Six months after I graduated high school, I took the Cambridge C2 exam, then called CPE. I had decided to do it myself, independently of any course or tutor, and I managed to achieve a grade A in all four exam papers: Listening, Reading and Use of English, Writing and Speaking.

If it sounds like I’m boasting, I am a little! But I also think that I did a lot right when studying for this exam, even though back then I had little training in language theory or teaching methodology… And I think you may find some of these methods useful, regardless of which English exam you are studying for.

Here are some of my notes from back when! This is, for me, exquisite handwriting. I wish I had the dexterity now to write this way...

What is Cambridge C2?

Cambridge offer a general English proficiency exam for every level. You may be more familiar with Cambridge B2 (FCE - First Certificate in English) or Cambridge C1 (CAE - Certificate in Advanced English), as these are the more popular choices for most candidates. Cambridge C2, or the Cambridge Proficiency Exam, verifies your English language skills at the highest level anyone has bothered to define: a level where you are able to use the language in a native-like fashion and are able to thrive in most language contexts, including the academia.

The exams are, overall, very similar. Each paper tests a different range of skills, including listening, reading, writing and speaking. The key difference is in the length and complexity of the texts you are presented with, as well as the range of vocabulary and structures you are expected to use.

Why take it?

If you asked me now, I would honestly say that I do not think many people actually need to take this exam. Cambridge C1 is already a very impressive certificate, and challenging to achieve! For my needs at the time, which were to prove that I could tutor children in English during my gap year, and that I would be able to follow my university course in the UK (which I would go on to do at the University of York), a Cambridge C1 certificate would have sufficed. However, I was ambitious, and I knew I could do it: I had completed a C1-level course at a language school a year before, and I had found much of the material very manageable. I only needed the extra push.

Vocabulary is everything

Estimates of how much vocabulary a speaker should know at any given level vary. The ratio, however, seems to stick: it would appear that you have to roughly double your vocabulary range to go from one level to the next. For instance, if at B2 level your vocabulary is roughly at 4,000 words, to reach C1 you must know 8,000 words, and 16,000 for C2. That is a lot of words. The sheer scale of it is one of the reasons why it might take a student several years to move up from C1 to C2.

When you’re starting out learning a language, you have to be a little choosy with the words you decide to study. Common words and words which will be useful to you specifically should take precedence. When I was studying for my exam, however, I abandoned such considerations. Instead, I studied all the new words I encountered in anything I read. As I looked them up in a dictionary, I would discover what meanings and uses each word had. The more meanings and uses there were, the more time I spent on the word. As a result, many less common words entered my passive vocabulary (I recognised them when I saw them), while more useful words with broader meanings entered my active vocabulary (I was able to actually use them in writing or speaking).

How do you learn a word, though, to use it confidently? Well, you have to investigate it at some depth. If you look again at my notes for the verb conjure at the top of the page, you’ll notice I made note not merely of the definition of the word, but also common collocations (conjuring trick / conjure up) and memorable examples that gave me a clear idea in what contexts the word is used.

Extensive reading

You may be familiar with intensive reading from English classes. This is when you are presented with a fairly short text and are expected to read it in some detail so that you may answer questions about select passages, or identify interesting words. Extensive reading, on the other hand, is what you do when you read a longer article or a full book in English, where your main purpose isn’t to learn English. You will be reading at a faster pace and you will not be paying very much attention to specific words, unless something really draws your attention. If there is a passage you don’t quite understand, you may re-read it or you may decide to simply ignore it. You don’t have a dictionary on hand, or a notebook to take notes in.

Extensive reading has been proven to be fantastic for language learning. There really isn’t very much that’s better for it. It is especially important for higher levels, because it allows you to encounter less common words, and the more you encounter them, even if you don’t look them up in a dictionary, the more likely you are to remember them.

So, I read, a lot! Here are two of the books I remember reading in the run-up to the exam:

• The Colour Purple by Alice Walker (some of this book is written phonetically—as in, as the language sounds said out loud rather than according to spelling rules—which made it a fun challenge!)

• The Night Watch by Sarah Waters (stories of civilians in World War Two London, told out of order)

Meet the thesaurus

If you’ve never used the thesaurus before, it is a writer’s (and an advanced student’s) best friend. Unlike a dictionary, a thesaurus does not show you the definition of a word, but instead lists synonyms in order of closest to most distant. When trying my hand at sample tasks for the Writing paper, I worked with the thesaurus a lot. I would type in a  word I was thinking of using, such as important, and explore the synonyms: what does this one mean, exactly? What context could it be used in? Can you use it to talk about a person, or only about an event? If I wasn’t sure about the way a synonym was used, I would google [word] in a sentence to find websites filled with examples of real use.

Google now has an in-built thesaurus. I also like the Cambridge Thesaurus and Thesaurus.com.

Putting it to use

As I was preparing for the exam on my own, I did not have access to feedback on my writing or speaking. This is a key difficulty for anyone who decides to work toward a certificate like this on their own. One potential work-around, especially at high levels, is to give yourself the feedback. In order to do this, I would try immediately to use any new word or structure I found in a piece of writing, which I would wait to read back in a couple of weeks. I did the same with speaking; I recorded myself talking about things that interested me or answering common exam questions while trying to use the new words I’d learnt. It was amazing how, after just a few weeks, I could read or listen back and discover:

• the words and structures I’d used, but I’d already forgotten since — an opportunity to remember!

• the words and structures that had felt new then, but were already becoming familiar;

• the mistakes I’d made, or sections where I’d sounded unnatural, which I could now identify;

• the places where I would now use a different turn of phrase.

Exam papers are (not) everything

I used the official Cambridge website for sample exam papers. I also referred to these two books, written specifically to help candidates:

• Grammar and Vocabulary for CAE and CPE,

• Objective: Proficiency.

This allowed me to get a sense of any gaps in my knowledge that I needed to work on, especially with relation to grammar. It also really helped me to understand the type of tasks I could expect, and to work out my own strategies for approaching them. On their website, Cambridge also offer sample answers with examiner comments, which are particularly useful to prepare for the Writing section.

However, I have observed since then that many candidates place too much stock in solving exam-type tasks and going over past exam papers. While this is a key part of exam prep and it might train you to do better, it is never going to address the skills that actually determine your performance. If I had to estimate, I would say my work with exam-specific tasks constituted less than 25% of the time I spent preparing, and back then, I remember being worried about that… but now I think I had the balance right.

If you are preparing for an exam, ask yourself this: are you doing past papers and solving tasks in your exam prep book because you can see it is genuinely helping you, or because it is a way to feel productive? Of course, doing these tasks can be tiring, too… but it often requires less focus and drive than looking for interesting structures in a news article, researching a grammar structure, or writing an essay with the new words you’d been studying. The unfortunate truth about language learning is that the more effort an activity requires, the more effective it tends to be.

Start here

Want to use teen-me’s study methods? Start with this blog post.

• In the introductory paragraph (above the photo), find a synonym to the word to brag. Then, do a bit of research in your preferred English-English dictionary and find one other way in which you can use this word.

• In the section What is Cambridge C2, find a verb which means to be successful in a situation and rhymes with dive and hive. Find more example sentences online.

• In the Extensive Reading section, find a phrase which can be used to describe reading quickly. What else, other than reading speed, can you describe with this phrase?

• Identify one more word or phrase in the blog post that is new to you. Prepare a note about it similar to the one in the photo.

Good luck!

Confused about which exam to take, or how they are different? Read on to find out the basics on some of the most popular exams which can prove you have mastered English at an advanced level. 

If you’re taking the exam for work

An English language certificate can look impressive to employers, and motivate you to advance your English and feel more confident navigating international work environments. If this sounds like what you need, go for Cambridge C1 (previously known as CAE, Certificate in Advanced English) or, if your level isn’t quite there yet, Cambridge B2 (previously known as FCE, First Certificate in English).

The Cambridge certificates are widely known and respected, and they tend to check your knowledge of General English. The Writing paper includes tasks such as essay writing as well as writing a report, a proposal or a formal email, which can be useful skills to have in the workplace. In the Speaking exam, you will need to show that you can communicate and make decisions in conversation with another candidate, which will also encourage you to develop the sort of language that will be useful during work meetings.

Unlike the IELTS exam, the Cambridge certificates have no expiration date. Even if you don’t need the certificate right away, you can pass the exam and then continue adding the certificate to your CV for years to come.

Be mindful that depending on your profession, there might be other exams available. You may want to look into Business English-specific exams, for instance. If you’re applying to work in the UK or the US and need an exam for a working visa, check their guidelines, too; for instance, the UK government often recommends IELTS General Training.

If you’re taking the exam for studying abroad

If you’re doing a year abroad or applying to a foreign university, first check their website for guidance, as different universities may have different rules. In most cases, a Cambridge C1 exam will be accepted. Some universities also accept students who have achieved good results on Matura Rozszerzona or Matura Dwujęzyczna.

IELTS Academic, however, remains the preferred exam at most European universities. This is because unlike the Cambridge exams, IELTS Academic is designed specifically to verify whether you possess the English skills required in an academic setting. In the Writing paper, you will be asked to write an essay and a short analysis of data given to you in the form of a graph or table. In the Speaking exam, which you will take individually, you will be asked to discuss more complex topics with the examiner and defend your opinion. The Listening and Reading will also include the sort of texts you may be expected to understand during your university course, such as a lecture or a journal article.

IELTS Academic has an expiration date of two years. This means that you should only take the exam once you are actively applying to a university.

Careful: don’t get confused! IELTS has two versions: IELTS Academic (meant for university candidates) and IELTS General Training (meant for people moving abroad for work, particularly in the UK).

Another extra note: if you’re applying to study outside of Europe or the UK, check with your university on their preferred exam. Elsewhere in the world, a similar exam to IELTS called TOEFL may be required.

If I pass the IELTS, what level am I?

When you take the IELTS Academic, you are awarded with a grade which shows your language ability. This means that even if you do badly, you will still get a certificate, just with a lower grade. Different universities will have different IELTS grade requirements for candidates. Many universities require a 6.0 (this is around B2 level) or 6.5 (B2+) for undergraduate study, and a 7.0 (C1) or higher for postgraduate study — but this depends hugely on the university in question. Check the admissions website for info!

If you need the exam for university in Poland

If you’re applying to Polish universities, your Matura scores are key. You may be aware that many universities award more points in the recruitment process to students who have taken Matura Rozszerzona over Matura Podstawowa. Did you know, however, that some universities also award extra points for Matura Dwujęzyczna?

In format, Matura Dwujęzyczna and Matura Rozszerzona are very similar. Matura Dwujęzyczna lasts a little longer and asks you to write, read and listen to longer, more complex texts, but the task types are largely alike. There is also an additional speaking exam at bilingual level which may not be necessary for all students to take (you may be obligated to take this if you’re in a bilingual class). The skills tested by the exam are also fairly similar to those tested by the Cambridge C1 exam, so you may find it useful to prepare using materials dedicated for Cambridge C1 — there are many more on the market.

If you need the exam to graduate from university

Some Polish universities require their students to pass a B2 or C1 level English exam before graduating. It is usually possible to present them with a Cambridge certificate at the appropriate level and be exempt from the exam — that is, if you have a Cambridge certificate, you may not need to take this additional test. If this is the case at your university, it can be a great motivator: working toward a C1 Cambridge certificate, in particular, will help you develop your academic skills. It will also look more impressive to future employees than a university-administered exam would. Check with your university before you sign up, though!

If you’re taking the exam for yourself

Even if you do not yet have a clear purpose in mind, preparing for a language certification can be a great motivator, as well as help you focus your learning. If you have space in your life right now and would like to challenge yourself, my advice would be to look into obtaining a Cambridge B2 or C1 exam (or maybe even the C2!). Since it is focused on General English and tests all key aspects of language, it will encourage you to develop in all areas. And as it has no expiration date, it can always come in useful later down the road!

Which exam is easier: IELTS or Cambridge C1?

There is no easy answer to this question, as it will depend entirely on your personal strengths and preferences.

If you have passed the Matura in English, Cambridge C1 will have a  more familiar structure.

If you find grammar tasks and vocabulary tasks such as gap fills or sentence transformations challenging, you may find the IELTS easier: it has no such tasks at all. However, it does not mean you don’t need to work on grammar and vocabulary for the exam, as you will be expected to show your knowledge when reading, writing and speaking.

The IELTS usually requires more exam-focused preparation, particularly for the Writing task: it requires an academic approach that you may not be so familiar with. However, this is entirely a matter of practice.

Overall, it’s best to simply choose the exam based on what you need it for (work, school, etc.).

Still confused?

Explore the official IELTS Academic site, Cambridge B2 or Cambridge C1 site, for detailed information on these exams. If you’re preparing for Matura, many past papers and sample papers are available online or in bookstores.

If you’ve decided you would like to get certified but aren’t sure which exam to choose, you can also book a consultation with me. I will give you some advice on which exam I think might be best for you.

When I first meet with a new student, one of the things I ask is how they feel about their grammar. This is what they say:

I feel like I need to go back and review the basics. I still don’t really understand the difference between the tenses – like Present Perfect, for example, is hard for me.

I’ve studied the conditionals at least ten times, and I always just forget them.

I would really like to improve my grammar. I don’t feel confident with it.

I’m bad at grammar. I’m learning the same grammar over and over again and I still don’t know it.

And I ask them to explain a bit more, and they do… often with perfect grammar!

If you’re like any of my students and also want to finally learn grammar PROPERLY, first of all you need to ask yourself what that means. Often, students at upper intermediate and advanced levels already know most of the grammar they’ll ever need, and they often have good instincts that allow them to hear that a sentence is correct – or not. But they still feel their grammar isn’t so good. Why?

What even IS grammar?

I find that often, students see grammar as this separate aspect of language you need to master through doing endless tasks and memorising endless rules. But grammar is just the way we put words together to make our meaning easier to understand.

If you say, I’m going to Biedronka, you’re helping your housemate understand that they should tell you if they want milk now, because it’ll be too late in a moment.

If you say, I went to Biedronka, your housemate will know it’s too late to ask for milk, but probably they can ask about what’s on sale.

For everyday communication, you don’t always need much grammar. If you want your friend to pass you the salt, you can say, salt, and you’ll get your salt.

But imagine you’re sitting at the table with a prospective employer. You’d want to ask them Could you pass me the salt? rather than just barking salt at them!

Grammar is distance. There is very little distance between you and your friend: you know each other well and don’t need to bother with politeness. But there is a lot of distance between you and your prospective employer: you need more grammar to speak with them.

Now, imagine you’re telling your friend a story about how you bought salt on sale at Biedronka. You can’t just say salt, or even, salt sale. You’ll need I’ve bought salt on sale at Biedronka. You need more grammar, because there is more distance now: the salt is no longer on the table in front of you, it’s all the way back at Biedronka, and some time has passed since!

All this means that as your English becomes more advanced, you will need your grammar to become more complex and more precise. You no longer need English purely to order a coffee at a coffee shop (which only really requires you to know the words coffee, please, and no grammar!). You need English now to talk to academics and business partners; to write reports and discuss politics; to share personal anecdotes and reflections.

Find the grammar around you

If you understand what you need grammar for, that’s where you find it. Want to discuss politics? Listen to a podcast or watch a YouTube video of people doing the same, and pay attention. Can you hear what tenses they use? How are their sentences structured? Can you write down a couple, and see if you can rewrite them to reflect your views?

There’s nothing wrong with doing grammar tasks or reading through lists of rules. I think both can be quite useful! But once you already know the basics, you’ll get a lot more out of finding grammar in real language.

This is how we did it with a student recently.

Look at the Garfield comic above this blog posts (all credit to Jim Davis! This particular comic strip comes from the book Garfield Keeps His Chin Up.)  In class, we read this comic together, then asked:

• What’s the tense used in these sentences: I’ve had a bad day | It’s been one disaster after another? → Present Perfect Simple

• Why does John use this tense? → because it’s still the same day | because it’s recent | because there are consequences in the present: he’s had a bad day, and so now he feels awful

• Can we create similar sentences to talk about our lives? → I’ve had an okay day | It’s been busy at work.

Next time you’re reading something online or listening to a song, choose a sentence and ask yourself the same questions. When you do, you will pay conscious attention to the grammar, which research has proven is essential to learning. You will also notice the most standard ways in which particular bits of grammar are used. For example, it’s very common to see the phrase it’s been in Present Perfect. We say it’s been hard / it’s been busy / it’s been one thing after another / it’s been a while since I saw you / it’s been ages!

Sometimes, grammar is just what sounds good

It’s not always rules you need.

Oftentimes when students feel unsure about their sentence structure and tense use, they think they need to study more grammar. In fact, it might be that they need to pay more attention to what sounds good.

When you start learning English, one of the first sentences you’ll learn might be I was born in Cracow.

As a beginner, you’re unlikely to know that born is the past participle of the verb to bear. You don’t know what passive voice is, or that really in this sentence you’re saying, Zostałam urodzona w Krakowie. None of it matters–all you need to know is that this is what we say. If one of your classmates mistakenly says, I born in Cracow, you might be able to tell it’s wrong, but you won’t be able to explain why!

Learn to apply the same perspective to more complex sentences. Make a note of words and phrases that you see used together a lot. If you hear a sentence you like the sound of, write it down. Read as much as you’re able. The more you expose yourself to advanced structures, the easier it will be for you to “hear” if your own attempts sound natural or not.

Some things, you’re not ready for

Do you struggle with conditionals? (it’s those pesky sentences that have if in them) Do you never know if you should use a or the? (these are called articles, and all Polish speakers hate them) Oh–do you STILL forget to add s to the verb after he / she / it?

Here’s what I say to that: good. You’re normal.

Here’s a story: I had a student who spoke beautiful English. She understood nearly anything I threw at her. She watched TV series without subtitles and knew how to write essays. And still, she would say, My brother like watching sports.

When I repeated the sentence to her and asked, are you sure that’s right?, she would exclaim, LIKES! But two minutes later, she did the same thing. Often, I couldn’t be bothered to correct her, because we had more important things to talk about.

And then, all of a sudden, she stopped. And she never did it again.

This is an old story that repeats itself across students and across grammar points. Sometimes, you may know a rule, but your language is not yet at the right level for you to be able to apply it.

Did you know that students ALWAYS master their use of Past Simple before they learn to add s to the end of the verb in Present Simple? It doesn’t matter if you teach them Present Simple first, or if you do countless tasks on Present Simple. Until they’ve started using Past Simple correctly without having to think about it, they WILL NOT remember the -s when they speak. Makes no sense, but here it is.

It would seem certain things in language simply take time. Most advanced students struggle with the correct use of conditionals. I did, too. I had pages covered with notes on the form of the 3rd conditional, and how to mix the conditionals, and when, and I did countless tasks… and then, suddenly, I didn’t have to think about it any more. It became obvious. It became so instinctive that I would have probably forgotten half of the rules if I didn’t have to teach them to others. (And now I realise that’s a 3rd/2nd mixed conditional sentence I’ve just used!)

It’s important to be aware of grammar and what kinds of mistakes you struggle with. But don’t obsess over it. Instead, learn more English. Learn vocabulary, listen, read, write, speak with people. The grammar will come.

Next week, I’ll show you some ways you can boost your grammar skills with reading, and how easy it can be. Make sure to sign up to my newsletter or follow me on social media so you don’t miss it!

I have nothing against grammar exercises. In fact, I have another post I’m writing in which I’ll be recommending some useful grammar books, and sharing how to best work with the grammar exercises in them! But I do get that for a lot of us, these bring back memories of an old-fashioned classroom where perhaps not much happens besides. If you’re tired of these types of tasks, I say fair enough. Here’s what you should do instead.

Read extensively

When my students read in class, they usually read intensively. This means they must pay attention to each sentence in a text; they have to be able to summarise it, or answer questions about it; if there are words they’re not familiar with, they might ask me about their meaning. This means we can never get through a very long text – there isn’t enough time.

Meanwhile, reading extensively means reading longer texts–articles and blog posts, but also whole magazines and books–without bothering with every little detail. When you read extensively, you read because you’re interested in what the text has to say, or because you’re having fun, and learning English is just an additional bonus. You might not understand every word or even every sentence, but you don’t let that slow you down: you’re reading faster, you’re reading more, and you’re not getting tired as quickly.

Research has shown that reading extensively in a foreign language is one of the best ways to learn. It is particularly useful for expanding your vocabulary, but it can do wonders for your grammar, too: the more examples of correct sentences you see, the more likely you are to make them yourself.

Does it matter what you read?

If you’re a beginner, you probably won’t learn very much if you pick up Shakespeare. The level of the language in your reading should generally be about a level higher than your current level. For instance, if you are a B2 student, you could look at B2-level texts to get started, then seek out C1-level texts to challenge yourself more.

A good place to start might be to explore graded readers. These are books which have been adapted to a particular level: certain difficult words have been removed and some more advanced structures have been simplified. You can get these at some libraries, as well as language bookshops.

Another option would be to look into magazines for English learners, which usually offer articles for several levels.

Authentic texts written for native speakers will vary between C1 and C2 level. However, you could start by picking up a comic book (the pictures will help!), a children’s novel (usually less complex) or an old favourite (you’ll already know the story).

Reading Winnie the Pooh

Just because you’re reading extensively doesn’t mean you shouldn’t occasionally stop and think about the language used in the book. This can really boost your understanding of the story, as well as help you gain a lot of new vocabulary and grammar fairly easily. Here’s how some of my students and I have done it with a chapter of Winnie the Pooh, a childhood favourite.

Think of some language to start with

First, my students and I looked at pictures from the chapter we were going to read, and we tried to predict what might happen. (We used a wonderful bilingual edition of Winnie the Pooh. It has gorgeous illustrations and allows you to read the stories both in Polish and the original English. You can purchase it here.)

As we did, we found we came up with several words and structures, such as flood, rescue and stranded. We also made sure we knew the names of the characters in English.

Here’s how you do it: look through the book you’re going to read, or simply look at the cover. Think of words you’re likely to find inside. Do you know them all in English? If you’re about to read a crime story, for example, it will be useful to know words such as victim, murder weapon or investigator.

Read through and notice interesting features

Then, I asked my students to read the chapter and see if we were right about our predictions. I also asked them to make a note of up to three passages they found interesting. These could be passages that used unfamiliar words or grammar structures, passages they could not understand, or passages that used language in a way they liked.

If you’d like to do the same, remember to limit yourself. If you start making a note of every new word or interesting sentence, you will get tired very quickly. Set yourself a goal, for example, I will make a note of one interesting passage per chapter.

Use what you found

Now, see if you can use the words and structures you found to come up with your own examples. This way, we’re taking the grammar and putting it into practice straight away, which helps us remember it better.

Why is it useful to learn grammar this way?

One thing that grammar exercises sometimes aren’t very good at is showing us how a particular structure works in practice. If you find it in a text, however, you have a very real example of how it works, and you can see the context of the story around it. I think it can make the grammar seem more real and meaningful.

It’s also helpful because you’re not trying to learn too much at once. Notice our notes on inversion. Inversion is a big and challenging part of English grammar that gives many advanced students trouble. However, if you’re learning it from reading, you don’t need to worry about every possible sentence that can use inversion. Instead, you can focus on how inversion can be used after the word never at the start of a sentence. This is easier to remember, and less overwhelming.

Finally, grammar in texts tends to repeat. This means that if we found one example of inversion in Winnie the Pooh, it’s very likely there’ll be more examples in other chapters. Every time you see another example, you can think to yourself, oh, look: that’s inversion, like in that sentence with NEVER. It is a natural way to revise what you’ve learnt, and to see the same structure in a new context, which leads to a better understanding of it!

Do you already read and listen to English plenty, but feel like your grammar is still the same as before? Next week’s post should give you some ideas as to why that might be.

And if you’re looking for inspiration on where to get your reading material, make sure to follow me on Facebook or Instagram – I’ll be posting some tips over the course of the week!

Do you know that pesky tense, Past Perfect? I had never seen it before last year? I’m sure you must have studied it at one point or another. Have you ever asked yourself, do people actually use this tense?

If you’re like one of my students, your immediate answer might be no. You might say, I never actually hear people use this tense. Or, I can’t remember the last time I saw this tense in writing, either.

You’d be somewhat right: it’s absolutely true that Past Perfect is less common than many other tenses, like Present Simple or Past Simple, for instance. You can easily communicate most, if not all, of your thoughts without ever using Past Perfect. But… I hear and see this tense all the time! 

The reason your experience might be different is a phenomenon I will refer to here as grammar blindness. Imagine you are reading the sentence below in a story. Which words are you likely to pay the most attention to?

Holding her breath, the girl peered through the window, which the wind had blown open.

My guess is, you will prioritise words you know, and words that carry the most meaning.

Holding her breath, the girl peered through the window, which the wind had blown open.

If you’re not familiar with the word peered, you’ll probably skip over it and use the rest of the sentence to guess its meaning (it means zajrzeć!). You might not pay a lot of attention to the exact form of the words (whether it’s blow or blown, for instance), and function words such as the, which or had will probably escape your notice, as they don’t carry very much meaning.

As a result, if you are asked to recreate this sentence from memory, it is very likely that you will get some of the grammar wrong. For instance, you may forget to add the before girl; or you might forget the had in Past Perfect.

This is a very normal thing that happens when reading, and generally it can be helpful: it allows us to read faster, and not to worry too much about phrases we’re not familiar with. However, it also means that you are missing out on a lot of learning: if you don’t notice the grammar in this sentence, you won’t remember it, and it can’t help you develop your grammar skills!

For B2 and C1-level students, Celeste Ng is a good choice for a first book: her work is well-written and critically-acclaimed, but the language isn’t too complicated, the books are short, and there is plenty of dialogue. They’re usually easy to find in bookshops, too (you can find this one here, for instance).

Grammar deafness is a thing, too

The same thing happens with listening… only it’s worse. Our brains see what they expect to see, and hear only what they expect to hear. When advanced English speakers talk, the individual words are all connected into one string of sound, and it takes a bit of guessing to understand what’s going on. Imagine you hear someone say:

She said I’d told her I’d do it.

Only it might sound a little more like: Shsaidatolderadoit.

If you’re not very familiar with Past Perfect, you won’t expect it to hear it, so you might understand the sentence as:

She said I told her I’d do it.

If you don’t know that would can be shortened to ‘d, too, you might even think the sentence goes:

She said I told her I do it.

If you’re a lower-level student and you don’t know that is incorrect, you might even miss one of the I’s in the sentence and hear:

She said told her I do it.

Why it’s a problem

This might seem like a fairly obvious question, so let me offer only a brief answer:

Noticing has been found to be a vital component of learning a language. If you don’t notice, you don’t learn. Reading books may be a fantastic way to understand and learn Past Perfect, because novels are full of it. But if you read a hundred books in English and don’t notice the Past Perfect in any of them, you won’t learn Past Perfect!

What to do about it

You’ve already done the most important thing: you are aware that this is a thing!

You won’t be able to notice all the grammar, all the time. But there are small steps you can take to improve your grammar awareness.

• Listen to songs with lyrics. This is a great way to notice what different grammar forms actually sound like: singers “eat” a lot of sounds.

• Learn more about how spoken English connects words together and makes certain words very small and quiet. This is something you can ask your teacher about or explore with online resources or a good pronunciation book, such as English Pronunciation in Use.

• The next time you read a text, take a moment to re-read one paragraph and pay attention to the grammar. Name the tenses you can see. Try to explain to yourself why these tenses are here. Notice where the article a is used, or the article the. Notice if that’s of or on or off. Find a sentence you like which uses a grammar structure you don’t know very well, and copy it out. Then, rewrite the sentence with your own idea. (For an example of how to work with a text like that, have a look at this post.)

• When you’re learning a new grammar structure or revising one, look for it in everything you read and listen to. Find examples and note them down. It will help you focus your attention and develop an instinct for how the structure works.

• Keep learning! A student has told me recently that, when before he didn’t think he’d ever heard Present Perfect Continuous used anywhere, after the few lessons we spent discussing it he started to hear it everywhere. After studying the tense in class, he understood how it worked, so he was able to pick it out from articles and TV series, but he wasn’t able to use it naturally in conversation yet. And after a few weeks of noticing examples of real use, he began to use it without thinking.

Not sure where to find the best reading material for you? Explore the ideas below. I’ve made a note next to each resource on whether it is free, cheap or a little pricier, and what kind of material you may find there.

If you’re looking for books to read:

1. Your local library [FREE!]

Most libraries these days have a small selection of books in English. You may be able to find some classics, such as Jane Austen (for advanced students only!) or the Harry Potter series (perfect for beginners to reading, especially if you know the story well).

You should also be able to find graded readers – books whose text has been adapted to make it easier to understand as a learner. Unfortunately, many of the books lose some of their charm through the adaptation, but they can still be a great way for you to dive into classic literature if you’re an intermediate reader. Many also offer glossaries (mini-dictionaries) and tasks to go with the reading. Look through the book you find to decide if it’s worth a try. I especially like Edgadr’s readers; some of my students and I were recently reading a chapter from their Anne of Green Gables reader, and everyone really enjoyed it.

2.  A language library [FREE!]

You might have trouble accessing this if you live in a smaller town, but do look up multilingual libraries if you live in a bigger city. In Warsaw, where I live, I am familiar with two very good ones: one in Gocław and one in Wola. They both have a vast selection of books in English: fiction, non-fiction, new releases, graded readers, children’s books, and whatever else you can think of!

3. A standard bookshop or language bookshop [A LITTLE PRICIER]

When I started reading in English, it was a struggle to find new titles in Poland. But nowadays, standard book outlets such as Empik or Bonito have a decent collection of books in English (especially online), featuring both classics and current bestsellers. A language bookshop such as Bookland will offer a broader range, including many graded readers. English books will usually be more expensive than those in Polish, but nowadays, the price difference is rarely very large.

4. A second-hand bookshop [CHEAP]

This one favours the big city folk again. Do a Google search to find second-hand bookshops and go see whether they have an English section (they often do, these days). And if you’re Warsaw-based, definitely check out thebooks.pl – they have a massive collection of used books in English, as well as new copies at good prices. The last time I was there, I managed to pick up three books and paid a total of 20 zloties – not sure you can do as well, but you’ll definitely spend less than at a major bookseller’s.

5. Online outlets [A LITTLE PRICIER]

If you’re keen on a particular title that isn’t available elsewhere, have a look around the web. In Poland, you can often find bigger titles sold through Allegro. Otherwise, importing from the UK through Amazon will do the trick.

6. Public-access books [FREE!]

A lot of classic literature has entered the public domain, which means it’s freely available online, no copyright laws infringed upon. Sites such as Project Gutenberg house massive collections of these, so if you have an e-reader or don’t mind reading on your computer or phone, this can be a goldmine. However, do be careful: classic literature is usually more challenging to read than new releases because of the sometime old-fashioned language. If you’ve never read a book in English before, this is NOT the place to start.

7. University libraries [FREE / CHEAP]

If there’s a university near where you live, this is a great place to look, especially if they offer courses in English. In Warsaw, BUW has lots of books in English, and the smaller libraries at Wydział Lingwistyki also have nice selections. If you’re a student or university staff, take advantage! And if not, you may look into getting a library card as a member of the public. In Warsaw, this is very easy to do and costs only 20 zloties. Unfortunately, you may not be able to borrow books to take home, but you can still go in for a reading session at one of the many reading rooms.

If you’re more interested in shorter texts or articles:

8. Online news outlets [FREE]

For recent news, consult the BBC. If you’re interested in scientific / academic English, check out The Conversation, where features are often written by scientists and researchers. If you’re looking to cheer yourself up, check out Positive News, which celebrates scientific advances and all things good.

9. Interest-specific websites [FREE]

There’s nothing like reading up on what you’re interested in to motivate yourself. Dedicate some time to looking around the web for English-language resources on your topics of interest. A bit of time, and you’re sure to find a wealth of information on your hobby, profession or recent TV series obsession. This is a fantastic way to build up a vocabulary resource for work or school, too.

10. Newsweek Learning English, and other magazines for learners [A LITTLE PRICIER]

These are often available at major bookstores or at the newsagent’s. You can usually order them online, too, or find a selection at a language bookshop such as Bookland. I quite like Newsweek Learning English, which I sometimes use in class: the topics of the articles range from health and lifestyle to current politics, there are colourful illustrations and mini glossaries, and each issue has texts on levels from B1 to C1. Pick up one to try it, and if you find you’re enjoying this method of learning, a subscription may well make sense.

Which of the suggestions above have you tried? Have I missed any good places to find reading in English? Get in touch if you’d like to let me know – I would love to update my list.

And if you’d like to find out more about why reading in English is so important, check out the previous posts in this series!

Let me tell you about two English students.

One is a confident speaker. She can talk about anything, make jokes and ask questions. It’s nice speaking with her: she speaks fast but uses quite simple language, and it’s usually easy to follow. You can see she isn’t at all stressed out by speaking, and when she doesn’t know a word, she tries to explain another way.

The problem? Her grammar isn’t too good. She uses the same words over and over. When she’s trying to explain something more complicated, you can’t really understand what she’s talking about because she doesn’t use the right words or the right structures. When she tells you a story, sometimes you can’t understand if she’s talking about something that’s already happened in the past, something she’s planning to do, or something she’s just imagining! And when she takes an English class, she finds it difficult to make things better, or stop making the same mistakes.

The other is a careful speaker. She tries her best to use the best word in every situation. She prefers writing messages or emails to speaking, because she likes to check things in a dictionary or a translator. When she explains something, it is very clear and easy to understand, and often sounds impressive. Her grammar is pretty good, too, and she knows a lot of interesting words. She does well on English tests and exams.

The problem? You can’t actually have a proper conversation with her. She gets very stressed when she has to speak, especially if she gets no time to prepare or has to talk about a new topic. She speaks slowly, with breaks to think, and when she forgets a word, she just gives up and never finishes the sentence. Her English level is good, but she’s afraid to have a simple conversation at a coffee shop, and she doesn’t speak up in meetings at work, or even apply for jobs that need English. All this learning isn’t really helping her!

Which of these people sound more like you? Is your fluency (=płynność) better than your accuracy (=poprawność / dokładność), or the other way round?

Before I lived abroad, I was definitely more like the second speaker. Even when my English was very advanced, I still found speaking extremely stressful and tiring. I worried a lot about not making mistakes, about sounding smart, and about my accent. In many ways, this was good: it motivated me to pay more attention when I studied, to take careful notes, to notice mistakes I made and correct them. If you want to develop your English to a very high level, accuracy is extremely important.

Then I went to live for a while in Paris, where I met a lot of English speakers from all over the world. Following that, I went to study in the UK, where I met native speakers of English, too. And I discovered no one cared about my mistakes or my accent. Soon, I stopped caring, too: it was impossible to care when I had to speak English all the time, with all sorts of people, all day every day. In class, it was more important to have good ideas. With my new friends, it was more important to relax and have fun.

If you’re struggling with your fluency, by far the best thing to do is put yourself in a situation where communication is important, but no one is going to judge you poorly for making mistakes. Not everyone can or wants to move abroad, so here are some other ideas on how to do it:

Visit an English-speaking country. No matter if it’s a weekend trip to London, a two-week language course in Ireland or a three-month exchange programme to visit the States: you will be forced to speak, and you will be more worried about finding your way and getting things done than about how good your English is.

Take the time to speak English with people of different nationalities. You can do this while travelling, but these days, it’s also easy enough to find language exchange meet-ups in Poland. You will see that the people you speak with have various accents and levels of English, and that it doesn’t matter as long as you can have a fun conversation.

Talk to yourself. If you’re not ready to have conversations with others, try talking to yourself, out loud or just in your head. Describe what you can see around you. Plan what you need to buy. Make comments about the people you see in the street. Try to keep going even when you’re not sure how to say something, or if you’ve forgotten a word. Could you explain it in a different way?

Take a language class with a speaking focus. Sometimes, you need a little push. In a class setting, you’ll have to speak, there’s no way around it—but you’ll have the support of your teacher, who’s seen dozens of people with similar problems. Having conversations with other students at a similar level can also really help: you’ll see that they make mistakes, too, and worry about some of the same things you do.

But what if fluency isn’t the issue?

I’ve found that most students who’ve only lived in Poland struggle with fluency first of all.  But there are some for whom accuracy is the biggest issue. They are usually people who have spent some time living abroad, who have been working in English for a long time, or who use English online for watching TV or gaming.

For these learners, the problem is that at some point fluency isn’t enough. If you want to have conversations on social issues, deliver presentations, explain reports or enter serious negotiations—or if you’re simply annoyed with making the same mistakes over and over again—you need to slow down and start listening carefully to everything you say. How can you say it better?

Here are some ideas for how to improve your accuracy:

Record yourself. Give yourself a topic to talk about, for example the day you’ve had. Record yourself talking about it for a minute on your phone, then listen back and take notes. Can you notice any mistakes? Can you think of better ways to say the same, or interesting words you could have used? Now, try again. See if you can improve the clarity and the grammar.

Take a class focussed on grammar, vocabulary development or exam preparation. These classes will still include some speaking, but a lot of it will require you to use a particular grammar structure or new vocabulary. There will be more emphasis on accuracy in these classes, which will help you notice areas where you can improve.

Write. When we write, we get the time to really think about our message, to choose the words carefully, and to edit after. It’s a great way to practise using words and grammar which you wouldn’t be able to easily use in conversation, where everything happens too fast to really think. Try keeping a diary, even if you only write one or two sentences a day. Imagine a conversation you might have with a client or co-worker and write down what you’d like to say. This is something I did a lot as I was learning English, and it’s really helped me improve the language I used when speaking.

Find someone to give you feedback. Another English speaker may be able to notice mistakes and suggest better ways of saying something that you might never think of. A teacher would be best, because they will have the specialised knowledge to help them decide how best to help you, but a friend who speaks English can also work!

Whether you’re more fluent or more accurate may depend on your personality, level of English and the ways in which you’ve been learning. It’s best to try and achieve a balance between the two; so if you find one comes more easily than the other, try and change the way you study to balance it out.