Dear Maria, I think you have misunderstood me. As you and many have said, it is not good translating when you are learning a language. However, when there is an exception to a rule, such as irregular comparative, and you tell your students...well... for good we use better, it is an exception, etc etc and they ask you but why?, I kindly tell them that in English it is like that. I am pretty sure I am not offending anyone by saying that.

 

Moreover, I always try to give my students a reasonable explanation, that �s why I asked for help in the forum. Otherwise, I wouldn �t have even bothered :)

 

In my opinion, students, teachers and people in general can think in English only if they live in an English society. My students think in Spanish because that �s the world they live in. There is a very nice story called The Frog in the well, which shows that the way people think depends on the language they speak.

 

Finally, How many times a student has made a mistake and he hasn �t worked it out by "thinking in English" but rather after reading more about the topic or after a teacher has explained it to him.

 

Best regards,

 

  Jor