What is grammar? Grammar is a set of rules. They allow communicators (speakers) to understand one another. I won't go into a lot of detail (just a little) but Advanced Linguistics (the study of languages) teaches us that any one language could have several different grammars (or sets of rules). It all depends on dialect, culture, or traditions passed down from one generation of speakers to another. Think about slang, idioms, how many ways to say "tomato," or the difference between "rubbish" and "garbage." All this is to say that there is no one way to communicate an idea and that there is no "one" dominant grammar for any particular language. When someone asks me how they can improve their English grammar, they almost always have a specific grammar in mind, whether they know it or not. That is, Academic English, the English we use in school. In my opinion, this grammar is the strictest (or most challenging) of all grammars. Then why do studnets want to learn it so badly? Why learn Academic English grammar? There are several reasons. Academic English
Perfectionism doesn't make you a better English speaker Before I continue, I'd like to stop and remind you that you don't have to know grammar to have good grammar. Think about it...
In other words, try not to obsess over every little rule or every tiny grammatical mistake while you are learning English. Try your best, ask questions, and have fun! Having said all that, learning grammar can build confidence and help you feel more fluent, so it's worth doing! The rest of this article are tips and resources for improving your grammar. Tip #1 Go to the "Grammar Gym" often Think about improving your grammar like going to the gym. There are a lot of exercises and weights to use to build your muscles. Grammar exercises build "muscles" so you can use the grammar you practiced in real-world experiences--- like speaking, listening, reading, and writing in English. It's like someone who goes to the gym to build muscles so they can run a marathon (race). I suggest "working out" or doing grammatical exercises for 10-15 minutes at a time. If your schedule allows, you can increase your work outs (slowly!) to 30-40 minutes. Tip #2 Determine your English "level" Doing grammar exercises sounds easy enough, but which ones should you focus on? How long should you work out? It depends on your level, your personal schedule, and your motivation. To determine your English level, try reading this article I wrote called "How's my English?" Tip #3 Don't give up! Being healthy and "fit" in English grammar take time. Be kind to yourself and always ask questions to your English teachers, tutors, and trusted native speaker friends if something doesn't make sense to you. Grammar Exercises The table below lists some of my favorite FREE websites to help you learn difficult grammar for your level. For Beginners
For Intermediate
For Advanced
I hope these suggested topics and websites are helpful to you. Let me know if you have any questions!
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If you're reading this article, I think you know a little English. Am I right? Maybe you studied English for a while, but you stopped. Did you get busy? Or did you "go home" after studying in an English speaking country and haven't used your English in a long time? Are you forgetting your English? It happens! Let's talk about what you can do to get better at English--- wherever you are at. Get into a habit Learning English takes time and practice. If you don't use it, you lose it! If you stopped using English, don't get mad at yourself. Instead, get back into a habit.
Award yourself with gold stars or a favorite drink if you keep to your schedule. Tell a friend about your goal and have him/her keep you accountable. Pick a skill There's
I have a bunch of articles to help you know what to do to improve each skill once you've picked one. But I think you can come up with your own ideas. Do you have any old workbooks or exercises from past teachers? Why not google your questions? (eg. What is present progressive?) Be creative and do your best to only work in English. (Remember, the translator is your enemy!) Find a teacher or tutor
It might cost a little, but hiring a private ESL teacher or signing up for English tutoring are probably the best ways to improve your English. If you are in an English speaking country, you could sign up for an English class at your local community college. Even though you won't always have one-on-one time with a teacher, you'll have classmates with similar goals, which can help motivate you. If, however, you want one-on-one help, I suggest you start your search online. Here are a couple of my favorite online resources: However you decide to work with a teacher or tutor, make sure you share your goals and manage your time. Also, be prepared to take an aptitude test--- something that measures your English. It isn't fair to ask a tutor to "rate" your English based on a short conversation. He/she will need to evaluate all aspects of your English before deciding if you are a basic, intermediate, or advanced English learner. Conclusion Anyone can get better at English! Be patient with yourself, build a habit, and practice. Don't give up! It's good to build your vocabulary--whether you're an ESL student or have been speaking English for your entire life. I remember wanting to build up my vocabulary when I was a lit major (studying literature/reading) in college. There was a lot of big vocabulary in the books I was required to read. Then, when I was in graduate school, I had to read a lot of difficult journal articles, so learning how to improve my vocabulary, even as a native speaker of English, became important. I have a few tips for helping you build up your vocabulary, no matter what level you're at in your English learning or reading abilities. Whatever you choose to do to build your vocabulary though, remember that context is king--- in other words, don't forget to put your vocabulary in context. This will help you retain (or keep) the vocabulary you are learning, but also help you use the vocabulary correctly in real world situations. Tip #1 Learn the parts of speech Trust me. This will help you as you do the other activities listed below. Learning the parts of speech basically means that you know the difference between a noun, verb, and adjective. You could also learn the difference between an adverb, article, and preposition. Knowing these grammatical terms will help you have a better chance of using your new vocabulary correctly. Here's a good website to help you get started in learning the parts of speech. Tip #2 Use google images This is a strategy especially good for those first starting to learn English, but it can also be helpful for those of us who are more advanced. In fact, it's one I used the other day! Basically, if you know the word in question is a noun (eg. -tion suffix; see more about suffixes below), you can type the word into google images and get a picture of the word. There are studies that say that learning words with images makes them last longer. You could also google new words in general and that can work in a pinch (in an emergency), but I don't recommend generally googling words as you might get searches you aren't intending. It's safer to go with a good online dictionary. (More on that in a moment.) Tip #3 Read! Read! Read! You don't need to start out reading difficult journal articles or even large books. Start small. Maybe read more blogs--- like this one! Here's a link to another great blog that you might enjoy, especially if English is your second language. After reading a few simple blog posts, I suggest you try out engoo. This is one of my favorite websites to help students build their vocabulary. You can pick your level and read through the vocabulary before reading the article. This is a GREAT thing to do with a tutor or a friend. If news articles aren't your thing, or you'd like to challenge yourself a little more, here's a list of suggested books you might want to check out at your library or buy at a used bookstore. Tip #4 Watch movies with subtitles This can be a really good way to discover new words, too. I especially like this one because you're able to see new words in context and hear how new words are pronounced. I suggest subtitles because you can see how the new words are spelled. Tip #5 Make a list of new words I used to keep a notebook with me and whenever I came across a new word while I was reading, I'd write it down. Then, later, I'd look it up in my little red dictionary, which I bought from Barns and Noble. I found that the dictionary was mostly useful, but sometimes the definitions were confusing or didn't help me see how I could use the new word in real life. I suggest looking up new words in the Learner's Dictionary. It keeps the definitions simple, has a pronunciation button (very useful!) and always gives two or three examples of how you can use the word in the real world. When I was a lit major, I used to put my new words (with definition) into a small bucket and each day, before I went to school or work, I'd pick a word from my bucket and try to use it at least once in my every day speech. I wasn't always perfect, but I did my best. Tip #6 Memorize meanings of common prefixes and suffixes Prefixes are groups of letters that appear at the beginning of many English words and suffixes are groups of letters that appear at the end of many words. Learning them will help you quickly guess the meaning of new words or build your own. Here are some of the most common:
I hope these tips help you build up your vocabulary! A word of caution
It's okay to use a translator once in a while, but I don't recommend using one for LARGE vocabulary words as there are often words in English that are not in your native language and vise versa, so the translator may lead you in the wrong direction. Have you ever asked this? Maybe to your English teacher, tutor, or native speaker friend? It's a good question! But what answers do you get, and are they helpful to you? "Your English is really good!" some might say, or "you seem advanced to me!" These kinds of answers, although nice to hear, might not be very useful, especially if you want to take your English to the next level. Levels of English Are you now wondering which level you're at? It's another way of asking our original question, I know, but maybe the answer to this more specific question (if asked to the right person) might be more helpful to you. In general, there are three levels of English: basic, intermediate, and advanced. Depending on who evaluates or tests you (eg. teacher, exam, or college), these levels can be split up (eg. Basic 1 & 2, Intermediate 1 & 2, etc.) or be labeled with a number. It's a good idea to get a "scoring" every once in a while, just so you can see how you're improving. Keep in mind, though, that your level can go up or down, depending on how much you practice and use your English. You can also have a higher "score" in one skill than another. For example, you might read at an intermediate level but have a basic level in listening. Who to ask for an English evaluation You could ask a certified TESOL instructor/coach like myself, but if you do...
With this in mind, hopefully you can see how unfair it is to ask anyone to evaluate your English based on a short conversation with you. Sure, this conversation might say something about your listening and speaking skills (sometimes grammar), but not everything. To get a full evaluation, you'll need to invest a little time, not only for the evaluation, but a discussion on what to do with that evaluation afterwards. How about the IELTS or TOEFL? Have you taken the IELTS or TOEFL? (Maybe both?) These tests (and others like them) can give you a good idea of where you're at, too. If you are okay with paying some money or are planning to go to school in an English-speaking country anyway, you might consider taking one of these formal examinations and see where you are! Keep in mind that these tests not only have different purposes, but they also have different ways of scoring. Also note that they test all of your skills. (See images below; links to learn more about each available, just click the tables.) Score Yourself
Yes, it is possible to figure out your own level, either by trying out different activities online or challenging yourself with harder and harder material. (For example, check out engoo articles!) This kind of free-styling is often challenging for students since they don't always know where to go for activities or have a hard time deciding if something is basic, intermediate or advanced. That's when it's nice to get an official "scoring," from a test or teacher. But if you're looking for a general answer for "how's your English?" you probably can evaluate yourself. Which areas do you usually feel weak in? Reading, writing, listening, speaking, grammar... vocabulary? Which areas do you feel comfortable and confident? Evaluating yourself can be as simple as deciding how "comfortable" you feel when asked to write, read, listen, or speak in English. It's okay if your answer changes from day to day. ;) So what do you think? How's your English today? This post first appeared on Upswing's blog on July 30, 2018. What is tutoring? This is a question I don’t often think about, but probably should. Maybe it’s because I’ve been a tutor for so long. I started peer tutoring back when I was earning my Bachelor’s degree in 2004! At first, I thought tutoring was something that paid the bills while I was going to school. I quickly learned, however, that tutoring was (and is) so much more for me. Even though I was earning my degree in English, I wasn’t planning on being a teacher. It wasn’t until I took some time away from tutoring that I realized how much it had become a part of me. I switched gears and got my Master’s in teaching, and two weeks after graduating, I started teaching at a college full time. I loved it. (I still do!) But there was something missing… I blamed it on teacher burnout, but after about a year, I lessened my teaching load so I could tutor in the evenings… with Upswing! You might be wondering why I would do that. Aren't teaching and tutoring the same thing? I want to address some common themes and misconceptions because they're not exactly the same... Tutoring is coaching I love that Upswing calls their tutors coaches. Think about it for a minute. What does a coach do? Well, a coach mentors and guides and even cheers you on, right? It’s the same with a tutor. Like a soccer coach who can't play the game for you, tutors can't write your essay or take your test. It wouldn't be fair. But we can give guidance, share our experiences, and encourage students not to give up. I don’t know why, but some students feel like they should seek tutoring only after they run into problems…or the week before finals! Can you imagine getting a soccer coach the day before the championship game? Sure, some people are talented enough to play soccer without having a coach, I suppose. But truly successful players will tell you that they wouldn’t be as good if they hadn’t had some kind coaching from time to time, even from fellow teammates. As a writing coach, I cannot stress this enough. Of course I am happy to help with editing. But please remember that I’m a coach. (Not an editor.) That means that I can help at every stage of the writing process: from generating ideas to understanding how to research and/or cite sources, to formulating a solid thesis statement and building coherence and unity in paragraphs… and much more! Tutoring is one-on-one instruction Don’t get me wrong. I love teaching in front of the classroom, but tutoring is where I see the most lightbulbs go on. Just because students nod their heads in class when the teacher asks them if they understand doesn’t always mean that they do. Am I right? That one-on-one experience with a tutor is sometimes the only place students feel comfortable asking questions, things that they’d never want to ask in front of a whole class! When I teach, I often try to hold conferences with students, which is an opportunity for them to ask me questions about their projects… one-on-one. These kinds of experiences, however, are limited as an instructor. It’s not easy to set aside an entire week (for example) to meet with students like that, and as much as I beg my students to come to my office hours, they usually don’t. Tutoring reaches those students who would, otherwise, silently drown. Tutoring is a career, too Remember how I said I lessened my teaching load to make room for tutoring? Last year, I applied to be the tutor coordinator at my college. Now I tutor in the day and — guess what — I still tutor in the evenings for Upswing. Am I really that desperate for money? Not really. I just love what I do! Nothing is more rewarding to me than coaching a student from start to finish on a writing project. I’m so glad I decided to be a peer tutor back in 2004. Who knew it would change my entire career path and make me who I am today? The short answer: No. We do so much more than "check the grammar." <3 <3
Tutors can guide you through the writing process The writing process can be explained in a lot of different ways. Liz Gilbert talks about how there is a genius (or genie) in side each of us that assists in our process for developing ideas. It's fickle and frustrating most of the time, but that's the nature of creating art. Writing takes persistence and determination! Earnest Hemingway described it like "bleeding at a type writer." These are supposed to be the professionals! If they have difficulty navigating the wild writing process safari, what hope do we have? That's where tutors (or critique partners or beta readers) can come in. They can guide you through this messy, heart-wrenching, scary, exhilarating process. And, trust me, we all need them... Quick Review of the Writing Process When I teach the writing process, I often explain or review the steps of the writing process as:
In other words.... Tutors can help at any and all stages of the writing process, from understanding the prompt or goal for your assignment, to brainstorming and drafting ideas (organizing them using a thesis statement, topic sentences, etc), to revising (reordering those ideas or asking questions about your unity or coherence, etc.)---all the way to supporting your self-editing endeavors by helping you identify grammatical-error patterns and talking you through audience expectations and/or formatting expectations like MLA and APA. Tutors are collaborators As mentioned above, writing tutors can help at any and all stages of the writing process. Nothing makes us happier, actually, than helping a writer from start to finish. So...
What else do writing tutors do?
Writing tutors give personal experiences in combating and taming the wild writing process and college life. We mediate for professors or teachers, helping students understand why their teacher is assigning "this homework." Writing tutors can help prevent disasters (if students come in early enough), so they don't turn in something the teacher doesn't want. We rejoice. We cry. We teach. We ask critical questions. And... yes... we can answer questions centered around grammar, too. In conclusion The next time you talk to a writing tutor, think about what kind of help you want from them. It's not just about making writing better. It's about making you a better writer. Don't just say, "I want you to fix the grammar" or "I need your help to edit my paper." Think about your project. What are your goals? Where do you feel you're lacking? Is it length? Is it organization? Are you at the beginning of the project, unsure where to begin? Are you at the end of the project and unhappy with your conclusion? Or are you somewhere in the middle of this messy process? If you still think it's grammar that you need help with, that's okay. Just remember that as writing tutors, we can help with so much more! So don't hesitate to ask. My writing coordinator used to always say,"we help writers, not just writing." It's become my personal creed as a tutor. National Tutor Appreciation Week is always the first week of October, but why wait? Tell a tutor today why you value them. If you're a tutor, learn how to certify and level-up your tutoring skills with CRLA. Perhaps the school you tutor for is accredited with them. |
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