Non-Native English Speakers

[Ngozi Onyibor]

I love writing, but as a non-native English speaker, I struggled a lot with grammar and punctuation when I started out.

It was so bad I didn't have the confidence to show anyone my work, out of fear of been mocked. The one person that saw it laughed at me. After that, I deleted all my drafts and gave up.

I started writing again and while my grammar has improved, I know my punctuation still needs a lot of work.

So non-native speakers like me, how did you start writing, what were/are your struggles, how did you get ahead? Please share with me.

[Alys Sterk]

Where are you from? Asking because it makes a differences. People from the Asian countries like me have trouble conjugating verbs and putting plurals (or not putting plurals) on nouns. Also all words have only 1 syllable. Just practicing helps. There is no quick fix. I learned a lot teaching in American schools, where many come from all over. So, explaining to them helps me also.

The person who laughed at you - do they speak another language? I'm guessing not.

What are your experiences?

[Maria Esposito]

Italian speaker here, I've had the same struggle for a long time! I got better by reading English books - not the classics, and not necessarily English speaking authors. I started by reading English language young-adult novels when I was 18 and I built my way up from there. My writing style improved dramatically because of that. And oh - I also watch a lot of English speaking Youtubers so I'm all caught up with urban/nonformal lingo, which is often on the more accessible end.

[BookPower9]

Number one Rule, coming from the Expert? Just write. That's it. If you keep on doing it, day by day, you will be aware of what is right and what is wrong. Then, one day you will become an expert writer and even become expert in grammar.

[SMAhmed]

I struggled the most with punctuation and spelling. I got better because I kept writing and I had friends that would point out repeated mistakes I made so I knew what to look out for. Reading a lot of books also helps because you can use them as examples/references. Trust me, you will get better it just takes some time and the person that laughed at you instead of trying to help out, they're a jerk.

[alibaba3003]

I am also non native but i have learn a lots through online english classes

[Marsha JJ]

I am a native English speaker but have found that as I learn other languages, Duolingo is a good free resource as it is helping me with the grammar in those other languages. Perhaps the English version would be helpful for those working on their English grammar.

[Shenila Ginabay]

I am a Portuguese speaker and I struggle to write reviews in English. I don't always know how the punctuation should be or I have problems with adverbs and prepositions.