diff --git a/R-package/R/lgb.Booster.R b/R-package/R/lgb.Booster.R
index e5b4c8001d40..99231cec7f73 100644
--- a/R-package/R/lgb.Booster.R
+++ b/R-package/R/lgb.Booster.R
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ Booster <- R6::R6Class(
         }
         train_set_handle <- train_set$.__enclos_env__$private$get_handle()
         params <- utils::modifyList(params, train_set$get_params())
-        params_str <- .lgb_params2str(params = params)
+        params_str <- .params2str(params = params)
         # Store booster handle
         handle <- .Call(
           LGBM_BoosterCreate_R
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ Booster <- R6::R6Class(
         params <- utils::modifyList(self$params, params)
       }
 
-      params_str <- .lgb_params2str(params = params)
+      params_str <- .params2str(params = params)
 
       self$restore_handle()
 
@@ -586,7 +586,7 @@ Booster <- R6::R6Class(
         , predcontrib
         , start_iteration
         , num_iteration
-        , .lgb_params2str(params = params)
+        , .params2str(params = params)
       )
 
       private$fast_predict_config <- list(
diff --git a/R-package/R/lgb.Dataset.R b/R-package/R/lgb.Dataset.R
index 2f5a488ac21c..ddc338d2cae3 100644
--- a/R-package/R/lgb.Dataset.R
+++ b/R-package/R/lgb.Dataset.R
@@ -191,7 +191,7 @@ Dataset <- R6::R6Class(
       }
 
       # Generate parameter str
-      params_str <- .lgb_params2str(params = private$params)
+      params_str <- .params2str(params = private$params)
 
       # Get handle of reference dataset
       ref_handle <- NULL
@@ -589,8 +589,8 @@ Dataset <- R6::R6Class(
         tryCatch({
           .Call(
             LGBM_DatasetUpdateParamChecking_R
-            , .lgb_params2str(params = private$params)
-            , .lgb_params2str(params = new_params)
+            , .params2str(params = private$params)
+            , .params2str(params = new_params)
           )
           private$params <- new_params
         }, error = function(e) {
diff --git a/R-package/R/lgb.Predictor.R b/R-package/R/lgb.Predictor.R
index 17e0cb8f746d..3a411efd75ba 100644
--- a/R-package/R/lgb.Predictor.R
+++ b/R-package/R/lgb.Predictor.R
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ Predictor <- R6::R6Class(
 
     # Initialize will create a starter model
     initialize = function(modelfile, params = list(), fast_predict_config = list()) {
-      private$params <- .lgb_params2str(params = params)
+      private$params <- .params2str(params = params)
       handle <- NULL
 
       if (is.character(modelfile)) {
diff --git a/R-package/R/utils.R b/R-package/R/utils.R
index 6fc59cfcbc4a..1ac6f197ca77 100644
--- a/R-package/R/utils.R
+++ b/R-package/R/utils.R
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
   )
 }
 
-.lgb_params2str <- function(params) {
+.params2str <- function(params) {
 
   if (!identical(class(params), "list")) {
     stop("params must be a list")
diff --git a/R-package/tests/testthat/test_dataset.R b/R-package/tests/testthat/test_dataset.R
index 587d5154a581..a8585baa2621 100644
--- a/R-package/tests/testthat/test_dataset.R
+++ b/R-package/tests/testthat/test_dataset.R
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ test_that("lgb.Dataset: Dataset should be able to construct from matrix and retu
     , rawData
     , nrow(rawData)
     , ncol(rawData)
-    , lightgbm:::.lgb_params2str(params = list())
+    , lightgbm:::.params2str(params = list())
     , ref_handle
   )
   expect_true(methods::is(handle, "externalptr"))
diff --git a/R-package/tests/testthat/test_utils.R b/R-package/tests/testthat/test_utils.R
index 1761f42c426c..898aed9b0915 100644
--- a/R-package/tests/testthat/test_utils.R
+++ b/R-package/tests/testthat/test_utils.R
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
-test_that(".lgb_params2str() works as expected for empty lists", {
-    out_str <- .lgb_params2str(
+test_that(".params2str() works as expected for empty lists", {
+    out_str <- .params2str(
         params = list()
     )
     expect_identical(class(out_str), "character")
     expect_equal(out_str, "")
 })
 
-test_that(".lgb_params2str() works as expected for a key in params with multiple different-length elements", {
+test_that(".params2str() works as expected for a key in params with multiple different-length elements", {
     metrics <- c("a", "ab", "abc", "abcdefg")
     params <- list(
         objective = "magic"
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ test_that(".lgb_params2str() works as expected for a key in params with multiple
         , nrounds = 10L
         , learning_rate = 0.0000001
     )
-    out_str <- .lgb_params2str(
+    out_str <- .params2str(
         params = params
     )
     expect_identical(class(out_str), "character")
@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@ test_that(".lgb_params2str() works as expected for a key in params with multiple
     )
 })
 
-test_that(".lgb_params2str() passes through duplicated params", {
-    out_str <- .lgb_params2str(
+test_that(".params2str() passes through duplicated params", {
+    out_str <- .params2str(
         params = list(
             objective = "regression"
             , bagging_fraction = 0.8