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Teach English in Yifengdian Zhen - Qingdao Shi

Do you want to be TEFL or TESOL-certified and teach in Yifengdian Zhen? Are you interested in teaching English in Qingdao Shi? Check out ITTT’s online and in-class courses, Become certified to Teach English as a Foreign Language and start teaching English ONLINE or abroad! ITTT offers a wide variety of Online TEFL Courses and a great number of opportunities for English Teachers and for Teachers of English as a Second Language.

When I was studied in the UK, I found that many British people are proud in their own language, and considering American English a different language, it even cannot be called English at all. It is true that Britain is the original place of English, and a British accent could be charming and fascinating. However, American English is more universal used in the world. The main reason could lies in the powerful economic strength of the US, and the prevalent Hollywood movies and American TV series. British English and American English are both called English, however, they are so different if doing a deep research. Their main differences including vocabulary, spelling and pronunciation. The different words between British English and American English could be endless. For instance, lift (BrE) vs elevator (AmE), biscuit (BrE) vs cookie (AmE), petrol (BrE) vs gas (AmE), underground (BrE) vs subway (AmE). Even some words share similar meanings could be different in practical use. A typical example is: pants in America means trousers, wearing outside in a social event, while pants in British English means an underwear, normally one could not wear it outside. If do not know the differences, one could make jokes at times. They are also spelling differences between British English and America English. British English words may have a ‘u’ while American English not, such as colour (BrE) vs color (AmE), neighbour (BrE) vs neighbor (AmE). Both spelling are considered right in English exams. However, to develop a clear writing format, it is better to choose only one spelling type in writing. Writing combining American English and British English spelling could be unprofessional and might cause troubles in understanding. Pronunciation can also be slightly different. For example, British English do not pronounce the ‘r’ sound while American English do: hard /hɑːd/ (BrE) vs /hɑrd/ (AmE), Born /bɔːn/ (BrE) vs /bɔrn/ (AmE). Besides, the vowel sound could be different too, when British English pronounce /a/, American English usually pronounce /æ/: dance /dɑːns/ (BrE) vs /dæns/ (AmE) , plant /plɑːnt/ (BrE) vs /plænt/ (AmE), while when American English pronounce /a/, British English usually pronounce /ɒ/: hot /hɒt/ (BrE) vs /hɑt/ (AmE), box /bɒks/ (BrE) vs /bɑks/ (AmE). Sometimes the stress is also different, especially in French loadwords: garage /ˈgærɑ:ʒ/ (BrE) vs /gəˈrɑ:ʒ/ (AmE), buffet /ˈbʊfeɪ/ (BrE) vs /bəˈfe/ (AmE). Therefore, many students who want to learn English will face a dilemma: whether to learn British English or American English. Some students prefer British English while some others prefer American English. But no matter what their preference is, to a large extent, in the end, most of them will develop an English mixed with both languages, whether in vocabulary, spelling or pronunciation. They may unintendedly acquire an American accent through American movies, even if they intend to learn British English, or vice versa. Even in English classrooms there is difficult to be pure British English or American English in a non-English speaking country. Actually, it is difficult to tell all the differences between American English or British English in the class. Even if the teachers are from Britain or America, they only familiar with their own language, while struggling to speak perfectly in another one. It is also unpractical to let an American teacher and a British teacher together in the same classroom, only to distinguish the differences between British English and American English. Without nature language environment, students often cannot acquire a pure British English or American English. However, it is not that important to distinguish British English from American English in English learning. Language is flowing rather than fixed, a British man may call ‘subway’ other than ‘underground’ if he lives abroad for a long time. The main aim for students is to speak fluent English, either British or American English. As long as they are understandable, it is fine to speak either language, even a combination with both languages.


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