How can I learn to speak in SOV when my L1 is SVO?

Question

I have been learning Hindi for almost 2 years, and my mother tongue is English. I find that I can understand things in Hindi that I read or hear, and I have a working vocabulary, but I struggle to speak extemporaneously. My thoughts are in the wrong order because Hindi always puts the verb at the end of the sentence, but English doesn't do this.

For example, if I'm trying to say:

I want to give you a gift.

I need to say the sentence pretty much completely backwards when I'm speaking in Hindi.

Main aapko ek upahaar dena chaahata hoon.
मैं आपको एक उपहार देना चाहता हूँ।

(A rough word-for-word translation.)
I you-to a gift give want am.

What can I do to make the words come to mind in the right order so that I can speak faster?

Answer 1

It will be very difficult if you try to translate in your head before speaking. If you can skip that step, it will be easier. Rather than memorize lists of vocabulary and grammar rules, try to memorize pattern sentences or even dialogs. I have found that Pimsleur, the Colloquial language series and (insert language) pod 101 are useful resources for accomplishing this.