Hello Everyone!

It's a new year and therefore time to make New Year's resolutions. I'm sure some of you have a goal to improve your English this year, so I decided to post a list of tips to help you improve your grammar. 

1. Read a lot

Reading is one of the best ways to improve your grammar and vocabulary skills. By reading books and newspaper articles written by native speakers(that's important! I do not recommend using material written by non-native speakers to study. This can actually harm your language improvement.), you can reinforce correct grammar in your mind. Now, when I say 'read', I do mean more than just letting your eyes see the words. You should be looking at the sentences on the page, reading everything out loud and listening to what you are saying. This helps to train not only your brain to understand correct grammar when you see it, but to train your ear as well. Reading will also help you with your writing skills, which we'll talk about below.

2. Have a good grammar manual

If you want to move beyond basic grammar skills, you really should have a good, advanced, grammar book (or teacher who knows advanced grammar!) to help you. That way, if you see something (while you're reading perhaps), you can easily look for the answer in your reference. (Note that if you choose to have a teacher instead of a book, you have to remember to write down your questions. It's best to also write down the source and some of the sentences around the word or phrase you're asking about. Also write down the situation or scenario where you got it. This will help the teacher better understand what was happening to give you an accurate answer. Sometimes, if we don't have all of this information, we can't answer at all because there are too many possibilities.)

3. Review the Basics 

Don't forget the importance of going back and studying the basics again. You need a solid foundation to keep building more advanced grammar rules on!

4. Practice, practice, practice

You've been reading, you have your grammar manual to look things up, but if you really want to become adept with all types of grammar from basic to advanced, you should also practice. You can find all kinds of resources to help you, online and in print. Set aside a little time each week to practice grammar that is appropriate for your level. You can even take some online grammar or English proficiency tests to help improve your grammar. 

5. Be a good listener

Oh, I can't stress how important this one is! Especially when you are in a lesson with a teacher/tutor, always pay attention to everything they(we) are saying. If a teacher corrects you, pay attention to that correction. Write it down if you can. Even better, if your teacher/tutor allows, record your lessons! That way you can go back and catch every correction or comment by the teacher. Listen to the mistakes they correct and soon you'll start to notice them on your own and know how to correct them. This will also help you pinpoint if you have an area that is problematic so you know to focus on it when you study grammar and you can dedicate more time practicing with that form. 

6. Write as much as possible

This one is good but... can also be bad. I recommend writing because it can help you improve your overall skills in grammar, style and vocabulary, but it can also reinforce bad habits and grammar. I strongly recommend that you have a native speaker of the language you're learning who can proofread your writing. Also, don't forget to read your writing aloud!

I hope these tips help you with your English learning goals this year. Employ each of them and you'll find your grammar skills are improving!

Do you already do all of these things? Let everyone know below in the comments what worked best for you! Or do you already do all of these things and you feel like you're not improving? Feel free to request a lesson and we can discuss what might be stopping your forward progress in English. 

Have a great day~