How to Learn English Using Grammar Books

Grammar is one of the most essential things you need to know when you learn to write in proper English. It discusses the forms and structures of words and phrases. You must know the proper use of these words. The best way to learn English grammar is not using the dictionary, but using English grammar books.

It is best to learn English grammar at school where a teacher will really help you on a daily basis but if you do not have time and money, simply to use English grammar books. Besides the fact that they are inexpensive compared to going to school, they are very reliable over the Internet.

The first thing you need to do is choose the best book for you. Find one that's easy to read and understand. You can ask for help from the assistant bookstore. Do not buy a single book, but you can buy a number of books like books all have the same points. It is better to compare with each other.

Second, make sure to read and of course, understand the rules of writing proper English. Test yourself by writing several paragraphs and audit the books you bought for errors and correct them if necessary.

Finally, try to write an entire article or essay and read everything. Make sure you are not a means to verify your work. Do the necessary corrections and write some comments. Read different articles and works of popular writers and understand them thoroughly. Learn what they do and for sure you'll make a good writer.

English grammar books can really enhance not only your writing skills in English, but your speaking skills as well. If you are good at writing, it does not necessarily mean that you are as good at talking, but you can be good in both if you are determined to be. By reading these books, you expand your knowledge and you can make good writing and, possibly, be a famous writer and a good speaker as well.

When you talk in your native language, the phrases seem to come correct you.

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Want To Write in English Fast? Write a Draft First!

Another technique I find very effective when writing in English is doing it fast, and without much consideration of correctness and style! While being a perfectionist generally isn’t a bad thing, there are times when you have to suppress the desire within you to be perfect.

In other words, you need to write a quick draft which is going to form the main body of your letter, memo, e-mail or essay. Don’t take me wrong though; writing a draft doesn’t automatically mean twice as much time spent in the process than if you were to write it all spotlessly from scratch. Why?

First of all, don’t forget how much time you just wasted just sitting and staring at the monitor unable to produce any text whatsoever! Even if you do spend additional time correcting your own mistakes after the draft has been written, you should see merit of this technique in that it allows you to write a concrete piece of text. Regardless of its quality, it’s a tangible result and it can be improved upon.

Secondly, correcting a piece of text that’s been spewed out without much thinking is much easier and quicker that you may think! I’ve always found that my mind works best when it’s not limited by conscious considerations regarding English grammar and style. Remember – it’s less time consuming to fix those five spots in five paragraphs that don’t sound right than spending five minutes on each of them trying to make it all perfect from the beginning!

What’s surprising about writing drafts is that sometimes you’ll find there’s very little to correct when you go back to finalize the piece of English text. Personally I do quite a lot of writing in English and I have days when it’s harder to gather thoughts and speak, so the writing process is also slightly hindered. When I proofread an article, however, I often find it sounds very well and there’s nothing to add or take away! So it may happen to you if you let creativity take over and just write fast and without much thinking!

After you’ve produced the draft, read the piece of text aloud. Don’t just scan it as mistakes will escape your attention. You have to read it aloud and surprisingly enough you’ll spot most of awkwardly sounding bits that you didn’t notice when writing the draft!

When you write the draft fast and without much thinking, you are the creator of the content. Yet when you go back and check what’s written you’re not involved anymore in the process of creation. You adopt an observer’s role and now you can spot any grammar or style mistake much easier than during the process of writing.

So here are the three steps of the draft writing technique:

1. Just get it all out on a piece of paper or text processing software
2. Proofread and correct the text you just produced.
3. Use spellchecker to ensure you haven’t missed any grammar mistakes.

And of course, don’t forget making up the bullet-point list and speaking with yourself as you write!.

Guest post from English learning enthusiast Robby Kukurs. Robby writes about improving spoken English on his blog EnglishHarmony.com. He also regularly posts videos about improving English fluency on his YouTube channel.

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VocaTube - Vocabulary related to the home and furniture

Do you know the English vocabulary related to the home, its rooms and furniture? If your answer is “no”, don’t worry, in this new episode on the VocaTube series we’re bringing you a series of videos selected from YouTube to learn this vocabulary.

These videos are sorted according to the levels of difficulty (from elementary to intermediate level) so you can learn progressively or jump and watch only the ones you’re interested in.

Remember that vocabulary can only be improved with practice and listening through repetition. It’s difficult for everyone to understand from the beginning but you’ll notice that the more hours you listen, the better your understanding.

Learn the main parts of a house – elementary English



Link to the video on YouTube

Good video to learn the different elements of a house – elementary English



Link to the video on YouTube

Video to learn words to talk about things in a room in English – elementary English



Link to the video on YouTube

Bedroom vocabulary – elementary English



Link to the video on YouTube

Great video to learn about furniture and furnishings in English – intermediate English



Link to the video on YouTube

Vocabulary for cleaning the house in English – intermediate English



Link to the video on YouTube

This video shows some wonderful space savers furniture – advanced English



Link to the video on YouTube

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Joke - Consultants

I received today an email with the following joke. I found it so funny that I decided to share it on the blog. If you are familiar with the consultancy work, you’ll probably find this joke very funny.

A shepherd was herding his flock in a remote pasture when suddenly a brand-new BMW advanced out of a dust cloud towards him.

The driver, a young man in a Hugo Boss suit, Gucci shoes, Ray Ban sunglasses and a YSL tie, leans out the window and asks the shepherd, "If I tell you exactly how many sheep you have in your flock, will you give me one?"

The shepherd looks at the man, then looks at his peacefully grazing flock and calmly answers, "Sure. Why not?"

The young guy parks his car, whips out his Dell notebook computer, connects it to his AT&T cell phone, surfs to a NASA page on the Internet, where he calls up a GPS satellite navigation system to get an exact fix on his location which he then feeds to another NASA satellite that scans the area in an ultra-high-resolution photo.

He then opens the digital photo in Adobe Photoshop and exports it to an image processing facility in Hamburg, Germany. Within seconds, he receives an email on his Palm Pilot that the image has been processed and the data stored.

He then accesses a MS-SQL database through an ODBC connected Excel spreadsheet with hundreds of complex formulas. He uploads all of this data via an email on his Blackberry and, after a few minutes, receives a response.

Finally, he prints out a full-color, 150-page report on his hi-tech, miniaturized HP LaserJet printer and finally turns to the shepherd and says, "You have exactly 1586 sheep."

"That's right. Well, I guess you can take one of my sheep," says the shepherd. He watches the young man select one of the animals and looks on amused as he stuffs it into the trunk of his car.

Then the shepherd says to the young man, "Hey, if I can tell you exactly what your business is, will you give me back my sheep?"

The young man thinks about it for a second and then says, "Okay, why not?"

"You're a consultant," says the shepherd.

"Wow! That's correct," says the yuppie, "but how did you guess that?"

"No guessing required," answered the shepherd. "You showed up here even though nobody called you; you want to get paid for an answer I already knew; to a question I never asked; and you don't know crap about my business...."

" ... now give me back my dog."

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Find out how Babbel can help you to improve your level of English

There is no doubt that the Internet offers new and exciting ways to learn English online. We have previously mentioned Babbel, as a revolutionary platform to learn languages online.

We’d like to present you with a testimony from a person that uses Babbel and who has told us what she likes about it and how it has helped her to improve her level of English.

1. How long have you been using Babbel in order to improve your level of English?

I’ve been studying English with Babbel for several months. I usually practice one hour every day rather than practicing a lot in a day and then don’t study again for some days.

2. During this time, do you think that you have improved your level of English and in what way?

From my point of view, I have improved a lot, especially on my vocabulary skills as I have improved them progressively.

3. What are your favourite features from Babbel? What is your favourite one and what is the one that you like least?

What I like about Babbel is that I can practice from my listening to my speaking skills, for example: you can configure your microphone in order to evaluate your pronunciation and that makes you to improve and perfect it. You also have the possibility to review everyday what you have learnt, what makes that you are always practicing and properly acquiring the new knowledge. Moreover, it’s a very interactive program; you can chat with people around the World and see different English expressions that they use.

As of now, I can’t say anything negative about Babbel, I think that the interface is very clear and easy to understand. I’d include some videos with conversations from an elementary to an advanced level, to practice more the listening skills. But in general, I can say that it’s a very complete website.

4. Have you tried any other product to learn English online? Do you think that Babbel is better than other products that you have tried?

Yes, I’ve tried other products to learn English, but due to the complexity of the website, I’ve ended up using Babbel. With no doubt, Babbel is top quality and allows you to learn English in a fast and simple way, and especially, without getting bored.

5. Do you think that the price for a course on Babbel is reasonable and why?

Babbel prices are quite cheap, as for less than 9$ per month, you have access to many applications to learn a language in a very interactive way totally adapted to your needs. You can connect to Babbel at any time and not only from your computer but also from your mobile phone. This makes that you don’t waste any time as in a bus or train stop, you could be learning English.

Stop thinking about it, register for free and try Babbel today

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Finding the Right Language Exchange Partner

A language exchange can be a very rewarding experience with many benefits, such as improving your speaking and listening skills in a foreign language, exploring a new culture, and building a friendship. I have done three language exchanges with native Japanese speakers and was able to not only practices speaking and listening in Japanese, but also got a better sense of the culture, popular culture and slang.

I strongly recommend a language exchange for any person learning a foreign language. A language exchange partner can be a pen pal, someone you text or instant message, or someone who you meet up with occasionally to practice one-on-one communication.

Finding a language partner can be difficult, because a language exchange works best with someone who is learning your native language is also a native speaker of the language you are learning. You take turns communicating in either language, teaching and helping each other along the way. It is also important to find a reliable language exchange partner with whom you can truly have a mutually beneficial learning experience.

What qualities should the right partner have?

The right language exchange partner should be as serious as learning your language as you are in learning theirs. You'll want to find someone who is reliable, respectful, and open to learning and teaching with you. Here are a few tips for finding the right language exchange partner.

Join a Language Exchange Community

I was fortunate enough to meet my language exchange partners through mutual friends. If you're a college student, you can visit your school's foreign language department and inquire about any language exchange programs. If you're not in school, the internet is a valuable resource for meeting language exchange partners. Facebook has a language exchange community that its users can subscribe to.

My Language Exchange has been around since 2000 and allows you to search for language exchange partners by country and offers text and voice chat, games and lesson plans.

LingoFriends offers a Mentor Program that includes online language lessons in addition to interacting with language exchange partners.

xLingo Language Exchange is a free community that also allows you to create flashcards and blogs, as well as participate in forum discussions.

Rosetta Stone Shared Talk offers voice and text chatting. Rosetta Stone is a well-known language-learning software company.

Find Someone with Mutual Interests

Yes, you are trying to improve upon your language skills, but you and your language exchange partner still need something to talk about. My first language partner and I shared an affinity for fashion and discussed it at length, while another language partner was willing to teach me some break-dancing moves, giving me a full, well-rounded learning experience. Finding a language partner is only half the battle; you should want to have conversations in more than one language with him or her.

Be Courteous and Consistent

I met two of my language exchange partners after my first partner recommended me. This can also work for you if you are courteous and consistent with your partner. Although this person may become your friend, you want to initially approach your interactions with professionalism.

Sometimes regularly meeting with someone in person or over the internet can be difficult to maintain if you have a busy schedule. If this happens, it's important to let your partner know the circumstances, because politeness and professionalism will go a long way. I would also recommend staying in touch with them by sending them messages or e-mails every once in a while. You may be able to pick up on the regular language exchange again in the future, or who knows? Maybe you'll travel to your partner's country some day and might need a place to stay!

Remember to keep an open mind when interacting with your language partner. There will be cultural differences as well as some things you'll find difficult to explain in either language. It is best to approach the experience as one that will not only teach you, but give you an opportunity to teach another person about your language, your culture and yourself.

Donna Reish, a freelancer who blogs about best universities, contributed this guest post. She loves to write education, career, frugal living, finance, health, parenting relating articles. She can be reached via email at: donna.reish13@gmail.com.

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