i started to learn english by reading textbooks (about grammar). after three months i realized that it was useless and so for about four months i read about how to learn, how to learn foreign languages, how the brain and memory works and i read a lot about polygots and their ways of learning foreign languages. then i found out my kind of intelligence (verbally-linguistic) and so (that's why) i started to learn by reading and listening (which suited me best) when i could learn new words in context (how can anybody learn words from a dictionary???). within a year i was able to read full text books and understand fluent speaking (bbc, guardian…). now when i have been learning english for about two years i start to learn grammar and really dont understand how can anybody learn and understand grammar if he is not able to speak the language… (it is like learning sophisticated mathematical formulas without knowing how to add up or subtract etc.). to learn english perfectly (if poss) is very difficult but learn it badly is very easy… if any of you managed to learn english via grammar, let me know coz i would love to get to know such a person… (must be a genius)

Do you think that study grammar and at the same time develop another skills is the bad way of learning English? I don't think so.

To Dušan Veselka: it is very interesting what you are writing here about, I really admire it. The fact is that children too start learning the spoken language first and the grammar is what they acquire much much later – yet it is absolutely natural for them to speak. As for me I have been learning English for a pretty long time. Mainly the grammar were we engaged with on the lessons I had attended and the speaking is the skill I am still struggling with and without much success. So I believe your method works, and congratulations!

I absolutely agree with Dusan. Learn English by listening and you will see the results very soon. Forget boring text books and start using podcasts and videos. By using this method I was able to pass FCE – A after 1 year. It took another 15 months to pass
CAE-A. I am not saying my English is perfect, but I know I wouldn't have improved so much if I had used the old method.

to Scorpio
no, i dont think (and never said) that learning grammar is useless. if you want to be really good, learning grammar is essential. what i wanted to say is that i think (=just my opinion) that if you understand spoken english (or can read books), then you can understand grammar easier. it can help you at the beginning. so, what i am getting at is where or how you start – by grammar or by general understanding of english?.. but not many people agree with me (well, except for Eglantine and Kenzo as i can see here..) mainly because people usually dont know what i actually mean. learning by „listening“ and „reading“ doesnt mean that you should listen and read without understanding the meaning. i read easy books, learnt the words in the context and read the books over and over. i read more books, learnt more words and by reading the books i understood the meaning (without knowing grammar). it was very natural and fast. the same i did with listening.. but it is difficult to explain the system in brief.

if you learn something and feel that it doesnt help you and that you actually dont learn anything, then learn harder and longer.. or just try another way.. i know people who learn english for many years, swot grammar all the time and are not able to speak, as well as their reading and listening comprehension is poor.. if you combine learning grammar with listening, reading and speaking, it is usually the best. and if something (anything) helps you improve, it is good..

i just wrote my opinion based on my own experience (and i dont give advice about how to learn).

I admire how easy you write such a long text after only two years of learning.
And I like your method, I use it too. Two months ago I started with French and I proceed in similar way. I am just not able to understand a grammar „thing“ which I have never seen…

Once you have reached a certain level it is much easier to understand the grammar. I think that you should devote about 80% of your time to listening and/or reading. Start with easy texts and podcasts. Make sure that the materials you use are adequate to your level. If you listen or read something you don't understand you learn nothing. I took my inspiration from effortless English. The most important thing is consistency. You need to study every single day. News, podcasts, TV-series, movies, books, you name it. The ways of learning the language are numerous.

Whatever the method, you must find one that suits you. For me I was an combination of grammar, reading and listening. I would call it an unsurprising way. Listening itself doesn't work well enough for me, as I like to see through everything completely. That's me.
Not to forget, I have have been studying English for more than 8 years.

I've been learnin' English since 2004. But I have bad english teacher. She can't learn me anything. So I visit EV Centrum in HK. I think, it really help me with my English. My course (semester) is ending after 12 days. But it doesn't mind me because I like learning English at home at HFE.

I've been learning for about 2 years and I think that I made a great progress since I started studying it. I was an elementary English speaker then and now I guess I'am upper-intermediate. However, if I hadn't started learning on HFE, I would be maybe pre-intermediate or less.