[weiming]

[CAUTION: I am not a teacher:take the advice and or corrections offered in this post at your own risk.
If you doubt the information, please get a qualified opinion from one of the teachers on these forums.]

And now, in the style I am known and hated for, I will argue both sides of the issue.

blouen>

I think it is just as well that you have come to be aware of and concerned about grammar, but aware of it eventually, and not primarily.

Anyone pursuing a career involving language, writing, editing, and so on will need more than a working knowledge of grammar and really, everyone should have a firm basic knowledge, just as everyone should have a firm knowledge of first aid (it saves lives). Again, I would never recommend reading the dictionary as a precursor to speaking, but everyone should absolutely have a dictionary on hand for reference.

When we delve into the waters of deeper grammar, especially when learning an additional language, books on grammar and linguistics itself are indispensible.

Of course the original question of the thread was which should be acquired first by a learner of language and in that sense I stand firmly by my previous position.