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After successfully completing all units in the ITTT TEFL course, the students are required to complete a summative task. When I saw this requirement I became a little nervous and concerned. It has been a while since I have written an essay (as what it was known when I was growing up) and thought to myself what is a summative task? I was expecting that it would be about the summation of the entire course. Then, to my relief I saw that it is about writing about a topic that I would choose from a provided list. This list has many interesting topics and I was excited about picking one. The topic I chose is about British English vs American English. Growing up, I would say that I was a pupil of the British English system. Having studied in the British English system and then migrating to America, has made me see and experience a lot of differences in the English language used between the British and American systems. Living and raising a family in America for almost 15 years, I would like to share with you a few of these English language differences. When people talk about English, most people from the non-English speaking world may think that it is just one language that is similar in all aspects and in all countries of the world. A person that is trained in British English or American English, and is not made aware of the differences of the other system, may become pleasantly surprised or get a rude awakening when they travel to a new country that uses a system they are not familiar with. Many expatriates may feel like they are on a different planet when they visit another country where the English spoken is very confusing and you now have to adapt to this new way of speaking English. Before living in America and becoming an American citizen, I had lived and worked in India, Dubai, and the Philippines. In all of these countries I found a certain similarity in the English spoken and I never became uneasy speaking English, I understood almost everything and could always have a very good conversation in English. After coming to America, I started to become confused: For example, when Americans talked about football (a game very similar to rugby), I often associated it with British, European or Asian football, which in American English is called “soccer.” Another instance was when I visited financial institutions to request for a loan and wrote in the application “cheque payment” (British English for financial contexts). As a result, I would get confused looks from the financial planner / loan officer and they would ask if I meant to say “check payment” (American English for financial contexts). Also, whenever I wanted to rent a flat, it was called an “apartment” by the agents that showed me the flat (called apartment in American English). Additionally, another example would be whenever I wanted to buy medicine, I thought I was going to a “chemist” or the “chemistry,” but in America it is called a “pharmacy” or “drug store.” I had to rethink my English in American terms as I continued living in America and finally became an American citizen. My English speaking experience in America taught me how to adapt to the written and spoken English in America. I am glad that I was fortunate to get to know both of these systems. For further reading on this topic, I would like to give honorable mention to an article from the British Council website, “Differences Between British and American English”.
