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I have been tutoring aspiring English students online for the past two years. I have students from all over the planet who have decided that taking American English from a U.S. native speaker was the path most correct for their studies. The most common reasons for a student choosing American English versus British English have been an infatuation with American music and movies, a desire to enter the professional IT field or the possibility of moving to the United States someday. Many of my students cite American movies to be a big factor when learning the English language. Hollywood movies are regularly enjoyed by many people in various foreign countries. Sometimes these movies have sub-titles, but often they do not, immersing the moviegoer in a particular brand of English. Watching U.S.-made movies can be a great way for students to extract vocabulary, intonation and colloquial phrases for English used in the Americas. Another source of American English in the world is U.S.-made music. Even though many British rockers were made famous during the so-called British Invasion during the mid-60’s, the manner in which they sung, and the pronunciation of lyrics, was influenced heavily by the music that preceded even them: early southern U.S. rock and blues. Currently my students ask me a lot about Rap and Hip Hop music, and the meaning of various slang terms born from the streets of communities across the United States. Outside of the realm of pop culture, there exists the IT world. Many students who are on a more professional path, sign up with my teaching services because I was born in Silicon Valley. Although Silicon Valley itself is made of a wide range of ethnicities and origins, the modern English terminology and technical jargon permeates the conversational landscape here and is widely known and accepted vocabulary. Some could even say that the language is actively being changed here. The noun “Google” has evolved and can be used as a verb in some instances, as in “to Google” something, meaning to look it up on the internet, generally using Google (a Silicon Valley based company). The determiner that takes the least amount of discussion is when a non-citizen or student wanting to move into or study in the United States. The consistent economy of the United States can be very appealing to someone looking to better their lives abroad. The U.S. also has many great colleges on both coasts that offer a wide variety of field choices for the international student. No matter the reason, if a person is planning to visit, study, or stay in the United States, they will want to be acquainted with that particular type of English. When comparing British English to American English for my students, I tend to use my own experience with learning Spanish as a secondary language. At the beginning stages of Spanish I was forced to choose between Latin American Spanish and Castilian Spanish. I chose to study Latin American Spanish because I really enjoyed Cuban and Colombian music, which gave me a great resource for learning various parts of the Spanish language. I also chose Latin American Spanish because of its proximity to the United States. The students who chose me as their tutor, generally have come to a similar conclusion with English. I also tell my students that it is not that I am unable to understand Castilian Spanish, but rather I needed to choose one place to start, and later the similarities and differences of the two types of Spanish would reveal themselves naturally with enough study and perseverance, much like it will with English. When it comes to British and U.S. English, the differences can seem stark to beginning English learners. The usage of “-ise” in place of “-ize” or the difference in the way we pronounce “aluminum” can be a shocking reminder for me as well as my students. But U.S. English speakers and British English speakers can, for the most part, understand each other. No matter which form of English the student decides to learn, the key is to be consistent. Learn whichever version will be more useful to you in the early stages of learning. For most of my students, U.S. music, movies, culture, technology or the possibility of relocation have been the driving force behind their desire to learn United States’ English.
