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Make a plan. Try to get an overview of English grammar from a text book or online resource. Note the grammar points you need to work on and plan to work on each for at least a few day.

Identify common mistakes. People who speak the same language often make the same mistakes in English grammar. For example, many Russian speakers have trouble using “a” and “the” in English. Find out what grammar points are often difficult for speakers of your native language. Pay extra attention to learning those grammar points.

Find some grammar exercises. To learn English grammar well, you’ll need to practice each grammar point until you can use it easily. Look for a book of grammar exercises that also has answers. Online activities and quizzes can also help. Focus on just one grammar point each time you study.

Pay close attention to grammar when you read English. When you’re trying to learn correct English grammar, it’s not enough to understand general idea of what you read. You’ll need to understand exactly why each sentence is written that way. When you read a sentence, ask yourself if can make similar sentences. If you can’t or you’re not sure, find text book exercises for those grammar points and practice.

Translate from your native language into English. When you write or speak your own thoughts, it’s easy to avoid complicated grammar. When you translate, you have to work with whatever is on the page, even if the grammar is difficult. Start translating simple things like advertisments and then move to newpapers and magazine articles. Translating dialog in plays is another good way to practice.

Ask native speakers for advice. If you know any native English speakers, ask if they could check some of your writing now and then. If there are no native English speakers near you, look online for language learning forums or language exchange sites. Just remember if the native speaker is not a teacher, he or she may not be able to explain grammar rules.

Expose your students to the proper use of English grammar. Children will internally develop many grammar rules on their own through exposure to the language. It’s your responsibility as the teacher to provide this exposure. First and foremost, this means always modeling proper grammar in your speech and writing. If you don’t want your students to make errors in subject-verb agreement, don’t make these errors yourself. Also, get your students reading as much as possible. Good writers do a lot of reading.

Exposure alone won’t teach all the grammar lessons children need to know. Perhaps you’ve heard of the whole language versus phonics debate. Most professionals agree that exemplary reading and writing instruction requires a balance of these two technique. Therefore, you’ll need to systematically teach grammar rules. However, don’t try to dole too much information at one time. Instead, focus on one particular skill that you want your students to learn, and provide a mini-lesson teaching this skill. Your mini-lesson should introduce the grammar rule in question and give examples of its use. Once your students master the selected skill, you can move on to other topics.

Most children will need hands-on experience to master grammar rules. You must provide your students with ample opportunities to write. Then, provide grammar-based feedback. Take your students’ writing level into account when providing feedback. For example, in a second grade classroom, you will see many grammar and usage errors. Don’t mark up every mistake in red pen; it’s too discouraging for students. Instead, focus on the grammar rules you have specifically taught.

Give students opportunities to edit others’ work. Often, when students look at their own writing, they miss grammatical errors because as the writer, they know what they intended to say. However, those same children can identify similar mistakes in others’ writing. To this end, have students peer review each others’ work. Also, editing worksheets provide opportunities for students to apply the grammar rules they have learned.