How to improve my English?

KarissaMann05 said:
Wirelessly posted



It is "Painless Grammar" by Rebecca Elliott, PH. D. Inustrations copyright © 2006, 2007, 1997 by Barron's Education Series, Inc.

And I forget to mention about my another book. It is "Grammar and Composition, Third Edition" © 1987, 1985, 1982 by Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey 07632.

They're very helpful. Additionally, I got ASLE DVD. It is so useful too.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much. I will try to find those books.
 
Wirelessly posted (Samsung Captivate (i897))

My advice....read lots of good novel books with your grade level above you and learn new words and grammar by writing a story and try to improve it by proofreading.
 
One good way to improve one's English is to read a LOT - I mean at LEAST an hour a day ... but make sure that what you read is well written (so real books, not posts on the internet - because internet posts/message boards full of poor grammar!)

When you find a book you like - read it slowly and carefully. Think of how the sentences are written, how they are written/phrased differently than how you would write the same sentence etc.

Also many times copying (hand writing or typing) out sentences from a book can help because when you copy, YOU are still writing the sentence :)

Also - ask your teacher if they can recommend some good books explaining grammar in "easy to understand English" instead of "technical styles".

Reading children's books can be helpful as well - you can go to the public library and borrow books for free - or read them while in the library.

Of all the things you can do though - the absolutely most important thing is to read read read ... GOOD examples of English - ie well written books.

Two books series that "jump to mind" which are well written, "current" (so you can talk about the books with others) and have plenty of dialogue (examples of people speaking) as well as descriptions (explaining how things look, feel, sound, etc) are:

Harry Potter series (7 books)
One of the many good things with this series is that the first books starts off with a more simple writing style (less complicated words/phrases etc) and gradually gets more complex (bigger words) as the series goes on :)

Twilight Saga (4 books)
These books have lots of dialogue (examples of speaking well) and use very current grammar styles - which is helpful when working on learning "everyday English". They're fun to read, and are probably appropriate for ages 15 or 16+... if you're younger than that, I'd make sure it's ok with your parents - there is no "sex scenes" etc ... but the last books do talk about "wedding nights", "purity" and other topics that have to do with intimacy.

The more you read, the more you see how things should be said, written ... the more you know when to use tenses (past, present, future etc), and word endings (ing, ed, est).

If you speak (even a bit) one idea that is helpful is reading the words out loud (or silently, but moving your lips) when reading ... this helps connect the written words with spoken words - which helps you connect how you'd say something (aloud when talking) to how you'd write it down.

Also if you speak - then when you write something, try reading it out loud to yourself to see if it sounds/feels/looks "correct" or not.

In time, and with lots of practice you WILL be able to read and write very very well... it's all about be determined, practising a lot, and being patient with yourself.

If you find reading difficult - then start with reading 1 page of a book a day (and understanding what you read), then once that isn't scary/frustrating anymore read 2 pages daily, then three pages, then four....
Soon you'll be WANTING to read more, wanting to finish a chapter etc ... honest :)

It took me a very very long time to learn how to read (and write) and it was VERY frustrating at first - but I was very fortunate to have a teacher that showed me that reading is something you can learn to love ... and reading can take you ANYWHERE in your imagination. She taught me to LOVE reading - and now I have thousands and thousands of books and read books 1-2hours everyday at LEAST, plus reading on the internet etc :)

You can do it.
 
it is worth study book and research education is college university your promote skills words improve your grammar best hard work focus your writing your think improve your skills! I already struggle on frustrated patient slow process lots of hard work encourage to social chat! help you support! education and we are best clear improve english! :D
 
I usually hate to generalise. However, from my experience, English teachers can often be very old fashioned. Many are highly pro-books and do not have much faith or support for more modern technologies associated with reading & writing.

While books are great way to learn, you can also learn by reading online, especially if you read educational and editorial material. By reading online, you will observe the following writing styles:

- Writing to inform
- Writing to argue
- Writing to persuade
- Writing to explain
- Writing to describe
- Writing to analyse
- Writing to review
- Writing to comment

Unless you read many different types of books, you're unlikely to pick up on all of the writing styles listed above. Imo these are probably the most important, because they're what you need to use in everyday life.

Sure, you will also pick up on spelling and grammar mistakes. However, over time you will become critical of this. This is because your observation skills and experience will allow you to detect errors, especially from other people's mistakes. From this, you can learn in order to further develop your own ability. That said, try to avoid reading too many posts by Matajan. Not only will you risk becoming seriously illiterate, you could also seriously hurt your brain.

Reading online is unlikely to help develop your skills in some writing styles though, such as writing to entertain. I would argue that this is not essential. Though, it would be healthy to read fictional books from time to time.

It is also important to proofread. After you've written something, read it again. Ask yourself whether or not it sounds right, if not, change it. Proofreading also gives you extra time to reflect on what you've done. An inquisitive mind will help you to learn, so take an interest! It's also good to find ways to elaborate on what you've already written. Not only will you enhance your descriptive writing skills, but you will also enhance your ability to write with clarity.

ExR
 
Read, read, read and read.

Write, write, write and write.

Pay CLOSE attention to articles used to construct a sentence.

Learn a lot of vocabularies and know how to use and spell them properly.

Write an article and give it to reader, ask for feedback.
 
Back
Top