American English vs British English

You’ve probably had a conversation about the differences between American English and British English during your life. If you’re American, you’ve argued that yes, it should be called football because there is kicking, even if you can pick up the ball. If you use British English, you might’ve cringed at the mention of soccer, the pronunciation of aluminum or the spelling of color. 

English, in any form, wasn’t standardised in any meaningful way until the 18th Century. That meant that, in the early days of the English-speaking USA, there was plenty of opportunity to take some poetic license with spellings, and so, American English became a certified thing. That’s led to, yes, plenty of annoying arguments around the Super Bowl, but it’s also created some interesting questions for TEFL teachers.

Particularly in recent decades, more people have learned English through American pop culture. In a fascinating episode of our podcast, I Taught English Abroad , we learned about Sara Alami , an Iranian teacher who learned English by transcribing Spider-Man movies/films. Other teachers have spoken to us about learning English through The Backstreet Boys and other pop groups. TV phenomena like Friends , Seinfeld and more recently, Stranger Things , have had people from around the world clamouring to learn English.

So, here are some interesting questions: What version of English should TEFL teachers be using? What’s preferred in certain areas, and what about English in academia? Let’s find out.

The major differences

So what are some of the key differences between American English and British English? How did they come about?

Spellings

When Samuel Johnson and six of his pals wrote ‘A Dictionary of the English Language’, published in 1755, they probably didn’t expect that their 40,000 codified spellings would receive much of a challenge. Yet, the United States of America had its own ideas, with ‘A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language’ being published in 1806, and featuring a whole range of different spellings that are still used today.

The most notable of these is, in American English, the lack of a ‘u’ after an ‘o’ in words like colour/color, tumour/tumor and labour/labor. Where British English will use ‘-ise’, American English will ‘organize’ itself with some Zs, such as in ‘monetize’ and ‘summarize’.

There’s more; Americans, it seems, don’t like extra vowels. In most cases in British English where an ‘ae’ or ‘oe’ is used, Americans will simply lop a letter off. Take, for example, oestrogen/estrogen, encyclopaedia/encyclopedia and anaemia/anemia.

Pronunciations

We’re not going to get into advanced linguistics, tongue placement and all the rest, but we can assure you that there are profound differences in certain pronunciations between American English and British English.

It’s not just about aluminium, either. There are several distinctions in terms of vowel sounds, the letter r, are/air sounds and so much more. Of course, much depends on accent and the location of the speaker; there are linguistic differences between parts of Sco t land , Ireland , Wales and England, let alone the entirety of the United States .

Word choices/phrases

As you’ll be aware, there are very distinct differences in phrasing between American English and British English. There are loads of great examples , from drugstore/pharmacy to trash/garbage, but perhaps the most confusing is how both languages express disdain.

If a British English speaker was saying they didn’t have any time for something, they might say “I couldn’t care less”. In American English, you’ll hear “I could care less”, which in essence means the exact same thing, even though the phrase seems like the diametric opposite in terms of intention. Is one “correct” and the other isn’t? Well no, not really .

While you’ll be able to roughly understand idioms and phrases spoken in both varieties of English, there will be distinct differences that are sometimes hard to bridge.

Grammar 

If you like American sports, you’ll know this one. In the US, you might hear about how a sports team “is” doing well. In the UK, you’d say they “are” doing well. There are some important grammatical distinctions between American English and British English.

Take, for example, prepositions. You might, in the USA, say “She said she’ll come home on weekends”, while in British English, you’d say “She said she’ll come at the weekend”, per One Stop English . There are also significant differences when it comes to the past tense, the use of auxiliaries (“do”, “shall/will”) and, as we demonstrated with sport, how collective nouns are used.

What’s preferred?

So, which is better: American English or British English?

The answer is… well, neither. It really all depends on what’s more prevalent in the country you’re teaching in, and who runs the institution you teach for. For example, if you’re working in an American-run school in the Philippines, chances are the curriculum will be in American English. If you’re working for an online teaching company based in Hong Kong, British English may be preferred. 

English learners need to realise/realize that there are variations of the English language, and you can have some fun quizzing your more advanced, mature students. 

If you’re able to, try to listen to a lesson in the country where you’re going to teach. Failing that, ask for some examples of lessons; that way you can find out whether American or British English is preferred.

Where people slip up…

Where do the biggest clashes between American English and British English come up? We’ve already spoken about “I could/couldn’t care less”, but there are some more obvious examples where there can be a little bit of tension.

Take the letter ‘u’. In British English, it’s used in words like valour, colour, labour and so on. If you don’t see a ‘u’, you’re seeing American English.

Idioms are also different in American and British English, although in more recent decades, it’s become harder to tell which phrase comes from where. With British and American cultures overlapping, you’re more likely than ever to hear someone speaking British English say “Break a leg!” to mean “Good luck!”, even though it’s a quintessential piece of American theatre lingo. Equally, most Americans will understand if you ask “A penny for your thoughts?”.

Finally, some phrases and words just cannot be agreed upon. The most obvious is soccer v football , even though soccer is a word from England that’s short for “association football”. Call it “soccer” in the UK (though not in Ireland) and you’re likely to get a funny look. Fruits, vegetables and herbs are also tricky: the pronunciation of tomato is a hotly-contested issue, the eggplant v aubergine debate rumbles on, and as for the pronunciation of “oregano”? You could start a fight in an empty room over that one.

The key thing

Though some purists on either side will baulk at the suggestion, let’s be clear: the differences don’t matter a huge amount when you’re teaching English. Good English is more important than American English or British English.

Your students - with your help - will understand there are differences around the world. The English language is not alone in that; there are wild variations of the Spanish language around Spain, let alone in other parts of the world where it’s spoken. Within countries, there are dialects and colloquialisms that either don’t travel or aren’t as familiar to speakers from other regions. Students will get that.

It’s all about context, after all. If you want to demonstrate the differences between American English and British English with pieces of film, songs, newspaper headlines or whatever else, you can easily do it and put a fun, engaging lesson together.

Also, when we talk about American English v British English, we should be wise enough to consider the other types of English that exist. Nigerian English, Hiberno-English, Scottish English, Native American English, Australian English, African American English… the list goes on and on. To suggest there are only two main “types” of English is wrong!

A final thought

So, where does this discussion leave us? If we’ve taught you anything it should be this: yes, there are distinctions between American English and British English that can be confusing and quite fun to debate.

Honestly, though? It usually doesn’t matter too much when you’re teaching. As a teacher, you set the agenda and make sure not to penalise students if they make mistakes differentiating between these particular strands of English. Students will be smart enough and humble enough to understand if they’re using a form of English that isn’t appropriate to the context and can change where needed.

No matter where you’re from, or where you’re teaching, TEFL lessons should be about Good English rather than a debate on historical dictionaries and what the “right” name is for a purple fruit that’s commonly used as a vegetable in cooking (it’s an aubergine, obviously, but for the sake of argument…).

Put some research in, teach what’s appropriate to your situation, and let students know just how wide the world of English truly is.

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