I am not a native English speaker. I do live in an English-speaking country and my main language is English right now. I do find it sometimes frustrating to write in English because I make mistakes. There are things about the English language I don’t seem to get easy. One of them is articles… I hope I am improving, but I think that is for someone else to judge.
So, what do I do to improve? There are a few things that help. Here is my list.
I use software to help. I have Grammarly and it helps with missing articles. I feel that helps me more than anything else. Someone suggested I should use a grammar book. I had a really expensive grammar book but it never helped me to notice missing articles in my writing. Grammarly helps me to identify them. There are other programs like ProWritingAid as well, but I don’t have personal experience with it.
Just write. It helps to get more comfortable with it. I would also recommend getting a native speaker as a beta reader and help you to improve. It will become more natural the more you write as well.
Try a course in the English language. I studied English at university but you don’t have to go that far. There are places like OpenLearn that offer free courses in many languages. Those are really useful to practise your basics.
Use it with others. Get a pen pal or go to an English-speaking group. This is what I did when I was living in my home country. Technically there were two groups in my town, one for university exchange students and the other for people living in the town. These two did mix as well. In Europe, Erasmus is one of the student exchange programs and they offer group activities as well. They also welcome natives. I answered so many questions about the town and the culture.
Read English books. Reading helps you unconsciously to learn. It helps to use difficult grammar, like articles for me, and helps you absorb the language. It also helps with writing. You start to learn how the narrative works.
This might be a little controversial, but watch tv, listen to podcasts, audiobooks, etc. I feel like I get the language being used today best from TV. Languages change very quickly, especially the words being used. We get new words, we lose words. The language evolves. Sometimes I like to watch a specific movie or tv show to get me in the right mood for writing. I try to use older, more formal language so if I watch something that uses similar language, it helps me to be in the right state of mind.
Lastly, don’t be scared of it. It is difficult to start, but if you keep up, it will get easier. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes, do the best you can and you will get better.
This is my list of writing in a foreign language. Please let me know if you have other tips that help you!
Katrina writes 