Grammar

How to Learn English Grammar

Whether you are a native speaker or a foreign student, your English grammar skills can always be improved. Grammar is the set of rules that govern the use of the language. A strong grasp of English grammar is an essential tool in effective speaking and writing.

There are many tried and true tips for how to learn English grammar. The following nine tips are often recommended to foreign language speakers studying English. They can also be useful for native English speakers trying to improve their grammar skills.

1. Learn how you learn

Recent research has shown that most of us have a preferred way of learning. Understanding this is a crucial step when deciding how to learn English grammar. If you are a visual learner, you can link language to pictures and images, watch films with subtitles, or try to visualize yourself in imaginary situations speaking English. If you are an auditory learner, you have a “good ear” for language and should listen to as much English music as possible and watch movies in English. If you have an analytic style, spend time studying grammar and comparing your native language with English. A learner with an interactive style needs to spend as much time as possible speaking with others and discussing the English language and the conventions of grammar. The most effective learners try to combine all these styles.

2. Learn memory techniques

Learning English grammar involves a lot of memory work. A myriad of books are available on how to improve your memory. This is a skill that successful learners take very seriously.

3. Read

One of the most effective tips when you are learning English grammar is to read. Read a book, newspaper, or journal in English that is just above your current reading level. Use a dictionary to help you learn new vocabulary words. Reading can help you understand the building blocks of grammar, such as nouns, pronouns, articles, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and interjections, as well as sentence construction. Even 15 minutes of reading per day can drastically improve your English grammar skills.

4. Listen

Listen to speeches or watch movies or documentaries about subjects you aren’t familiar with to help improve both your vocabulary and English grammar skills. Again, pay attention to how sentences are constructed.

5. Journal

Keeping a diary allows you to use all your English skills: reading, writing, and grammar. You can regularly review your recorded entries, and note areas that require improvement.

6. Practice, practice, practice

Surround yourself with people who speak and write English well. This is the one tip that will force you to exercise all your skills. As an English learner, it is extremely important for you to take every opportunity to speak in English. Many English language learners have improved their grammar by working with a mentor or friend with a strong command of the English language. Ask your mentor to point out your mistakes. Such real-time feedback can be very beneficial.

Another good way to get in some practice is to teach. Perhaps you can mentor someone who is working on their basic English grammar at a level or two below your own abilities.

Helping them sort out their issues and answering their questions will force you to use your own grammar skills and will reinforce your confidence.

7. Relax and enjoy speaking

When you use English, don’t worry about making mistakes. The important thing is to learn from the errors you make. No one learns to walk without falling over a lot!

8. Get connected

The Internet is a valuable resource when deciding how to learn English grammar. There are great online tools for learning vocabulary and practicing grammar, listening, pronunciation, and speaking. And many online resource actually teach you how to learn English grammar.

9. Get motivated

Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. And after all your hard work, don’t forget to reward yourself. Learning something new and different is not always easy, but with these tips on how to learn English grammar, you are definitely heading in the right direction!

How to Learn Proper Grammar

You haz cheezeburgerz. I haz cheezeburgerz. We all haz cheezeburgerz. The “I Haz Cheezeburgerz” Internet sensation might be cute. It might produce some giggles. But that fat cat does not know the first thing about proper grammar. He has completely misused the to have verb, and he has left out the indefinite article “a.” His online meme would be grammatically correct if he had written, “You have a cheeseburger. I have a cheeseburger. We all have a cheeseburger.” There is nothing wrong with having fun with grammar (like with “I Haz Cheezeburgerz”), but there is a time and place for such language-play. In academia, business, and most of everyday life (e.g., menus, signs, newspapers, etc.), it is important to learn proper grammar (and use it).

If you owned an upscale burger restaurant, you would not tell your prospective clients that you “has cheeseburgers for sale” (unless you were the creator of the “I Haz Cheezeburgerz” meme). Instead, you would tell your hungry customers that you “have burgers, including cheeseburgers” on your menu. The difference between has and have might seem minor, but if you consistently use poor grammar, you will appear unprofessional and may lose many potential customers.

While it is one of the most widely used languages in the world, English is also one of the most difficult languages to learn. It might seem daunting at first to learn proper grammar (including when to use full verbs, auxiliary verbs, and definite and indefinite articles), but the more you practice, the better you will become at speaking and writing grammatically correct English.

There are five useful tips that can help native- and non-native English speakers learn proper grammar. The first tip is to read, read, and read. Go to the library, download e-books, read magazines and cookbooks (The Book of Burger by Rachel Ray is a cookbook that will help you find wonderful recipes while learning proper grammar). The point is to read as frequently as possible. Pay attention to every sentence that you read. Make an effort to fully grasp what the author is trying to tell you. This will help you to understand how sentences are structured and learn English grammar faster.

Another great tip is to read aloud. Reading the written word aloud has many proven benefits. It helps individuals discover the relationship between how words appear on a page and how they sound when spoken. There is a difference between written and conversational English; reading aloud will train you to notice the subtleties between the two, and in so doing, will help you to learn proper grammar. This brings us to the next tip: the parrot method.

When you are about to travel to a country where a different language is spoken, you might try to learn the very basics of that language. Books, podcasts, and language CDs are excellent tools that will help you learn basic English grammar. When you use a podcast or language CD, a language instructor will typically encourage you to repeat after him or her. This repetition of a word or phrase is known as “the parrot method.” Verbal repetition is a great way to learn how to precisely mimic what an instructor is saying. The more you repeat, the better you will become at learning how the consonants and vowels of a language should sound. It also teaches you where to place the subject, object, and verb in a sentence, which are key components for anyone who is trying to learn proper grammar.

While some people watch television or listen to the radio to learn how to speak a language, you have to be careful. TVs and radios are powerful tools for learning conversational English and building your vocabulary, but they are not necessarily the best avenues to learn proper grammar. You may also want to consider taking online English grammar courses to help learn grammar. There are many available online, so be sure to find one that is from a reputable company.

The last tip is to practice writing to enhance your grammatical prowess. Be sure to write in complete sentences (which means including a subject and a verb). If you have a friend who has impeccable English skills, you might ask him or her to read what you have written. Feedback from an English language expert should help you to improve your grammar as well.

If you do not wish to sound like a virtual cat, you can learn proper grammar by practicing one, some, or all of the aforementioned tips.

ESL Lessons

A child’s first language is not taught but acquired naturally. However, for an individual to be able to speak, think, and write in a foreign or second language, they must study and practice. In today’s world, where diverse cultures and nationalities regularly come together in integrated settings, the English language has emerged as a common means of communication. Therefore, the practice of teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) has become increasingly widespread. The following suggestions will help teachers prepare their ESL lessons, and will help anyone wanting to learn more about planning lessons.

Identify your students

ESL lessons should be individualized for beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels and designed for either adults or children. Determine your students’ learning styles (visual, auditory, tactile, or a combination) and be aware of any listening barriers (environmental distractions, information overload, daydreaming, overconfidence, inaccurate perceptions, or non-listening behaviors). Ascertain what your students already know and where they might be deficient. Create your ESL lesson plan to fit the overall group of students, and then modify it to account for more advanced students or those who may be struggling or unmotivated.

Write an ESL lesson plan

A good ESL lesson plan is a road map for both the teacher and the student. Students learn more when they are interested and motivated. Lesson plans should include enjoyable visual and interactive elements to increase the likelihood that students will remember the important lessons you’ve tried to teach them about English grammar. However, exercise caution; putting too much emphasis on fun might blur the lesson’s objectives. Every ESL lesson should be educationally focused.

Even though you might see the same students every day, each ESL lesson should include an introduction and a short icebreaker activity that takes up no more than 10% of the total lesson time. You might present a topic of conversation, talk about a picture, or quickly review material from the last class.

Let students know what they will be learning and doing in their ESL lesson by writing a brief agenda on the board, or tell them about the day’s lesson. This will help keep them more engaged and on track. Explain the material several different ways to catch the students’ attention and appeal to their different learning styles. The effective organization of class time also helps students follow your presentation, remember better, and understand the rationale behind in-class activities.

ESL lessons should have clear, specific objectives, such as “students will be able to discuss their favorite movies using new vocabulary words and the present simple tense.” You should write down the lesson’s objectives and an outline for the rest of the lesson so you can refer to it and make notes and adjustments during the class. What is the topic of the ESL lesson? What do your students expect to learn? How can you engage your students? What do you want the students to understand and be able to do by the end of the class? What do you want students to take away from this particular ESL lesson? Once the learning objectives are placed in order of importance, design the specific activities you will use to get students to understand and apply what they have learned.

Incorporate the four skills

The four skills that should be acquired when learning any language are reading, writing, listening, and speaking. A well-rounded ESL lesson should touch upon each of these four skills, as well as pronunciation and grammar.

Consider time constraints

When planning your ESL lesson, be aware of time constraints and your students’ abilities. Have realistic expectations. If there’s a great deal of material to cover, break the lesson into sections that you can speed up or slow down to accommodate changes as they happen. Ranking your learning objectives in terms of importance will help you manage class time and accomplish the more important goals.

Another strategy that will help you with time management is anticipating students’ questions. When planning your lesson, decide what kinds of questions will be productive for discussion and what questions might sidetrack the class. Be prepared to diverge from the lesson plan if necessary; also plan how to bring the class’s attention back to you when it wanders. Above all, be flexible.

Prepare multiple lesson plans

Outline the major points of the lesson you are planning. Next, write an ideal ESL lesson plan, a shorter version to use if there is confusion or an unforeseen time restraint, and a longer version in case your students grasp the concepts more quickly and you have more time than expected.

Plan extension activities

You should plan activities for students who finish early in class or for students who would like to practice additional exercises at home.

Check for comprehension

It is essential that you check your students’ understanding at several points during the ESL lesson. Be prepared to backtrack a little to allow slower students to catch up with the rest of the class. “Does everybody understand?” is not always an effective question to ask. ESL students are often shy and reluctant to ask for help or repetition for fear of ridicule. You might ask students to use the lesson’s targeted information in a way that demonstrates their understanding (e.g., “Tell me about your last family vacation using some descriptive verbs and adverbs”).

Leave enough time for review

Even if your students seem to have understood the concepts presented in their ESL lesson, a review session at the end may reveal any obscure problems. Ask your students to help you summarize the main points of the lesson, or talk to them as they leave the classroom. Conclude by previewing the next lesson to spur your students’ interest.

After the class ends, review your plan and reflect on how it worked in practice. Using the feedback and questions from the review, you can plan a more effective follow-up lesson.

A final thought

There you have it—a few simple steps to keep in mind when preparing your ESL lessons. Writing such plans may seem daunting at first, but with organization and effort, you will provide your students with a positive and productive learning experience! In addition to having a solid ESL lesson plan, it is essential that you know your material inside and out.