HI. I’m Paul, a 57-year-old Pro. EFL teacher with a BA in English (grammar& social linguistics) and 30 years’ experience. I speak Italian and French fluently, have A level equivalent in German, can understand Spanish quite well and am currently studying Arabic. The question of whether isolated, formal grammar study can improve one's ability to deploy grammar effectively is a highly debated one. Some researchers appear to have demonstrated its scarce contribution to any meaningful headway while others argue that it might even inhibit progress, insisting that acquisition plays a more important role in ELF learning than formal English study, which they feel, might inhibit this acquisition. Of course what grammar are we talking about in the first place? - the prescriptive 18th/19th century Latin based dogma of how we should be or think we are speaking and writing; or, is it a corpus based and descriptive type? Do we mean the grammar of spoken or written language? Indeed, can grammar and lexis be forced into a temporary pedagogic separation and still be useful? In any case, reading is a great way to improve, not only your vocabulary, but also your grammar, too. From time to time, you might take a mental note of syntax, collocation etc that strikes you and compare it to a similar context in your language. E-readers like Kindle Paper White are great tools in that the dictionary is under your fingertips. I would also recommend a few grammar reference books ( corpus based) – The Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English (Bieber, Conrad, Leech) and English Grammar Today (Carter R.) Both have workbooks available and the latter (EGT) can be installed on the computer and comes with audio, too. As for improving your writing, you will probably need a teacher with a deep understanding of grammar as a resource for meaning making and who has a logical, consistent method of correcting. Good luck with your learning. Paul P.S at school I read, read and read.

Both readying and studying grammar can help with your writing, but I believe that you also need to write and receive feedback on your writing in order to get better. I'm a professional English teacher and I offer a personalised writing course, if you're interested. Send me a message if you want more information :) All the best!