Books to Learn English

by Joyce
(Shenzhen,China)

I have been learning English grammar for a long time. I'm not good at grammar, but I think it's not very bad. However my English is improving so slowly. I guess that's because I'm not using it.

Now I don't have opportunities to use it. I spend most of my time staying at home. I do want to learn "Real Life English" to get it further. Thank you for teaching more Real Life English. It suits me well.

Could you teach English at school and English at house renting agency? I'll appreciate it. (Would you like me to cover these on my site? Is that what you would like me to do? I could cover them in my newsletter as well if you like.)

I just became a volunteer at my daughter's school to help teachers. Sometimes I don't even have time to get on the internet. So I need a guide book on Real Life English that I can bring with me all the time.

Could you recommend one or two books to learn English? Latest original version will be better.

Thanks and regards
Joyce

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Hi Joyce,

I think that focusing on grammar can actually slow progression down. Think about how people learn when they live abroad.

They have to hear the target language all the time and they are forced to use it. Sure they make mistakes and probably sound pretty silly but they use their English. This is why they progress more quickly than people who focus on grammar. I agree that grammar is a very important part of language learning but I think you have to strike a balance.

As for books to Learn English, specifically real life English, it is hard to say. Personally, I haven't found a book that focus on helping people in everyday situations.

There is one book that I LOVE but it is for business English. It is called "In at the Deep End" by Vicki Hollett. It is great for learning real life situations in the office (speaking on the phone, taking addresses, giving directions, brainstorming and expressing ideas). This book is probably not exactly what you are looking for though.

To be honest with you I don't really know of a book that focuses on "real life" English, and that is of high quality. I might just have to write my own.

Let's do a survey!

I'd like everyone to leave a comment below, telling me what you would expect to see in the perfect, "Real-Life English" book.

What situations would you like to look at?

What concepts would you like to learn? (Vocabulary, expressions, slang, appropriate responses etc).

What do you need to learn?

This could be very interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing what you all leave as comments. :)