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11 Ways to Make Your English Better

When you are just beginning to learn English, it is helpful to write often. Many people forget about writing since they are more concentrated on topics such as grammar and vocabulary. But did you know that writing can help you learn English vocabulary, spelling, grammar, and more?

So, grab a glass of water or a cup of tea, find a piece of paper or a notebook, pick your favorite pen, and get comfortable at a table. We are going to write. We have gathered 11 effective tips for beginners. Some of them involve reading, as well.

Practice Writing in English Often

When we say often, we mean every day. Repetition is really very useful since it helps to learn the skill of writing. At first, writing in a language that is new for you is quite difficult, but if you write just a little every day, it will definitely start to get easier.

You can use a specific system to track your progress. This can be writing it on the calendar or using a particular website or application. For example, Chains helps to select a specific time of day to dedicate it to writing, which is our next tip.

Find the Best Time and Place Where You Can Write

Every person has the time when he or she is most productive. Maybe you have the clearest thoughts in the morning. Or you can be a “night owl” who likes to stay up late and is most creative at midnight. Try writing at various times of the day to see what time suits perfectly for you.

Once you know when to write, you have to know where. Many people face difficulties with writing in places where there is a lot of noise. If you are one of them, try writing in such a quiet place as a library. If you need some background noise, consider writing in a coffee shop. Experiment and find out what works better for you.

Have a Specific Place to Keep Your Writing

Find a notebook where you will keep all you’re writing. When you keep it all in a single place, you will have an opportunity to check your progress. Besides, it will allow you to go through all you’re writing at once and find out if you keep making the same mistakes.

If you prefer typing to writing, you can try using Evernote to keep your writing together. It is a website or mobile application that helps organize your notes and pieces of writing. Besides, you can keep track of your writing schedule with the website’s calendar.

One more good place to keep your writing is a blog. If you like to, consider starting a blog on Blogger or WordPress, where there is an option to make the blog private or public and allow others to comment it on.

Choose a Topic and Write

Once you are ready to begin, select a topicб and just start writing. For example, if your topic is “hiking,” it does not matter if you write facts about hiking or a story about when you went hiking. Just write anything at all. Brainstorm on the chosen topic. To start, try to set a timer for 10 minutes and write the entire time. When you get used to it, try writing for 15 minutes at a time.

The idea of this exercise is not to write a great story. Its goal is to get your brain thinking in ф foreign language and to see how much you can say about the subject. If you cannot come up with the topic, just start free writing. It is when you put pen on the paper and write everything that comes to your head.

Keep a Journal in English

By keeping a diary in English, you will not miss writing every day. It is a great chance to practice with different tenses. You will write about everything you did during the day in the past tense, and you will use the future tense to describe the things you are going to do in the future, for example, tomorrow.

When you have a diary to keep in English, you will likely start thinking in English more often during the day. When you do things, you will probably think about how to write about them in English.

Write Several Drafts

The first draft is never perfect. Even the most famous writers know it. So when you complete the first draft, reread and review it for mistakes. Grab the notebook where you keep all your writing together and make a list of your most common mistakes there. Then, when editing your first draft, check it for those mistakes.

Consider also using such sites as Reverso, Read-Able, Grammar Check, or Hemingway Editor for grammar and spelling check. Remember that these programs do not always find all the mistakes.

After having reviewed your writing, write the entire piece again from the beginning. When rewriting it with the correct grammar, spelling, and tenses, you will learn the corrections.

Ask Someone to Edit Your Writing

Since you will most likely not notice all your mistakes, ask someone who is fluent in English to edit your work. By having someone else read your writing, you get a good opportunity to boost your English. Your friend can share some ideas on how to express in English.

It is very useful to get a second opinion on your writing. If you have no friends to edit your papers, try using Lang-8. It is a community of native speakers who can edit your writing pieces for free.

You can also turn to a more reliable service that will edit your writing piece in minutes — Editorr. However, you will have to pay for it. You can then compare the edited paper to the initial one and learn your mistakes. This service hires real, qualified editors, so they guarantee to send an accurately corrected paper.

Keep an English Dictionary with You

Every time you hear a new word, look up for its meaning in the dictionary. Spell it a couple of times and write it down. Spell it until it sounds familiar to you. The next time you sit writing, set a goal to write at least one sentence with each new word.

If it is not very convenient for you to always keep a physical dictionary with you, consider using online dictionaries like Merriam Webster or a dictionary application for your smartphone.

Learn Synonyms and Antonyms

Every time when you look up a new vocabulary word in English, it is useful to learn at least one word with the same meaning (a synonym) and one with the opposite meaning (an antonym). Let’s take the word “smart.” Synonyms include “clever” and “astute,” and antonyms are “stupid” and “foolish.” When you use such a technique, it becomes easier for you to communicate with native speakers as you write.

A great resource to use for finding synonyms and antonyms is Visual Thesaurus. It shows the links between words in a visual format, with lines between related words. This allows a user to explore new words easily, while still getting access to definitions and examples for context.

Read English Books Aloud

Since reading and writing are connected, reading in English often will also boost your writing skills. Begin with simple books. When you face any unknown word, write it down and practice saying it. We recommend beginning with books like “Harry Potter,” which are written for young adults but with a simple language.

Go to the library and get a card to access numerous free books. Or join such websites as Audible and listen to any book you would like.

Translate Songs

Choose a song in your language, and translate the lyrics into English. If you want to, try to paraphrase some of the lines in English to make the rhyme. Then, try to sing it in English. By practicing songs, you will practice writing as well, and you will learn new ways to express yourself about love, fear, rejection, and other topics typically addressed in music.

Try to use a Lyrics Translate website. It allows a user to pick an artist or song and get translated lyrics from a multiplicity of languages.

Please note that the main part of these pieces of advice is writing in English often. It is an actual learning process. You have to build your vocabulary, learn proper grammar and spelling. The more often you practice, the easier the process will become. Have fun!