The rules of English grammar are so difficult, with so many exceptions, that students can often feel overwhelmed by them.

Even as a native language speaker who has spent her entire life working with the written word, I sit with a dictionary by my side, along with numerous style guides and grammar books.

But most of the time I go by my gut instinct, meaning; I read a sentence or a passage of text and know when it just doesn’t feel right.

I am always amazed when I meet people who have English as their second or third language and realise that their understanding of English grammar rules are much better than mine. Perhaps the emphasis of their learning has been on this aspect. But unfortunately, that does not always equate to fluency in speech which is often what students aim to achieve.

Remember to find the balance and don’t get caught up in all the rules so that you don’t have time to go with your gut instinct. It should also be fun!

If you are a language student, chances are that you will have a lot of words whirling around in your head from your mother tongue and the new language that you are acquiring.

If you are already bilingual or trilingual, you may have the added confusion (or bonus) of multiple languages.

But what happens when you dream?

I was recently doing some background reading on this and it seems that there is no set pattern. Most people dream in their mother tongue and if they have multiple languages, can sometimes dream in them too.

One of the most interesting comments I read was from a language student who when asked when did he feel he finally had a grasp on the new language, replied “When I started to dream in it”.

This rang true for me as I clearly remember the time when I was living in Japan and started to dream in Japanese. I woke up with the feeling that I finally understood the language enough to feel comfortable.

The next time you have a dream that you remember you should make a note of which language it is in.  Ask your friends and work colleagues too, as it can make for some interesting discussion.