A language could be a big family of many members

[realEnglish]

I'm not an English native speaker. My first time contacting a few Australians surprised me. Neither could I nor they understand each other. I supposed they must speak the real and correct English and I didn't. But I had got really good marks and certificates in English in school. What's wrong with my English? Out of frustration, I started to practice new type of learning. I avoided teaching materials that were designed only for language learners, and only watched videos and read articles that were not intended for language teaching. That way, despite the fact that I am still unable to speak or write something sounding natural to the native speakers, I have really improved my English.

My personal experience makes me believe that a language learner needs both disciplined teaching like the way school teachers do and learning what people actually say (and do) in real life. A language could be a big family of many members.

[Tarheel]

I'm not an English native speaker. My first time contacting a few Australians surprised me. I couldn't understand them, and they couldn't understand me. I supposed they must speak the real and correct English and I didn't. But I had got really good marks and certificates in English in school. What's wrong with my English? Out of frustration, I started to practice a new type of learning. I avoided teaching materials that were designed only for language learners, and only watched videos and read articles that were not intended for language teaching. That way, despite the fact that I am still unable to speak or write something sounding natural to the native speakers, I have really improved my English.

My personal experience makes me believe that a language learner needs both disciplined teaching like the way school teachers do and learning what people actually say (and do) in real life. A language could be a big family of many members.

Interesting story.

I would say:

I'm not a native speaker of English.

And:

What was wrong with my English?

[Tdol]

How much speaking practice did you get at school? It can be an issue where grammar is favoured over communication.

[realEnglish]

How much speaking practice did you get at school?

Little.

It can be an issue where grammar is favoured over communication.

It's a serious problem.

And, what made things worse was the fact that most of the English teachers did not speak real English. They spoke English words + grammatical rules, which some people call "classroom English".

I think what we call grammar (rules) is a small part of real grammar. The expressions (what to say to express what) are real grammar, for if you express in a wrong way, even if it is correct by grammar (rules), it's hard for people to get what you mean.

[Tarheel]

You can certainly say something that is grammatical but makes no sense.

Most native speakers rarely talk about grammar.(I don't except for this website.)