The problem is with the type of catenation patterns *help* governs.

Many verbs in English catenate (form allowed strings):

He sat reading.

He started to cry.

He helped wash up.

He helped to wash up.

He helped us wash up.

He helped us to wash up.

There are several patterns, and different patterns are allowed for different verbs.

"He tried to help me learning..." has a string of three catenated verbs, with an interposed object (me). The first catenation (He tried to help [me] ) is fine - *tried* catenates with a to-infinitive, as here, or an -ing form. They have slightly different meanings.

However, *help* normally catenates with a bare infinitive or to-infinitive, so "He tried to help me learn..." or "He tried to help me to learn..." would be used.

*Help* does catenate in one construction with an -ing form: I can't help loving you - but *help* here means avoid / give up.
*Help* also appears in similar-looking constructions with nounal -ing forms: This drug is given to help breathing.

A good article is at http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:English_catenative_verbs

That's the grammar, but using the infinitives loses the progressive sense. A rewrite would be:

I was learning English - and he was trying to help me.

Or, if we do not wish to stress a continued duration of the attempt to help:

I was learning English - and he tried to help me.