Hi! Are you a non-native speaker of English who writes or wants to write in English? Then stay along for this masterpost of free writing resources for non-native speakers of English!
Before starting, I want to highlight that English is not my first language either, but I've been studying English since kindergarten and started to write fanfic in English when I was sixteen. Then I went to university in Scotland, and I now work as a proofreader and editor of academic works for Chinese students in the UK.
So, the resources you'll find in this post (under the cut) are things that I've been using almost daily for the past eight years, for fun and then uni and now work.
Whatever you choose to do, remember that you're amazing for knowing more than one language and that your linguistic repertoire enriches you immensely. If you write in your second (or third, or fourth) language, you're basically a hero already! You don't have to aim to write or speak like a native English speaker. Be proud of all your languages!
[Disclaimer: I have not checked for similar posts, so if there are some out there, I'm sorry. I just wanted to do this to help others with what I've learned and use!]
If anyone wants to contribute, feel free to reblog with more resources, even language-specific ones! I might update it too in the future if I find more useful websites.
Language resources:
I'll start with the basics: my favourite translation tools.
Reverso Context: translation of words and phrases in context from texts taken from the web. On the other tabs of the website, you can find a grammar checker, automatic translator, synonyms, verb conjugations, regular dictionary, collaborative dictionary, and grammar resources!
Linguee: context translation, but with more language combinations than reverso, and with DeepL, one of the best automated translators the web has to offer for free. Seriously, I've had classmates in uni pass whole ass assignments translating them into French with DeepL.
Word reference: I use this a lot less than the others, but it's still a great online dictionary, and the forum can probably solve most of your more complex doubts about language! It also has word lists by topic, grammar and conjugation resources, and a collocation dictionary!
English resources:
Oxford Collocation Dictionary: I use this literally every day. It doesn't have all the words, but it's incredibly helpful to find which verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and prepositions go with the words you want to use.
Reverse dictionary: literally a reverse dictionary: you write in the definition, it gives you a lot of possible words. You can divide results depending on grammatical category, and even add filters if you're looking for something specific. (similar to "tip of my tongue" but better in my opinion)
Describing Words: usually gives you LOTS of examples for adjectives that go well with words, in case you don't quite know how to describe something in a more “poetic” way. If you find a word you don't know here, check it on one of the next to dictionaries.
Merriam-Webster: for definitions and synonyms. Very simple and clean layout, easy to use.
Cambridge Dictionary: Cambridge is, of course, the ultimate authority on “proper English”, so it's only fair that their online dictionary is one of the best around. It does have a lot of ads, but also a lot of different resources for each word, including examples, related words, synonyms, collocations, antonyms, and various levels of definition depending on complexity.
WikiDiff: if you're unsure about the difference between two words, wikidiff will give you two definitions side by side to compare.
Google Ngram: if you're unsure between two words and want to check which one is more commonly used, ngram is your friend. Very useful for academic writing, but it can be applied to creative writing and fiction too!
Spell checkers:
Grammarly: Grammarly is one of those things where you just have to believe the hype. I use it to check every work I send to my boss. It catches most things, and some even extra, so you have to be careful and use your own judgment when checking them, but it's incredibly useful.
LanguageTool: I've not been using this for long, and only as a browser add-on, but it's proven itself very useful, and for more languages than English!
If you are Spanish-speaking, what were your favorite books growing up? Maybe something that would be at the reading level of a 10-13 year old (though I’d also probably enjoy kids picture books or graphic novels/comics too).
I’m a native (US) English speaker and only have high school level Spanish. I haven’t used it much since so I’d have to start with the basics, but I really want to try.
I have a learning disability that makes retaining things like the spelling of vocabulary words very difficult. I was already flunking my English spelling tests in school, never mind Spanish. I had one teacher who would let me take tests orally but most had written tests where you were graded on spelling (and if the teacher was particularly sadistic, they’d make us write down the English and Spanish words and grade us on the spelling of both).
It left stuck on the idea that I was bad at learning new languages. But I’ve found that I can understand more Spanish when I read or listen to a conversation than I can write or speak it. Maybe trying a different learning style as an adult will help me.
I’d especially like historical fiction recs (or even non-fiction) so I can get a perspective from outside a (white) USAmerican worldview while I’m learning.
Much as I love fantasy and sci-fi, I kind of want to avoid anything that has its own in-universe jargon. I think I’d have a hard time following both a real unfamiliar language and an imaginary one.
The 2021 Langblr Secret Santa is open for sign-ups! This is an anonymous gift exchange between language learners on Tumblr, giving gifts and encouraging one another during the winter holiday season. You don't need to have a langblr to join or to be at any particular level with your target language: all language enthusiasts are welcome!
Schedule:
Sign-ups open: November 6
Sign-ups close: November 20
Assignments delivered: November 23
Check-in: December 12
Posting period: December 24-31
sign-ups | FAQ
Send an ask if you have any questions and spread the word!!
The only universally useful tip I can give you is that you should stop trusting people who say they learned a language in unbelievably short amount of time and people who say they can speak unbelievably large amount of language without an ounce of proof.
Attention a mes amis francophones, y atención a mis amigos hispanohablantes.
I have questions, as an English-speaking French and Spanish learner.
In none of my classes, they never covered how to nickname or refer to someone who is non-binary/intersex/gender-fluid/etc. So, what do y’all do? I thought, maybe just mixing the gender of the word with the “incorrect” article (i.e., “mon cherie” because “mon” is masculine” but “cherie” is the feminine form, or “cariña mio” along those same lines.) But is that like... all? Is there anything else to do?
And then like, what about if you’re referring to them in the third person? In Spanish I imagine it’s easier because you don’t have to have a pronoun, but in French? Is it like... default to “on” instead of il or elle? But “on” is for a group of indefinite specificity, not an individual.
Just. Tell me everything. Literally anything you want to tell me, tell me. I wanna know it all.
