Since the end of WWII and the formation of the United Nations in 1945, English has been moving its way up as a global or otherwise, universal language. It has become the International language for business, finance, and technology. According to the British council, English has an official status in over 75 countries. Overall around 377 million people are native English speakers, and a similar number of people speak English as a second language. It is believed that over 750 million people worldwide speak English to some degree of competence. Hence, there is a range of varieties spoken around the world. The concept of International English (Global, World, Common, General, and Standard are also common terms) moves towards defining a standardization for English, but as of now, none has been reached. Because of the variation of English begin taught and learned, and the changes it continuously endures, is standardization a concept that can be easily understood when talking about an International language based on a language that already varies in its own native countries? Possibly in the future a standard may be reached, but in the meantime, it is important for teachers to be aware of the differences and be able to point them out to students when necessary.

American and British English are said to be more similar than different. However, teachers still need to be aware of the differences that do exist and be familiar enough with them to pass them on to their students. There are differences in spelling, grammar, pronunciation and dialect. The English teacher cannot be expected to teach all of these differences, but spelling and a few grammar points are well worth pointing out.

In terms of spelling, some trends occur in the following examples:

In terms of Grammar, the use of the Present Perfect tense differs.

Example:

I’ve lost my key. Can you help me look for it?

This structure is a typical example of the Present Perfect tense. It is used in both British and American English.

I lost my key. Can you help me look for it?

In the above sentence, the auxiliary verb have has been dropped. This structure is also correct and frequented in American English, but considered incorrect in British English.

Another grammar difference deals with the past participle of get. In British English, the past participle of get is got.

Example:

He’s got much better at playing tennis

In American English, the past participle of get is gotten.

He’s gotten much better at playing tennis.

There are a large number of vocabulary words that differ in meaning between British and American English, a list far too big to discuss here. The teacher cannot be expected to know all of these, or even teach all the differences in meaning. When trying to define International English, and the concept of “standardization”, what we come to realize are the differences first of all between the two dominant variants of English (British and American). How can those two variants become “one” standardized form of English? What is more, is that over 75 countries use English as the official language, and the variations are incredible. The new, completely revised, Oxford English Dictionary should be released in 2010, to incorporate thousands of new words that are “flooding into the language from all corners of the world.” John Simpson, the Chief Editor of the OED says “there is no longer one English, there are many Englishes.”

A teacher should be aware of the differences between British and American English. A teacher should also be consistent with the language he/she teaches. What would a teacher do in the case that a course book was already chosen for the class, but used a different variant of English than the teacher was accustomed to? For instance, the course book uses a British standard and the teacher is American?...

I suppose a good teacher will embrace the differences and pass them on consistently.

Kathryn Board