Thread: Would You Invest in English Grammar Lessons?

This is mostly for those who do not speak English as a first language, or those who wish to improve their grammar skills beyond the norm...would you invest in grammar lessons or information products?

This is a question I ask because I'm considering producing workbooks geared towards those wanting to improve their grammar. While my main target is freelance writers wanting to make more money, I also want to target the general public.

Please let me know what you think about this idea. Honestly.

what you need to invest are hollywood movies that you should enjoy.
learn english while you watch movies

I'm not a writer but I'd invest in improving my grammar

Corey, perhaps we should talk, even if you are too busy to take on additional writing assignments. I own an English academy here in Spain, currently employing 4 teachers with students ranging from beginner to advanced, and will soon be producing course work for tourism and retail.

We may be able to help each other.

I would not as my Grammar is quite decent enough. But what country would you be targeting? US/UK? don't they have 'English' as a subject where grammar is taught?
As far as my education is concerned, i had to study 'English' as a compulsory subject till the 12th grade so there's no question of learning further, but still I see many who struggle and still can't master it.

Originally Posted by Snak3

I would not as my Grammar is quite decent enough. But what country would you be targeting? US/UK? don't they have 'English' as a subject where grammar is taught?

I am targeting non-native speakers, specifically writers looking to make more money from their article writing, and looking to communicate and build repeat clients with better effectiveness.

As far as the UK/USA question goes - American schools are notorious for not being the best schools on the planet due to the concern for test scores. I know that if I hadn't liked reading, my grammar would probably suck. Grammar wasn't pounded into us until about 9th grade, when it would affect most people's grades and when it is mostly too late to fix it using conventional teaching.

I have no thoughts on the UK schools as I don't live in the UK, and even if I did, British English and American English have grammatical variations. Were I to target the UK, I'd have to hire someone as a consultant.

As far as my education is concerned, i had to study 'English' as a compulsory subject till the 12th grade so there's no question of learning further, but still I see many who struggle and still can't master it.

Grammar is hard, and people who teach it often make it harder. However, I'm not proposing conventional or "boring" teaching. Even I can doze off when doing worksheets for class. That is why these lessons have to be beneficial, simple, informative, and entertaining.

I kind of want to be a stickler and pick apart your first sentence. "quite decent enough" is excessive so you can just say "quite decent" or "decent enough" or even just "decent." That was just for fun. Also you missed a comma in your third sentence.

I am just messing with you.

Many freelancers calling themselves "writers" need this. But I'm afraid they are not fully aware of that

Originally Posted by CoreyFreeman

I have no thoughts on the UK schools as I don't live in the UK, and even if I did, British English and American English have grammatical variations. Were I to target the UK, I'd have to hire someone as a consultant.

They're not that different, grammatically I'd say 99.999% the same, some Americans and Canadians will often drop a determiner (eg the), whereas people from the British Isles and the Commonwealth won't.

Originally Posted by CoreyFreeman

Grammar is hard, and people who teach it often make it harder. However, I'm not proposing conventional or "boring" teaching. Even I can doze off when doing worksheets for class. That is why these lessons have to be beneficial, simple, informative, and entertaining.

Agreed

Originally Posted by CoreyFreeman

I kind of want to be a stickler and pick apart your first sentence. "quite decent enough" is excessive so you can just say "quite decent" or "decent enough" or even just "decent." That was just for fun. Also you missed a comma in your third sentence.

I can ignore the redundancy, but missing a comma is worthy of walking the proverbial plank - people, commas represent a pause, just like you would when you need to take a break to catch your breath, and they are critical to good communication. Remember, after every part of a sentence, insert a comma.

Originally Posted by CoreyFreeman

This is mostly for those who do not speak English as a first language, or those who wish to improve their grammar skills beyond the norm...would you invest in grammar lessons or information products?

Grammar lessons appear to be a good idea for content. I would expect that you would get a lot of repeat traffic as well.
How do you plan on monetizing the content? Or do you plan on selling the lessons?

Originally Posted by elbandelero

Corey, perhaps we should talk, even if you are too busy to take on additional writing assignments. I own an English academy here in Spain, currently employing 4 teachers with students ranging from beginner to advanced, and will soon be producing course work for tourism and retail.

I got a TEFL certificate at Princeton University. I had a few job offers in Mexico and China. The pay was little more than beer money. The job market for Americans dried up in Spain dried up after Spain became a full member of the EC.

It seemed that most of the English lessons were geared toward tourism. I knew some students studying at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Most of them had some sort of job with tourism. There didn't seem to be a much focus on business.

Originally Posted by CoreyFreeman

I am targeting non-native speakers, specifically writers looking to make more money from their article writing, and looking to communicate and build repeat clients with better effectiveness.

I think a good target market is the businessman in addition to the freelancer. People in business generally have money money to spend.

I think its a good idea. My grammar can suck sometimes when I am just writing and not paying attention.

If you haven't took the odesk tests yet for English and grammar you will be surprised what you score. Those tests are ridicules.