mine used when they couldn’t remember a word but fought through the frustration to describe the idea to perfection.
1. Teeth basement (i.e. jaw)
2. Asshole bee (i.e. wasp)
3. Ugly butterfly (i.e. moth)
4. Water tears (i.e. raindrops)
5. Fire grass (flame)
6. Water motorcycle (jet ski)
In my opinion, these descriptions are more interesting, more descriptive, and far superior to the “correct” words in question.
Take that native speaker English!