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teaching English

Submitted by aisa on 3 December, 2008 - 12:06

I`ve been teaching English for three years now. I had and still have both young learners, adult learners, 1 to1, groups.

Since I`m not a native ES I sometimes get uneasy when i don`t have answers on questions regarding the differences between the american and british english.Are supposed to have all the answers?

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amazinanian

Dear college, I think

Submitted on 5 December, 2008 - 20:41

Dear college,

I think we are not supposed to know all differences between British and American English but there are some important differences which are worthy of being familiar with such as grammatical and spelling differences which can be found on following links.

Your students can be directed to these links too.

http://www.michigan-proficiency-exams.com/difference-between-british-eng...

Spelling differences:

http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/jones/differences.htm

Selected Vocabulary Differences
Between British and American English
http://www.uta.fi/FAST/US1/REF/usgbdiff.html
Differences in Grammar:

http://www.perfectyourenglish.com/writing/american-and-british.htm

And finally find a comprehensive list of differences here:
http://www.123exp-comm.com/t/23394053085/

Hope it is helpful.

Best wishes. A Mazinanian

Amir A. Ravayee

Not all the answers

Submitted on 6 December, 2008 - 07:05

You don't have to know everything about differences between American and British English because they are very confusing. Some days ago I read in an article that native speakers themselves are sometimes confused. But as far as we are teachers, it's a good idea to learn as much as we can.

Amir Abbass Ravayee

NikPeachey

AE and BE differences

Submitted on 9 December, 2008 - 10:52

Hi Aisa

I sympathise. as UK English speaker I used to run into a lot of communication problems with my North American wife! As Winston Churchill once said of the UK and US. We are two nations divided by a common language!

Anyway this might help:

http://www.slang-dictionary.org/

It also includes Australian and London slang words. It's also worth remembering that even within such a small country as the UK regional dialects vary tremendously, as they also do in the US and different age groups also seem to have their own variations. English is a constantly changing language. You can't possibly have ALL the answers.

Best

Nik Peachey | Learning Technology Consultant, Writer, Trainer
Teacher Development: http://nikpeachey.blogspot.com/
News and Tips: http://quickshout.blogspot.com/
Student Activities: http://daily-english-activities.blogspot.com/

NikPeachey

Not suitable for Young learners

Submitted on 9 December, 2008 - 15:37

Nik Peachey wrote:

Anyway this might help:

http://www.slang-dictionary.org/

Hi All I should have said when I suggested the above slang dictionary, that it is useful for teachers as a reference, but not suitable for students use, as there are a lot of inappropriate terms.

Best

Nik Peachey | Learning Technology Consultant, Writer, Trainer
Teacher Development: http://nikpeachey.blogspot.com/
News and Tips: http://quickshout.blogspot.com/
Student Activities: http://daily-english-activities.blogspot.com/