"Mir fallen einfach die Worte nicht ein!"

This is something I hear again and again from many of my German speaking students who are trying to develop their English. In this blog article I'm going to go into some of the reasons why this is and what you can do about it.

What "Mir fallen die Worte nicht ein!" means, is that there is a lack of automaticity.

What I mean by that, is that you are in a specific situation where you want to saysomething, and the words don't automatically come to mind which match what you are feeling.

This shows us that the connection between the meaning of what you are trying to say and the sound(s) of the language which match that meaning is not strong, or not there at all.

If you are speaking this is what it SHOULD look like

meaning -> sound

(=I can find the words to say what I want to say)

When listening, it is the same but in reverse.

sound -> meaning

(=I automatically understand the meaning without translating)

So, we need to work on this connection between MEANING and SOUND to aim for automaticity. We can use this formula to represent the problem:

FLUENCY= MEANING + SOUND

So how do we achieve this automaticity?

The concept is actual quite simple. Let's just take a moment to reflect on the way memory works in our brains. Memories are formed when we are able to connect experiences together. When the brain experiences two things at the same time, it can store them together.

This is why our favourite song reminds us of that time when we were on holiday. Or perhaps we return to a place and remember the song we heard. This works because we have experienced the place and the song simultaneously. One can then trigger the other.

Two inputs experienced simultaneously can be stored together.

So, if we want to boost the automatic connection between two things, we need to ensure our brain experiences two inputs at the same time.

So which inputs are we referring to? We are referring to the inputs of MEANING and SOUND.

Coming back to the issue "Mir fallen die Worte einfach nichtein!".

If you go to produce language and it doesn't come to you, it tells us that we need more simultaneous input of MEANING and SOUND. We need to find ways to focus our attention simultaneously on meaning and sound, so that the connection between these two is strengthened.

So what kind of input allows us to do that?

If we use Duo Lingo, we don't really focus our attention deeply on the sound or the meaning. This means our brain cannot connect the two, so the learning is not effective and we will ultimately be disappointed.

If we are challenged to speak in a situation which is too difficult, we are in survival mode and not focused on learning.

So, we need to be careful that we are choosing the right input. If we do not understand everything, then we cannot relax and focus our attention on MEANING and SOUND.

Here is a small checklist for deciding what kind of input you should be using.

• I can understand everything (perhaps with a little help from online tools)
• The text contains examples of spoken dialog, showing interaction between two or more speakers (forget academic texts or news articles).
• I can read and listen along (e.g., it's an audiobook and I have the text, or it's a podcast with a transcript).
• It contains examples of language I can use in my own life (nothing which is quite old, or set in a reality very disconnected.
  from my life)
  

After a few weeks of regular practice, spending at least an hour each week focusing our attention on meaning and sound, we will then be able to say:

JETZT FALLEN MIR DOCH DIE WORTE EIN.

Now I can find the words.