I speak two languages fluently. I observe that it is slightly easier to count in one language and read in the other. The full ranking is reading without counting > reading English, counting Danish > reading Danish, counting English > reading Danish, counting Danish > reading English, counting English. That counting Danish > counting English is presumably because I don’t count in English nearly as often. I used an LW article as my English text, and a physics textbook as my Danish one. I would say these two texts have similar difficulty.
Like bramflakes, I was surprised by how difficult it was to count while reading in a different accent.
These comments really highlight how different people need different surface tricks—to me, the distinction between Working Really Hard and Moving Towards The Goal makes a lot of sense, and you helped me recognize that I sometimes use the former mindset when I know from experience that the latter is much more effective for me. I will now make an effort to change that habit.