The Most Common Mistakes Made by Second Language Learners of English

English as a second or foreign language - Wikipedia

English is a foreign language that is most widely learnt and used for communication all around the world. The language is taught and learnt with much enthusiasm, owing to the importance it has in the educational and professional world. Like any other language or any new skill you learn, you will tend to make some mistakes when you learn English too. It is not something that you need to be worried about as long as you make efforts to get it right. Most often, it is only because the individual does not know where to start and how to go about it. 

Here are some tips that would help you with your language learning process:

  • Before you start learning, keep an open mind. 
  • Be ready to accept any number of corrections and repetitions.
  • Remember that your goal is to speak good English and write error-free sentences. 
  • Keep in mind that you are against yourself and no one else. Strive to become at least a little better than you were yesterday. 
  • Locate your errors, find the right usage, correct them and remember them so that you do not use them wrong again.
  • Finally, always be ready to share your knowledge with people you come in contact with. The more you share, the more you learn. So, do not think twice about sharing what you have learnt with others who are also going through the same process as you are. 

The learning pattern of every second language learner would be different, but there are a few common mistakes and doubts all second language learners of English might have as they delve deeper into the grammatical rules and technicality of the language. There are a number of words that have similar spellings but different meanings and words that have similar pronunciation but different spellings and meanings. They are commonly known as homonyms and homophones. These usually cause a little confusion among the new learners of English. For example, words like steel and steal, hole and whole, see and sea, whether and weather, bear (noun) and bear (verb), right (the right side) and right (adjective), rose (noun) and rose (verb), park (noun) and park (verb) and so on. Another common dilemma is the difference between has and have. To new learners, both might just look the same and might find it difficult to understand how it works. 

Now, if you are wondering if there is a way to learn all this right, the answer is yes. There is a way to clear all your doubts. The English Difference Between Articles will be your guide to many such confused usages and vocabulary. You can learn how to use the words in the right places if you know their meaning and usage. There is nothing that cannot be unlearnt or relearnt. All you have got to do is to train your mind to do it. It is true that it would be better to learn all this in the initial stages of your English language learning process. However, you should also understand that it is never too late to start your unlearning and relearning journey. 

Start today. Start now. Unlearn, relearn and become a pro.