Best way to improve English grammar as non-native?

[megandg]

Hi there!

 

My name is Megan and I'm a Dutch girl living in Berlin. I love to travel and I have a lot of international friends, that's why I decided to start writing in English instead of Dutch. As a non-native I know my grammar is not perfect, but as I would like to be able to live anywhere and find a journalism job, it's probably a good thing to write in English. I want to improve my grammar, but I'm not quite sure what's the best way to do it. Should I apply for a master in English? Or will a course be fine too? And if so, do you guys have any recommendations for high quality online courses (paid or unpaid)? I came across Voxy, but I'm not sure if their course is also suitable for intermediates or if it focuses on beginners.

 

I hope someone can help! Thanks a lot in advance!

Megan

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I don't have any classes to recommend, but I would say take a class instead of getting an entire degree. Lots of Americans are bad writers. Take a class or two that focus strictly on grammar. I would suggest a linguistics class over an English class. English classes seem to focus more on content and they assume students already have a strong understanding of grammar. Take a structure of modern English class. You could probably find one in a linguistics department.

Edited January 9, 2014 by Gnome Chomsky

[mipel]

I would suggest to take a grammar class, but also get an text/audiobook to learn on your own. Good way to learn and practice English (grammar) is to get involve in something that requires writing a lot (degree, writing blog, articles, translations etc.).

[Loric]

I'm not sure a formal class is the best route. Much of well written English is knowing when it's ok to break the rules.

Think of of this way - avg "good" Japanese student (which culture dictates is well school - 6 days a week and has a tutor) has at best passable, probably robotic, English skills. Why weren't classes enough..? Because if the lack of cultural immersion. Japan is notoriously disinterested in outside culture.

I suggest reading, lots of reading. Not just classic literature but popular and contemporary things too.

People don't learn how to construct a sentence. They learn phrases and whole uses. They they spit these out as needed. No one sits around considering if their "tense" agrees, and sometimes it doesn't. In fact, you can have everything "correct" and still be wrong - see that avg Japanese student example again.

Every native speaker/writer will be like "nope" but in a textbook it'd be correct.

So immersion is key. Learn the culture from the culture - not from someone's idea of the culture passed on through a class.

[annie_lull]

i suggest reading articles and books written in proper English. Preferably something in the area of your interest so you don't find the reading too boring. My experience has been that you can learn a lot more by reading a lot of examples of good English than by just learning grammar rules.

[VioletAyame]

As a non-native speaker, I agree with Loric (minus the Japanese part, no comment). Formal schooling and lessons in grammar can only help you so much; after a point, only familiarity with a language will help you speak and write without having to find the correct tense or looking up a rare plural form (not that I don't still have to do that sometimes, along with using a thesaurus). It doesn't have to be novels or short stories or other literary works (even though I considered it a great achievement when I was first able to enjoy a novel written in English, still have trouble with poems though) - I suggest reading The New York Times or other online news sources, blogs, op-eds, etc. The articles are usually just long enough in length; they're straightforward in tone and appropriate for your goal; and maybe try reading the comment section if you want. There's a lot of craziness there, but surprisingly I also found a lot of well-written, well-formulated arguments represented different valid viewpoints. It can help you not only with the grammar and structure but also with the subtleties in American culture.

[hj2012]

I highly recommend the site lang-8.com if you're looking for free ways to improve your writing ability. You can write posts in English, and native speakers will correct your grammar for you. (Although, from your initial post, it seems that you already have a very high level of fluency! ) I've used it for Spanish, and found it very helpful. Just the act of writing in another language can help increase your fluency.

[microarray]

In addition to what everyone else has said, I think it would be good for you to regularly have conversations with a native english speaker. Have them point out when you say something "wrong"/"odd". 

[cbttcher]

Read. Read. Read. And watch movies/TV shows in English. That's what I did. While I was in the US, people were amazed to find out that I wasn't a native speaker and my professors told me that you hardly noticed English wasn't my native language.

[ranjan82]

This is what you can do in order to improve your language skills (especially if English is not your native language): 

 

Actually, broadening/improving one's language skills is a very broad concept, it should be done in more than one ways at the same time which is highly recommended. One can NOT become better ONLY in one area, say, speaking, one MUST improve skills in ALL dimensions of the language! 

 

Learning language well requires being as active as possible and making the learning as FUN for oneself as possible. Taking lessons is always important, but equally important are these: 

 

1) Listen/watch: Keep listening to internet radio stations like BBC, watch TV shows in English (use only subtitles, NOT voice dubbing in case you are not a native English speaker!), etc. 

 

2) Write/communicate: Try to find discussion forums from the web about things that you find interesting and FUN (music/various artists, hobbies, etc.) and start communicating there with other people using only English. Start using instant messaging systems in case you find some new friends or start emailing them. Please do NOT be afraid of making mistakes or hesitating, because even native speakers do make mistakes and do hesitate at times! The more you enjoy communicating, the better!

 

3) Buy yourself a proper dictionary, and each time when you see a strange word that you do not understand, look it up. Putting words into their CONTEXT is one of the best ways to broaden one's vocabulary and grammar knowledge, the more you read and write the better. Memorising is NOT the best way to go with learning vocabulary, grammar or any other language areas! For idioms, you should buy an all-English dictionary which explains the words in English and shows you examples of how to use the words in their REAL context. 

 

The main point in ANY language learning is to make it as fun as possible for yourself. Try to find topics that INTEREST you, read online newspapers (Times, Guardian, Independent...), listen to BBC/NBC and other radio stations online, if you find a discussion forum for e.g. your favourite hobby or your idols in music do participate there, etc. The key word here is CONTEXT, which means that it is easier to learn new words and their usage as well as grammar when you use/see them in their real CONTEXT. The more you see and hear the new words in their context and the more you use them in your speech & writing, the easier it becomes to remember their meanings and correct spelling. Do NOT be afraid of making mistakes though, because even native speakers do make mistakes and do hesitate at times! 

 

I'm sorry there is NO EASY WAY out with this, one really must develop language skills in ALL these language "levels" or dimensions in order to reach better language skills!! 

 

Last but not least: NEVER EVER use ANY online translators, they are nothing but utter rubbish!! English is practically EVERYWHERE in the online world these days, you just have to use your imagination to find it! Learning pace is always personal, it takes the time it takes so there is no reason to hurry it up too much. If you do, you will not learn so well. Also, please learn the basics of the standard English first before advancing to finer details like dialects/accents. A word of warning though: Do stay well away from overrated, overpriced and overhyped language "gimmicks" such as Rosetta Stone, they really are NOT worth for checking out! Also, never mind about your accent, as the main goal for you is that others understand you and you being able to understand other speakers. 

 

Best of luck!

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Hope it helps 

Ranjan Kumar

[manduke]

A master's in English is really a master's in literature, not grammar (although grammar is important). I have a BA in English, and never once did we discuss grammar in class in college. We did that in high school. Maybe buying a high school textbook on grammar would help.