British Vs English

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Why are British and American versions of English so different? British and American English, while, broadly speaking, are mutually intelligible (each party can understand and communicate with each other), there are notable differences that make one wonder why there is a difference at all? In this essay, I’ll briefly discuss some key differences in these two dialects, and further, provide reasons and evidence explaining said differences. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Betsy W. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. If you were to ask someone in America to say something in a British accent, you would likely get a response of...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences British English versus American English are often discussed during the class, students frequently ask which one is the standard English to learn and would it cause any difficulties in communication. Both of them have differences and similarities, but individuals from the UK and the US can communicate without too much difficulty. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate JIN G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Besides, there is no right or wrong when the differences appear, the British may consider American do not speak proper English and American might think British people are too formal and serious. However, from my perspective,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas British English versus American English always sparks a lively discussion. I have read some articles so far as to compare these 2 languages and gather the information from the online resources. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Zahra J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I am Iranian and have many American and British friends and I have been living abroad for about 6 years. As an English speaker as a second language, it took me a while to learn what is British and what is American English. As I have done some friendly interviews, the English spoken in the USA is different from the English spoken in the UK not only in pronunciation...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences The United States and the United Kingdom's imperial histories and modern influences have had a significant effect on the English wording. Since English was exported to different countries across the world, the language has undergone different variations, the most common one being the British English vs. American English. The British introduced the language to Americans in the 17th century. At that time, the spelling had not been standardized. Given the number of regions where English is used, differences are bound to arise. Even though British and American English may seem similar, there are disparities in vocabulary, spelling, and grammar. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Fahimeh T....  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences From the time of the American revolution and onward, there has been a distinctive trend for American English and British English dialects to move away from each other. Whether taught in American English or British English, most people of either type will have little trouble understanding each other. Unlike the many dialects of China, English is a pretty ubiquitous language across the board, with a spattering of unique regional words. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Jeffrey G. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The 2 most prominent English dialects were intertwined throughout their collective histories because the British...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences In this essay, we are going to talk about two different versions of English which are American and British English. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate ANDRII D. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The English were introduced to America through British colonization in the early 17th century. It also spread to many other parts of the world due to the power of the British empire. Over many years American and British spoken English started diverging from each other in different aspects. This led to new dialects in the form of American English. Also Read: Teaching Roles and Functions in ESL The Americans and British both speak...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences When it comes to learning English, non-native speakers can feel quite torn on whether they should learn British English or American English. They have their similarities, but can contrast each other strongly. The differences can be confusing for English speakers as well. The diversity in spelling, pronunciation, and vocabulary can really throw you off. In this article, I will be focusing on these three topics. Let’s explore spelling, shall we? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Tabitha C. Growing up in the USA, I learned to spell in a simplified form. American English focuses on how the words are pronounced, therefore the words are spelled according to their sounds. Kələr in the British...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT Alumni Experiences As more and more countries place a growing importance on its people to learn English as a secondary language, for work purposes or for general use, there is a growing debate about which is the better English to learn - British English or American English. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Max E. The argument stems from the growing influence of America in the modern world. British English has a longer standing history, but in today's modern society, it is almost impossible to go through the day without hearing American English in use. We hear it in television programs and films, more businesses from the US are branching out to foreign soil, and many countries feel that American English may be the...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences When I started my ITTT classes, I wasn't totally sure of the difference between British English and American English. I knew there were accents and pronunciation differences, but it seemed like no big deal. Then I learned more about grammar, vocabulary, idioms, and spelling. When you speak to someone who has never spoken or has very little knowledge of the two, I can see how things get really confusing. British English is a bit more formal and follows the Kings English, where American English is a little bit more laid back. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Brian F. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Kings English (noun) is...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences In speaking of any language is global, and in our case, particularly English, several categories could be discussed to give us more understanding. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Frederic S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The first is the history of the language, where did it originate? If we say English was an obscure German dialect we can also say that without knowing more of the history behind it, there would be no way for us to plot its progression or understand its popularity. The second is the spread of the language, how and why did it occur? The third is economic, what were the factors that propelled its growth,...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences It's quite weird and confusing that English is different in different places. Many students are being taught in one way, while others in another way. Sooner or later they all face some problems in real-life communication. So, the question is, do they need to learn different versions of English or not? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Taylor K. A student from rural China grows up learning British English in his local language school. He applies to a university in the United States and gets accepted. When asking for directions to his classroom he is told to go to the second floor, but cannot find his class because he is searching one floor higher than he should. During his class, he...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas Today, English has become a common language of people with different native languages in many fields such as science, aviation, communication, and commerce. For this reason, knowledge of English has become a necessity for those who want to pursue an academic career or who want to work in internationally recognized business sectors. This fact puts English in the first place among the officially taught foreign languages in most countries. But which English should be referenced in English education? British or American English? The answer to this question is not clear in Turkey yet. In seeking a heuristic explanation, one can dwell on which...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas English is one of the most dynamic languages on the planet, which develops every day. Therefore, there are a lot of variations of the English language. Which kind of English should we learn? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Olena K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. We used to know that there are British, American, Australian, and even Scottish English. Moreover, this is not a full list. This diversity complicates the process of learning a language. After all, who will help you to choose which particular English variant you need? What's more important to know: American or British English? On the one hand, it seems easy. We...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Assuming it has already been understood generally, I do not intend to elaborate on the reasons between Myanmar and Burma, even though it still remains unknown to many. In this essay, I will be using ‘Burmese’ or ‘Burmese language’ to refer to the language and ‘Myanmar’ for the country. Language acquisition can understandably present several challenges ranging from alphabets, accent, construction styles, pronunciation, etc. Depending on several factors, different language speakers will have different challenges. While one part is no less difficult than another, I reckon, in Myanmar, there is one component that most learners seem to have similar difficulty in taking up the English language –...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT TEFL Information Teaching Ideas As a newly qualified TEFL teacher the chances are you will be working for a school which supplies its teachers with all the resources needed to teach successful lessons based on a set course. This article shows a selection of the course books that are available for teaching general English course to adults from a number of publishers in the TEFL industry. There are several publishers involved in producing course books for the TEFL classroom. The main publishers are Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Pearson/Longman and Macmillan. These publishers produce course books across a range of EFL sectors including, young learners, adults, business English, and English for...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas It is clear for a lot of people that American English is a little different from British English, but why exist these differences? Many languages are spoken in all the world, and some of them have different branches, in the case of British and American English, one of the reason for having these differences, for example en the word colour for UK and color for USA is because, British English has taken the original words from French and later in America the spelling has been simplified, here is a list of words that are different in UK and USA: This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Juan Pablo S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT....  [Read more]

Anastasiia Ovchinnikova TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Back in the days when I was living in China with my British boyfriend, who was born and raised in Oxford, we would always make our friends smile talking about our careers. We always felt it was a bit ironic that out of the two of us, it was me who ended up as an English language teacher. I started to wonder whether he would have been a better English teacher than me, had he decided to work at one of the international schools in China. I feel like it is a common misconception that non-native English teachers (short: NNETs) are not as qualified or skilled in teaching as native English teachers. I've recently gotten disheartened when looking for job openings where they...  [Read more]

Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas A TEFL certification course covers a wide range of subjects to help you improve your teaching style. In this post, one of our graduates looks at what the course taught them about classroom management. Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas In this post, a course graduate gives their view on the the different types of English language learners and some tips on how to teach them. Mark Crocker Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas One important part of any TEFL certification course is learning how to control a classroom. But...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Coming into any unfamiliar classroom situation, for newer and experienced teachers alike, can instill a level of apprehension. There are many circumstances where a teacher could easily feel overwhelmed, whether it is butterflies in the stomach on the first day, a sudden syllabus change, malfunctioning equipment, an extremely large class, unmotivated or disruptive students, or unfriendly coworkers. Fortunately, there is a multitude of simple strategies that can help equip a teacher to face even the most nightmarish classroom situations. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Linda K. One essential technique for teachers to increase their confidence is to keep the focus on the teachings. In...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas In an experience of mine, I was working as a computer technician for the city, the city had decided to give me a new task of working in the libraries to teach computer classes, I felt quite nervous about this for I had never taught before or had any idea about how to go about it. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Rudy C. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. When classes began I always had one majority group, and that was elderly, who in time had neglected technology and decided to finally come around it to learn how to use a computer. I was given a basic manual on how to do the courses, I, of course, followed it and did my best, saw...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When teaching English as a foreign language in a country where the native language is not English, it is easy to assume there are going to be some cultural differences between you and the students. The differences could be as little as what you eat for breakfast and which hand you pass things to someone with, or they could be as large as how you address someone and what you are allowed to talk about in public society. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Shana H. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Part of learning a language is learning the slang that goes with a particular language. When I say slang, I do not just mean the words...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Helping students improve their pronunciation can be challenging for teachers and students alike. For students, they may have a strong desire to sound fluent but might struggle in knowing what mistakes they make and how to correct them. For teachers, they may be aware of the mistakes but may lack tools to help students accurately and precisely correct them. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kent L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. Many of the common methods to help improve pronunciation have their own shortcomings. A pure listen and repeat approach does not offer sufficient feedback on how to properly correct errors. Even a...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Early childhood is the period from 0-8 years old, it is a time of remarkable growth with brain development at its peak. During this stage, children are highly influenced by the environment and the people that surround them. We can say further that Early childhood education is a branch of education that relates to the teaching of children from birth to the age of eight, therefore covering infancy, kindergarten and the early school years up to grades 3. So how does storytelling come in? Well, storytelling does a lot here because this stage is very crucial to a child’s early physical, socio-emotional, cognitive and linguistic development. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Chinenye M. Please...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT TEFL Information Earning a TEFL certificate enables you to help some of the world’s most disadvantaged people by volunteering your skills as an English teacher. There are volunteer programmes recruiting English teachers to work in areas all over the world and volunteer teaching is a truly worthwhile and rewarding experience. Below are some of the main ways you can enlist as a volunteer English teacher. The UNV programme covers many areas from medical treatment to people affected by climate change. They also run programs teaching English to communities all over the world. The UNV also offers an online volunteering service. Opportunities for ESL teachers can range from teaching online classes to creating online ESL materials. There are a...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas As a teacher – and it does not matter if you teach kids, toddler, teenagers or adults – you have to think about a wide range of things: the content of your classes, class troubles and discipline, the evolution of your students skills, time management in terms of your classes and in terms of the content development in a period of time, students assessment, schools/professional compromises (either if you work in a language school or if your area a private teacher), how to create a nice learning environment and so on. These are only some of the things that a teacher – in the first years of his/her career or for an experienced professional – has to manage in his/her teaching routine. This post was written by...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences Japan is a country with a long history, deep tradition, and vibrant culture. Within this culture sits the Japanese language. At first, being a spoken language and then adopting the Chinese Writing System, Japanese has grown and changed into what it is today. If you look at all languages, most Western languages originate from a set family, such as Romance Languages (which became today’s Spanish, French, Italian, etc). But Japanese (as most Asian languages) was formed from entirely different roots. These fundamental differences mean that the method of learning these languages has a lot to do with memorization and repetitive practice of the Chinese symbols and the words they represent. Which means it is...  [Read more]