British or American? Why? There are so many countries in the world which have English as a mother tongue, but American or British English are the ones that are taught in EFL classrooms. It is agreed that no one version is "correct" however, there are certainly preferences in use. What are the differences?

American English GenAm General American pronunciation is used by educated people and those from the media. As a result of the influence of the Internet, the mass media and the large influence of the United States in the world’s affair, American English has become more popular.

British English When people talk about learning British pronunciation, they usually think of Received Pronunciation (RP). RP is the pronunciation of the British upper class; it is sometimes called the Queen’s English. Although the role of British RP in the English world has changed very considerably in the last century, it continues to serve as a model in many parts of the world

Main differences in pronunciation Differences in vowel production: Most British vowels tend to be less glided than NAE vowels. A different notation is used for the tense vowels and diphthons Differences in consonant production: Differences in consonant production:General American pronunciation is rhotic, which means that the letter r is always pronounced, which may become easier for Spanish speakers to speak NAE. RP is non-rhotic, which means that the letter r is usually “silent”, unless it is followed by a vowel. British English uses what is known as “intrusive r” to link vowel to vowel, e.g Donna(r) and I Different pronunciation ofcommon words: Words spelled with / Words spelled with / ɑ /: many words spelled with ɑ are pronounced with the vowel / ɑ/ in British English but with the vowel /æ/ in NAE: ask, answer, can’t, dance, branch, half, path, plant. Words with u spelling Words with u spelling: some speakers of British English have a tendency to pronunce /y/ in certain words with u spellings, whereas NAE speakers generally palatalize the consonant following this u spelling intead.

Differences in word stress There are also numerous words in British English and NAE in which the primary difference in pronunciation can be traced to differences in word stress. Differences in sentence stress British English sometimes gives light stress to the fronted auxiliary verb, whereas NAE usually does not. Differences in intonation NAE speakers tend to perceive British speakers as pretencious and mannered and British speakers tend to perceive Americans as negative and monotonous.

Other kinds of differences Grammar Americans use the present perfect tense less than speakers of British English and a British teacher might mark wrong some things that an American teacher would say are correct. US Did you do your homework yet? Brit. Have you done your homework yet? US I already ate. Brit. I’ve already eaten. In British English, ‘have got’ is often used for the possessive sense of ‘have’ and ‘have got to’ is informally used for ‘have to’. This is much less common in American English. Brit. I’ve got two sisters. US I have two sisters. Brit. I’ve got to go now. US I have to go now. There are a number of other minor grammatical differences.

Vocabulary There are a lot of examples of different words being used in British and American English. Here are a few of the commonest. angry (Brit.) = mad (US) autumn = fall boot (of a car) = trunk chemist’s = drug store cupboard = closet flat = apartment lift = elevator nappy = diaper pavement = sidewalk petrol = gas/gasoline rubbish = trash tap = faucet trousers = pants There are British words which many Americans will not understand and vice versa. There are also words which exist in both British and American English but have very different meanings.

Spelling There are also a number of different spelling rules between British English and American English. 1 Some words that end in ‘-tre’ in British English end in ‘-ter’ in American English. US theater, center Brit. theatre, centre 2 Some words that end in ‘-our’ in British English end in ‘-or’ in American English. US color, labor Brit. colour, labour 3 Some words are shorter in American English than in British English. US catalog, program Brit. catalogue, programme There are other minor spelling differences between British and American English.

Finally, what aspects do you have to consider when choosing between American or British English for teaching? -You need to understand both British and American English, since both are widely used -Have a clear idea why our students dediced to study English -The institution’s decision whethet to use one or another -Which one will be more useful for you -With which you feel more confortable -Whether you choose General American or RP, you will be understood by all English speakers -Whether you simply prefer one of the accents (for example, because it sounds more pleasant, more sexy, more intelligent, more powerful, etc. to you). If you want to get results, you have to be excited about learning English pronunciation. The more attractive your goal seems to you, the more motivation you will have. -Which accent you find easier to imitate. Sometimes people find they have a knack for one, but not the other. This is very important as your students will learn from you.

SOURCES Material from the unit “Teaching pronunciation, a coursebook and reference guide” Celce-Murcia, Brinton, Goodwin and-american-english