When I stepped a foot into secondary school however, I lost the time I’ve had to watch movies. I was probably going through one of those “puberty” phases because suddenly, I liked reading. I loved to read romance English novels, especially those thick books. Almost everyone in my class would be amazed over how quickly I could have completed a book, sometimes I could even read them in just a day. 

Then came upper secondary. Time became even more sacred. My thick novels were long forgotten on my bookshelves, left behind to collect dust. I found a new interest, however. It’s called online reading, and many might as well know this as fan fiction. The process was easy, really. You go to a website, type a name of some idol you liked, click search and ta-da! Thousands upon thousands of fictional stories would appear, written by so many teens from around the world.

I read through a couple of stories, some which I cringed to because I couldn’t understood their grammar at all, while some I smiled my way through reading because their grammar was understandable and the story plot wasn’t as cliché as ever. At this point, I finally understood why my English teachers at school would press on grammar so much. It was really a hassle to read a story that wasn’t grammatically correct. 

One day a random thought just went through my head: “Hey, why don’t I try writing a fictional story?” And that was what exactly I did. At first it was purely for fun, until people started to notice my works and interesting plotline. I don’t mean to boast, but would you believe it? One of my stories even got ten thousand views! That was just mad crazy.

So you would probably wonder how I turned out from a girl who didn’t know how to pronounce the word “thesaurus” properly to a girl who speaks English like it was her mother tongue. My point is, you have to start somewhere. No matter what it is and how you’re going to do it, it must start with small, but bold steps. Learning grammar isn’t a complicating process. If you see it in a positive way, it could even be fun, but I must remind you that it takes years to master such a thing. Even I, at a young age of eighteen still have a long way to go to fix and strengthen my grammar. But I started somewhere didn’t I? And that is, ladies and gentleman a few ways on how you could strengthen your English grammar.   

Other than watching English cartoons, this is the part that gets really boring for the people who despise this particular method which is reading. For me, it is one of the most wonderful things in life. It is mind blowing how we can enter a fictional world so easily just by reading an entire book. Not only it gives you a peace of mind but it also enhances your knowledge in a way that it improves your grammar because as a reader, we are venturing into the works of professional author that is known for their skill in writing. This is one way to ace one’s grammar as we tend to mirror their style of writing and also speaking.

Also, exercises are an essential for people who never stop trying to improve their grammar. This is because grammar is not something you can be good at in a short amount of time. Constant practice is one of the ways to make grammar something you’re good at. As for an example, in bookstores they sell a variety of grammar exercise books. And I am not talking about the ones we usually use during our secondary school years. These books are mainly published for adults and their aspect of asking grammar questions are much different compared to SPM level. It is very challenging but hopefully at the end of the day by doing these exercises my grammar would polish up and it will reach a limit where there is no more space for improvement.  These are the methods I apply to myself to strengthen my grammar!

To be honest, I myself am not that good in grammar. I always make grammatical errors when I speak, or even when I’m writing an essay. So basically I do have my own ways to empower my grammar skills. First of all, I read various types of books. I know it sounds cliché but reading is the most effective way to improve our grammar. I always bring along a mini dictionary to look up vocabularies that I don’t comprehend every time I read a book. Then I’d jot it down in my notebook for future references.

I am a huge fan of One Direction. You know the biggest boy band in the world. Being a fan of a very popular international pop star also helps in improving my grammar. How? For instance I literally love every songs of One Direction and I have the desire to know the full lyrics of each song so that I can sing along whenever the song is played. Looking up for the lyrics of every song and actually take the effort to memorize it is definitely my way to polish my grammar. Plus One Direction writes their own songs and trust me, they are so good in writing. Most of their songs are poetic and meaningful so me being the weirdo who studies the lyrics of their songs actually benefits a lot. 

Last but not least, I learn to improvise my grammar through watching English movies and reality shows. I love to challenge myself to watch the movies without having any subtitles. This way I can actually focus on what the actors are talking about and try to understand it. Reality shows on the other hand helps me to know more about how the westerns talk in their daily life because it is obviously unscripted. 

So basically that is how I improve my English grammar. My advice is you don’t need to be stress or feel down if you’re weak in your grammar because there is literally many, many ways to improve it. The most important thing is never give up. 

Nowadays, there are a lot of platforms that can be used to learn things. For example, social media. Most of the time I would read what people are tweeting and from there I was able to detect mistakes and I would refer to my books and my friends about it. I also ‘follow’ some of educational account like Englishjer or Grammar YUNiversity. I find the methods they’re using to be fun and interesting. They made things simpler as grammar could get very confusing at times. For example, the word ‘past’ can be used as an adjective, a noun or a preposition or even as an adverb and Grammar YUNiversity definitely made learning more effortless, don't they?

As a conclusion, grammar is not something that is easy but it really is not so hard to understand. I guess it all depends on one's will to learn and trying to understand the complex. My advice is to find a suitable method in learning grammar. Make it fun and pleasurable so that you won't feel stressful and too obliged to learn the arts of grammar.

 

During the early stages of learning, I equipped myself with basic grammar knowledge, which includes mastering punctuations, verb conjugation, adverbs and many more. I realized that it is vital for me to fortify my grammar at a very young age to assist my English-learning process in the near future, hopefully, without any bumps in the road. I have also taken the initiative to read children books as they emphasize more on the correct use of grammar, thus, making sure that I stick to the right path.

 

 

One of the other measures that I’ve taken to improve my Grammar is by reading at least one page of any English newspaper a day. This does not only help me improve my English fluency, it also serves as a platform for me to be cognizant of the current issues today. I also take the initiative to go on social media on a daily basis to check on the articles that are posted by authorized news source to further improve the state of my grammar by analyzing the way the articles were written in terms of a few aspects which includes grammar, vocabulary usage and many more.

 

Another common way of improving one’s grammar that I find really useful is by reading books. Take the Harry Potter book series as a prime example. It is a huge franchise with multi-million fanbase. The reason why the book series are so popular is understandable. The quality of the storyline itself is magnificent. This is essential to keep the readers entertained rather than serving them a mundane, predictable storyline. I also enjoy reading poetries. One of my personal favorites is Almosts by Bianca Phipps. Reading poems does not necessarily help me with my grammar. It serves as a stepping stone for me to expand and widen my range of vocabulary.

 

There are a lot of ways that I can practice in  my daily lives. For example, going through grammar blogs and download Grammar games. With today’s up-to-date websites and mobile phone games, we can search for blogs and apps that may offer some grammar and English activities, virtual games, and etc. This may help the youngsters today, who are living and studying in a technology era, and I'm one of them, to excel in our English Grammar.

Besides that, try to speak and write English more often. When we speak or write in front of other people, some of them will correct your grammar. Do not get stress, just accept it as a challenge, a challenge where you have to improve your grammar.  This way, it will help and boost our grammar skills. “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it”, George Santayana. 

Before ending, I would like to say that, my grammar is also not in a good term. I also need to learn and brush up my grammar skills. Because when we use the wrong term, for instance you’re and your, we can make a big difference. And here’s a little joke.

 

     The easiest way to strengthen my English grammar is by reading. I read more to widen my view about English grammar. It gives more exposure of the correct usage of grammar. The more I see, learn and experience and eventually I will understand the correct usage of grammar. Furthermore, I would discover what troubles me. I realize that I have repeated the same grammatical errors for countless times. After knowing the errors I have made, I will try to seek advise from English tutors that might help me and I would search online for tips that may prevent me from repeating the same mistake again. Lastly, I would practice English grammar whenever and wherever I can. I would take all the chances I could to practice and improve my grammar throughout my whole life.�

Secondly, I challenged myself to watch English movies or videos without the help of subtitle. It was quite hard for me at first, but then, slowly I managed to understand.

Next, reading English novels was really helping me a lot. For me, reading novels offer a lively and entertaining method for strengthening my English grammar. 

Lastly, I practised on my own. I took some grammar tests on internet. There are online sources that use “spot the error” strategies and “choose the right answer” that make it easier for me to learn and practise. 

As a person who is still learning English, sometimes I will make mistakes unknowingly. By these methods, it is such the best way for me to improve and strengthen my English grammar days by days. And I hope it will help those who want to learn and improve their English skills too.