Bad English!

[Vishnya]

Hi, I've been studying English for 8 years, but I still have a lot of mistakes in my texts. Also, my grammar is horrible :cry: I think it because I have no system in language learning. I want to create something like an agenda or timetable, hope it can be useful for me. Can you give me a piece of advice how to improve my English and gramma especially? You can also recomend me some grammar books. I glad to receive any helpful advice in language learning.
TIA, Jane.

[Conchita]

Welcome aboard, Jane!

Well, I'd say you're definitely on the right path and have taken a big step towards improving your English -- writing in this kind of forums is very good practice and fun.

Apart from that, this site can offer you a wide range of resources, like the esl tests (have you done any yet?), esl lessons, humorous short stories and much more.

As to grammar books, one of my favourite series is Round-Up (Grammar Practice), by Virginia Evans and published by Longman.

Hoping to read you soon!

[Vishnya]

Hi, Conchita
Thanks for your advice. I think it can be useful for me. =)
TIA, Jane.

[Che Gevara]

[Jamie (K)]

Maybe the problem is that you've just been studying grammar. One of the paradoxes of learning a language is that studying grammar does not assure that you'll speak or write with good grammar. A timetable doesn't help in that case. Foreigners who speak the best English are usually those who "take a bath" in the language. By that I mean they read a lot, listen to a lot of audio in the language, etc. This way the normal ways of saying things -- normal word combinations -- soak into their heads, and they start to talk and write better.

Your English will also get better if you concentrate on idioms as much as you concentrate on grammar and vocabulary words.

However, there are also some people who are not helped much by any language study or instruction, because they are resistant, and most of what they are taught ricochets off their skulls.