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My English skills have changed, and also developed a great deal. When I was studying English in school I think my strength was writing. I didn't have any problems with grammar and spelling on that level. Listening and reading were no major problem either, but then on the other hand everything you did in school was adjusted for that purpose, I would call it "school English", and it takes some practise to get it fluent in "real life".
My weakest side was definitely speaking. During the nine years I studied English in school, I can't remember ever having a conversation. I never said more than a few words all together. While I never actually had to use English in "reality", I become too unsure of myself to talk. Our teacher required everyone to speak with an British accent, so pronunciation bothered me a lot. I tried to get away without talking, which isn't too difficult in a big class. I think too much effort is put on accents, at least in the lower grades. Of course pronunciation is important, but you will never learn how to pronounce words and get a good accent if you don't dare open your mouth.

I still remember my first conversation in English, -"the icebreaker". After "gymnasiet" I went to Israel to work on a Kibbutz for three months. There were volunteer workers from all over the world. The communication language was English. In the beginning I didn't say much. I understood everybody alright though. Then one day I had to work with a German guy. His English sounded terrible, but he didn't care, he was talking and making jokes anyway. However, his English made me feel quite confident, so after talking to him for a whole day I felt such a relief. From that day on, I didn't care any more what my English sounded like. People understood me, and they didn't care if I had a Swedish accent.

Since then, I have continued travelling, which has helped my spoken English a lot. Both my passive and active vocabulary has increased. I feel much more confident talking now than I did before. I still get frustrated now and then, though, when I can't really express myself the way I want. Lack of words is the main reason for this, but I can also be unsure of when and how to use words and expressions. 

Understanding is probably my strong side. That is one good thing that comes out of travelling. You meet a lot of people from different countries, cultures and backgrounds. You learn to listen and to be flexible. The bad part of practising English with people who aren't native speakers is that you use a lot of slang, your grammar gets really bad and you don't pick up any particular accent. 

Since I've finished school I haven't read one book in English, except guidebooks and literature for university courses. So it's difficult to say whether my reading comprehension has increased or not. I'm still not a fast reader but it feels as if I understand more words and expressions now than I did before. I'm actually quite fascinatedwhen I read now, as many words and expressions are clearer when you see them written than when you just hear them. 

My weakest side is definitely writing. If my other skills have had a little push forward I'm afraid it has gone the other way with my writing. Both my grammar and spelling are terrible! Nowadays I don't write more than a letter once in a while, and that is all I write in both Swedish and English, so I don't get much practise. I do feel, the few times I do write, that my writing has become so much worse. I hesitate with the spelling of common words and basic grammar like capital letters and so on.

There's a big difference between written and spoken English and for the moment I'm afraid my spoken English has too great of influence on my writing. I can't really separate them. It is a bit depressing to realise how bad it is, but it is also something that hopefully will improve after 20 points of English.
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