Use your first language to understand why an English pattern works, then write the English sentence from the pattern, not from a translation. The explanation can be bilingual. The assessed response should be built in English.
This skill supports writing tasks such as email communication and articles and reviews, and it matters in speaking where there is no time to translate.
What is the difference between explaining and translating?
Explaining means using Malay or Chinese to see how two languages work differently. For example, Malay often shows time with words such as sudah or sedang, while English changes the verb form.
Translating means converting your own thoughts word by word into English. This keeps the word order and patterns of your first language, which can produce sentences that sound unnatural in English.
A routine that keeps both
- Notice the slip in your English sentence.
- Explain it to yourself in your first language: what pattern did you carry over?
- State the English pattern in English, in a few words.
- Write two new English sentences from the pattern, about your own life.
- Check by reading them aloud without looking at the first language.
Worked example
A student writes: I wait you since morning. In Malay, the idea is Saya tunggu awak sejak pagi.
Step 1, notice: the sentence is understandable, but two things look wrong: wait you and the tense with since.
Step 2, explain in first language: in Malay, tunggu takes the person directly (tunggu awak), and the verb does not change for a time that started in the past and continues. English does not work that way.
Step 3, English pattern: wait for + person, and since + starting point needs a present perfect form: have been waiting.
Step 4, new sentences: I have been waiting for the bus since six o’clock. and My mother has been waiting for my call since lunch.
Step 5, corrected original: I have been waiting for you since morning.
The student used Malay to see the difference and then built the English sentence from the English pattern.
The mistake to watch for
Mistaken method: writing a full paragraph in Malay, then converting each sentence into English one word at a time.
This often produces sentences such as I very like this book or Yesterday I go to market. The student is translating the structure, not writing English. It is also slow, which matters in a timed task.
The correction is to write key words or a short outline, then build each English sentence straight from the idea. If a sentence fails, use the routine above to find the pattern, and practise it in two new sentences.
Check yourself
1. Correct this sentence and name the carried-over pattern: I am agree with you. (Malay: Saya setuju.)
Show answer
I agree with you. In Malay, setuju is used without a helper verb, so the student added am as if agree were an adjective. In English, agree is a verb and does not need am.
2. Which is better preparation for an email? (A) Writing the whole email in Malay and translating it. (B) Writing five keywords in Malay, then building English sentences from them.
Show answer
B. The keywords keep the ideas, while the sentences are built in English. A keeps the Malay sentence structure in your English.
3. Write the English pattern for Saya sudah makan as used to show a finished action, and give one sentence.
Show answer
English often uses the present perfect or simple past: I have eaten. or I have already eaten. The word sudah is a time marker in Malay, but English shows the same idea through the verb form (and already).
Where this leads next
Now that you can explain a slip without letting it take over, move on to reflecting on a practice task without a grade label. You can test the skill in the mixed practice set, and the writing revision compare view helps you check a corrected version against the first one.
If you want someone to listen for first-language patterns as you speak, our teachers can do that in online one-to-one English as a Second Language tuition.