Advice for those Learning English Part-I Read fiction especially Arthur Conan Doyle (writer of sherlock holmes series), Agatha Christie, J.K. Rowling - simple but correct english usage in those books. Collins Cobuild Dictionary and thesaurus (Available in books as well as CD's - can get them for free on net) I am using Collins Cobuild Lexicon. Second best in my opinion is Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. I would recommend using computer dictionaries as they have pronunciation in them which really helps. Wren and Martin high school Grammar book (No need for deep study just understand what is author trying to convey-don't read all the definitions it will make you confused... just go through it examples and the topics you can understand. Read online newspapers like The New York Times, The Herald, The Daily Telegraph, The Hindu - (Best newspaper i have ever read though Indian but uses British English Standards) Read online magazines - Frontline (from the hindu foundation) and others Also listen to BBC A piece of advice - Don't try to learn rules and regulations that much but the necessary ones instead go for the feeling of how words are used and sentences are structured and google a lot A few tips for you which I have followed 1 Always carry a dictonary with you - Collins Gem Pocket Dictionary is the best ever or you can opt for Oxford Pocket Dictionary - just randomly open any page and skim through words and any word you like just memorize it and tick it darkly in your dictionary. Revise that word from time to time. 2 Read online newspaper/ Magazines like The Newyork Times, The Herald, Outlook, Times. My Favorite are The Hindu and Frontline (Though Indian but standard of English they use is even higher then British Newspaper.) While reading try reading different books in english and you can opt for any number of topics and instead of learning grammar rules by heart get the feeling of how the words are used. 3 To learn how to speak and understand english watch BBC(British Accent mainly) and English Movies and Seasons (Serials telecasted on TV). But remember to opt for either British Accent or American Accent and repeat the way you hear them talk, repeat those words again and again. 4 Make few friends here and talk to them online from time to time( I mean call them on gtlk or skype or other source) and tell them to correct you in your pronunciation and word structuring.