We all have preferred ways of learning.  Some prefer to read, others to listen, but both benefit from repetition.

My mother would learn to spell new words by tracing them out on her palm. I am learning German so I keep a grammar book in the bathroom, but it is slow going, mostly because I don't "do" enough.

Understanding how you learn best can help you develop a learning strategy that works for you.
 

England and America share a common language. Or at least that is the theory. Yes I know there are lots of differences in individual spellings – humor and humour , neighbour and neighbour, and all the rest. Then there are differences of use - they walk on sidewalks whereas we use pavements. They eat cookies and biscuits, whereas we eat biscuits and scones.

I have recently joined an international group of women writers. We meet on line once a week in a chat room  and share ideas, comment on each others work, make suggestions and offer prompts and ideas for other pieces of writing.

If you are reading this with any degree of understanding then you must have a good standard of English already.  What?  You don't believe me?  Then perhaps what you need is a little more confidence  - yes  you will make mistakes, but don’t we all?  I have a friend who met her husband to be when he visited her home in Peru. He speaks Spanish only in its most elementary form (the kind that requires you have a guidebook in one hand), and at that time she spoke not one word of English. Nevertheless they fell in love. Once his time was up and he had to return to England, she followed him two weeks later and today, perhaps three months later, we received the invitation to their wedding.

Along with millions of others who never pick up a racket from one year to the next  I watch Wimbledon. Last night it was young Andrew Murray who finally won though to the next round after a rather patchy match.

At the moment we have the builders in – when they finally arrive for the day. This can mean any time between 8.30 and 11 30 am – more often the latter. We thought it was a small job – just a roof repair on an out building  - but they’ve managed to extend it to 10 days so far. Fortunately we are paying by the job rather than the hour. One of them will go off for a spade, a special one he can’t work without,  or to the post office ( 5 doors way) and then doesn’t reappear for 4 hours..