Where we come from...matters

[grumpy]

Hi all. I am from the USA, though I hold close ties to Mexico, so I am an "American" through-and-through. I am a language teacher and I hope and pray that I am a pretty decent one. Several times in my professional international school teaching career I have encountered situations involving different forms of curriculum, ways of presenting curricula, communication in English etc. Mostly with Australians and people from New Zealand, but also from Great Britain and other places. The US takes such huge hits as being poor in the quality of public education that it provides that I am sometimes unwilling to attempt to defend it. However, I will now do so by saying the criticisms are often without merit in that they do not factor in the socio-economic restraints of the "American teacher".

That is one topic.

The other topic I want to put forth is that I was made "hot and bothered" by the insistence at a former school of using the "British" system of spelling. To me it was in no way international and as a language teacher I balked. Was this wrong? I do not think so, but I would like to hear from others.

Cheers.

[expatteacher99]

British spelling makes your horny?

Just kidding. In my part of the US, that's what "hot and bothered" usually means. :-)

[grumpy]

Congratulations on picking up on my sarcasm, dude. :wink:

[shadowjack]

As a Canadian, and an international teacher, both UK and US spelling have validity. As long as they are consistent in their spelling, I let them roll with it.

[grumpy]

Same here, shadowjack.

[mbovi]

English did come from England. I like to stick to the most original form of English....hence, the " British system " of spelling is what I practice.

As far as nationality goes, I thought you were going to write about your ethnicity as being the problem ( Mexican by ethnicity but American by citizenship )....and not the American public system. So what of the American public system? How do you defend it?

[Mr.C4ke]

I'm an English, English teacher and therefore write using the British system. I don't however work in a British system school so tell my students to use whatever system they prefer, just stay consistent.

Although I'm aware English did originate in the British Isles, we no longer 'own' it so I consider all forms of English to be equally valid, I just find my form 'better' for me.

[IAMBOG]

I'm a Brit in a Canadian school and we use a lot of American resources. As long as the spelling is correct in one of the three countries, I'm ok with it, although I do go over the differences.

[dover2013]

[quote="mbovi"]English did come from England. I like to stick to the most original form of English[/quote]

"American" English is closer than "British" English to the English that was used in England before the conquest of the new world. Europe was more of a crossroads of culture and external influences and the language endured more changes. So, "American " English could be considered to closer to "original" English. Also, standardized spelling is a relatively recent innovation in the English language.

Really, who cares what form students or teachers use as long it's good, grammatically correct English?

[Mr.Cake]

[quote]I like to stick to the most original form of English....hence, the " British system " of spelling is what I practice.[/quote]

Are you sure you 'practice' the British form of spelling? Looks American to me :wink:

[mbovi]

Mr. Cake : I suppose we are both wrong in the words " practice " and " practise ". The verb is " to practise ". The noun is " practice ". While you thought that the word " practice " is the American version while " practise " is the British version, I used it erroneously.

[danny514]

I've always found it amusing when Brits (and it always tends to be Brits) get really heated over the British vs. American English debate. Probably a sign of underlying resentment at no longer being the world's premier English-speaking power. Personally, I couldn't care less, but you might want to be careful when working in a British school - after all, its your ass on the line.

[Walter]

I think you mean "it's your arse on the line".

[Mick Travis]

funny, but I didn't think that British schools required a hoofed mammal of equine species as collateral for your work contract

[inman]

I remember when I first moved overseas working with loads of people that loved to duel out over this topic, but I really don't see any right or wrong. When working in a British international school I expect that British English will be the standard, and the same with American English in American schools. Theoretically (and in the school where I work) in the IB system they should allow students to choose which is appropriate for them and simply encourage consistency from the student.

As far as original English is concerned, I don't think it really exists. Some say that English comes from England, and sure, the name of the language known as English that was used during the years of dominance of the empire could be considered to come from England, but in reality it's a mixture German, French, Danish, Norwegian and Gaelic. Many words such as metre, centre and colour still use the French spelling. Even the name England originates from the Angles of Germany.

I find myself appreciating the originality of American English due to the stance made in moving away from French spelling structures and matching spelling closer to the pronunciation that s used. After all, no-one actually says "met-re".