I've been learning Japanese for four years, and I'm convinced that forcing yourself to think in the target language beats constant translation. When I stopped mentally converting every phrase back to English, my fluency jumped—but it also made me realize how much nuance I lose when I don't translate. Is it realistic to expect full immersion thinking for adult learners, or is a bilingual bridge unavoidable for complex ideas? I lean toward the former, but I've seen smart friends disagree.