I missed your post at first. That is funny and I never would have believed it of you if you hadn’t admitted it yourself! 
I mean it was seriously downright embarrassing moment while communicating to a foreigner for the first time. But I think that constantly watching hollywood movies and reading over the Internet can help a lot in dominating english speaking skills.
Probably the first thing you (meaning someone) should do is to admit that English is not your first language. It surely will become apparent in your communiqué. I always marvel at even the limited English skills of those outside of native-English speaking countries. I only speak one language and that is English. Many of my European friends speak more than two languages and I find that phenomenal. There is no shame in not being completely fluent in English. Many native-English speakers aren’t. Just look at Facebook and Twitter and you’ll find loads of grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes.
That said, the ‘shame’ comes in trying to pass off poor English as native English. I understand why some feel the need, but if you are trying to build a business, it is no way to build your credibility.
Second, if English is not your first language and you are unsure of how well you communicate your ideas, there are many text checkers online that can help you write, not perfect, but better English. Many of them give you the ability to check what you write from emails to web content. The trick is to not just rely on one, like the grammar checker in Word. Use a couple of different ones and look for those that will tell you why it ‘thinks’ you have made an error. None of them are always right so often it’s a judgment call for you. One I like is paperrater.com. It’s free for non-commercial use and was built for students to help them improve their writing skills.
Third, keep a list of the mistakes you frequently make. This is good practice even if English is your first language. Although I have looked it up multiple times, I still often write seperate instead of separate. I now have it on a list so that I can easily scan down and make sure I have used the right one. Aside from also being good to catch spelling errors, author lists like this are also good places to catalog styles you want to use to keep your writing consistent. Even resources like the AP style guide can’t tell you whether or not web site is better as one compound word (website) or two words (web site). Another word up for grabs is whether or not to capitalize International or not. Both are correct, but if you want to add polish to your writing, you’ll make sure you do it the same way each time you write.
Fourth, when writing for clients some may prefer American English and some U.K. English or other English variants. Don’t be afraid to ask them their preferences and how different words are written in their country of origination. I keep separate lists for clients to make sure that I add the ‘u’ to honour when its needed or replace a U.S. ‘z’ with a U.K. ‘s’ as it is warranted.
Fifth, if you are writing for clients, don’t assume that they want their own English variant. Never be afraid to ask and ALWAYS tell them what your native tongue is. Some businesses want their content written to reach an American audience and some American businesses may be trying to extend their brand over seas. In actuality, it isn’t content that is king. It’s communication that is the key to successful writing.
You’re absolutely right. Thanks for your precious suggestion.
People should be encouraged to speak more of English in this Global economy that’s dependent on one universal language, “English”. Where quite often many people tend to lose out because of their comprehension of the language. With so many web tools available over the internet people should be encouraged to learn the language.
I guess what is irritating is being rude or conceited and not making some language errors. They are natural for non-native people.
Absolutely!!! I was going to say something pretty similar to this before reading the replies but now I feel this reply by Stevie D sums up my thoughts!
Well, I’m not a native speaker, but I’m easily irritated by the many non-native speakers(writers?) online that are almost impossible to understand sometimes. I’m not talking about a few typos and grammar errors. It’s like they’re not even trying to make it look like English! 
Hm, I must say, I rarely find that. I’m mostly amazed at how well non-native English speakers/writers use English. It puts me to shame, as one who can’t do the same in any other language.
Exactly. I often wonder if the web were mostly Spanish, German, or Farsi (hope I spelled that right!) how many ‘native’ English speakers would be using it. We are most fortunate that other countries put emphasis on their citizens learning English.
Well, maybe you’re not reading enough web hosting forums There’s some pretty funny posts that are in “English”… You’re generally right though - most non-native speakers/writers are very good. Language is like everything else, if you put time and effort in it, you become better. 
Also, I find that it’s very important at which point of your life you learn a foreign language and weather you keep at it later. With most people I know the skills learned at the age of 12 or so, stay for life and are very easily recalled/used later on.
Come rain or come shine.
Damn it, the spell check failed me when I needed it the most!
A question for the non-English speakers, is it irritating if someone corrects you when you make a mistake or do you think it helps you to improve?
A non-English speaker making mistakes on the grammar and structure is highly acceptable. The irritating ones are those who boast about it and say that they are right even if its wrong.
Agreed ^ . The whole basis of language is getting your point across. If you can do that, you’re miles ahead of a lot of people no matter what language they speak. I find it really irritating either in writing or talking when some blow hard finds the need to correct a pronunciation or point out that a synonym doesn’t quite mean what I intended. Or, for instance, in a grammar checker I used, it makes a big deal of starting a sentence with And, Or, But, or Because. (Because why?)
Mark Twain literally (punny, punny) butchered the English language in his writing because he wrote in the dialect that was common to the speech of his location. Shakespeare is, yet, today often quoted although many of the words and the syntax he used are today obsolete. Recently one of the cable TV stations aired a show called “Deadwood” which was full of characters’ bombastic use of vocabulary. It was a hoot!
That said, I believe language should be a fun thing. The main problem is that, when writing for business, it’s important to be able to sell your ideas to the general public. Unfortunately, a lot of people look down their noses on a couple of honest mistakes. 
I prefer English speakers (whether native or non-native) to be their natural selves when speaking/writing in English
Hi,
I’m a non-native English speaker and once in a forum my writing was described as “atrocious use of the English language”.
For me some reasons for my irritating English are:
Thanks to the Hollywood movies may have idea, though. (Shouldn’t fool myself - sound strange to everyone I’m very good at my native language and relatively good in Russian and English (my opinion). I think the most important thing is practice. Practice makes perfect, you know.
That is in short about speaking. About understanding for me on the first place are non-native English speakers then Americans and British guys are the last.
And for conclusion to answer SDGSteve - I’m always open to advice and improvement
Just wanted to say, I am an AE person and your written English reads well and looks just fine to me! (Practice did make perfect for you! :tup: )
+1
And don’t worry too much about using old fashioned words. In sooth, they are fun! Don’t be afraid to have fun with language, I say—especially in informal situations like forums. I really enjoy reading English that has quirks in it—be they grammatical oddities due to translation or archaic words thrown into the mix.