Some time ago I heard that I should improve my English skills; that I should learn how to write English… as well as if I’m Polish, then I should write Polish. No f*in’ way!
Yesterday under my post “How long should be the post on your blog?” (yes, I know that there is a grammar error in that) James (I don’t know your surname or even your webpage so I can’t link to you) wrote that I need to learn how to write English.
What can I say? Sure, I need to. I should to. I want to… I even try to.
However… is it good enough reason to not to write here in English? I think’s not.
Everybody, who wants to be heard should write English. Everyone, who wants to talk to people around the globe – should write English. Even if you don’t know that language very well. Even if you make lots of mistakes, grammar mistakes… even then – you should write English.
It’s the most common language in business; it’s the most common language in the web. That’s why – you should be able to use it. That’s why – you should be able to write or talk using it.
Remember: only practice could give you a chance to improve your writing skills. The same thing is with the foreign languages. Only the practice in writing English could improve your writing skills in that language.
So… write English! Write, read and learn! Don’t be offense on people, who point out your mistakes. Try to learn from them.
The content of the January 29th blog post is very clear and helpful. I hope you don’t let James’ complaint bug you.
@Samuel
Absolutely not. It motivates me to learning.
Well,I am in a rather huge dilemma regarding the language of my blog.
Since my blog was created(1 month ago),I have solely used English as the language on the blog,but it seems like I don’t get visits that often.
My blog has 2 particular categories:one is a social one,where I publish things that happen in my day-to-day life,and the other one is a review category,where I describe the products I’ve used,rate them etc.
So,the blog is kind of fuzzy.Under these circumstances,should I continue blogging in English or should I try it in my native language?
To Karol: I think your English is good enough and I commend you for your great efforts in learning and practicing it. I just think that since this is a publication, albeit online, it should still go with the general standards. With a personal blog that talks about your everyday life, what you did, where you went, it’s okay to be a bit lax (though still not advisable). But posts that convey expertise like here: http://blog.karolzielinski.com/charasterics-of-good-web-developer… They need to be proofread and edited.
As I mentioned in my comment there, ” As we know, English, right now, is the universal language, and we need to brush up on our communication skills to get our messages across. That should eliminate or lessen miscommunication or confusion.”
To Oktavist: My two cents’ worth of advice…First, think of your target audience or readers. If they are generally English speakers, stay with the English mode and keep practicing and learning the language. As for it not getting lots of hits, well, it may not even be your English that is the problem (although I am not saying that’s what you meant especially since you seem like a natural English speaker).
Lots of blogs that use great English don’t get lots of visits as well. It takes a lot more than the language you are using. It could be the content — how interesting they are, how relevant to visitors, what words you are using exactly. With Google Panda and Penguin, it just not that easy ranking high anymore. Ranking high means being in the top ten results when people Google for keywords. Normally, it’s the Top Ten that gets to be visited first. Also, the highlighted ones in the results pages? They are there because they pay Google for those spaces.
@Charlize thank you very much for your tips. I’m still working hard on improving my English skills