‘Hello English!’ completes roadshow to 10 schools

[JAG]

Teach the teachers first.  I visited my step-daughter's school & was introduced to the Head of English (a post I held for 30 years in UK).  He shook my hand and said confidently, 'Me number one teach angrit in sacoon.'

Fluent then!

You number one long time teach angrit Farang land?

You know many words ok, but not understand way Thai people learn angrit!

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[simon43]

So, the Queens English is a thing of the past!

I have been teaching English in Myanmar for about 5 years (on and off). Without exception, all my students and their local teachers prefer the British accent to an American/Canadian accent. They cite the ease of understanding - British English is much clearer and easier on the ear.

Additionally, many online audio resources for learning English use an American accent and both students and local teachers complain that the speech is spoken too fast and is unclear, which causes them to lose confidence in learning the language.

As a 'Brit', I recognise the importance of learning the subtle (and not so subtle) differences between British and American English, especially for common words. (You can admire my pants if you're American, but please don't admire them if you're British!).

As for the American accent, ... meh... no thanks :)

[Artisi]

2 hours ago, JAG said:

 

I don't really mind - if a child, asked where they can buy a bar of chocolate, answers in a confectioners (unlikely), in a sweet shop or in a candy store. All are correct, all three are comprehensible. The important thing is that they are saying it in English. And let's face it, America is the largest English speaking country.

Apart from pronouncing "z" as "zee' of course. That is just silly...

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Or a lolly shop.

You are correct of course,  although I discourage US English and prefer English English, as I said -  it's streets ahead of thanglish. 

[Artisi]

23 hours ago, mikebell said:

Teach the teachers first.  I visited my step-daughter's school & was introduced to the Head of English (a post I held for 30 years in UK).  He shook my hand and said confidently, 'Me number one teach angrit in sacoon.'

If it wasn't so sad - you could have a laugh about it. 

[zydeco]

4 hours ago, Kasset Tak said:

Just get it, English is not a language owned by the Brits any more! There are more people in US speaking American English then there are Brits in UK speaking British English, there are even more people that speak  Indian, Pakistani, Philippine and Nigerian English than there are people in UK speaking British English... So, the Queens English is a thing of the past!

 

It's common sense to teach American English, instead of British English. The United States has a population of more than 320 million people on a continental land mass. The population of the UK is a little over 65 million on an out of the way island slightly smaller than the state of Oregon. From the standpoint of industry, commerce, international affairs, popular culture, and technology, the answer is obvious--learn American English.

[Artisi]

1 hour ago, zydeco said:

It's common sense to teach American English, instead of British English. The United States has a population of more than 320 million people on a continental land mass. The population of the UK is a little over 65 million on an out of the way island slightly smaller than the state of Oregon. From the standpoint of industry, commerce, international affairs, popular culture, and technology, the answer is obvious--learn American English.

Aussie English should be the one, a lot more descriptive and flexible, don't ya reckon mate? 

[JAG]

Aussie English should be the one, a lot more descriptive and flexible, don't ya reckon mate? 

Mere post colonial dialects, diluted by the influence of various (Central European in the case of the USA and Southern European in the case of the antipodean Dominions) languages.

 

God bless you all in your efforts though. One does watch the antics of our more distant national cousins with some interest. What say you, when you've got rid of that fellow currently in the White House, how about joining The Commonwealth? It's not mandatory to dress up in leopard skin underpants and shake sticks at the Duke of Edinburgh when Her Majesty visits you know.

 

Where is the "Enlightened Atheist' with his " 'enery 'iggins" impressions when you need him?

 

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[FritsSikkink]

1 hour ago, zydeco said:

It's common sense to teach American English, instead of British English. The United States has a population of more than 320 million people on a continental land mass. The population of the UK is a little over 65 million on an out of the way island slightly smaller than the state of Oregon. From the standpoint of industry, commerce, international affairs, popular culture, and technology, the answer is obvious--learn American English.

Soon to be replace by Chinese

[ratcatcher]

1 hour ago, FritsSikkink said:

Soon to be replace by Chinese

Not likely. English is spoken by over 1,179,000,000 people in the world.  
Aside from Mandarin and Cantonese, there are too many other dialects of Chinese. The Chinese alphabet is too complicated for it to be a challenge to English as the world language of communication in the forseeable future..

[FritsSikkink]

28 minutes ago, ratcatcher said:

Not likely. English is spoken by over 1,179,000,000 people in the world.  
Aside from Mandarin and Cantonese, there are too many other dialects of Chinese. The Chinese alphabet is too complicated for it to be a challenge to English as the world language of communication in the forseeable future..

Nope:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers

[Odysseus123]

1 hour ago, FritsSikkink said:

Soon to be replace by Chinese

Not if the Chinese have their way......English with a Han accent.

[ratcatcher]

19 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

Nope:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_languages_by_number_of_native_speakers

Have it your way sir.

This topic has been done to death before. There may be more people that speak Chinese as a first language, but more people speak English as a first and second language. English will continue to be the  be lingua franca of the world for communication and commerce. Huge numbers of Chinese already speak English, by comparison, few westerners speak a Chinese dialect.

[scorecard]

4 hours ago, zydeco said:

It's common sense to teach American English, instead of British English. The United States has a population of more than 320 million people on a continental land mass. The population of the UK is a little over 65 million on an out of the way island slightly smaller than the state of Oregon. From the standpoint of industry, commerce, international affairs, popular culture, and technology, the answer is obvious--learn American English.

 

Overall comment, are we a bit too serious about whether to specifically teach US English or UK English?

[ZeVonderBearz]

Would've been more beneficial to have taken the road show to a large, underdeveloped government school in CM rather than one of the best school's in the city. Kids attending private schools already have enough opportunities! 

[Airbagwill]

On 12/3/2017 at 7:05 AM, Rally123 said:

It's not really English. It's the American version. For me I find it totally confusing when it comes to correcting my kids spelling of a word.  . 

Why would you do that?

[Airbagwill]

10 hours ago, simon43 said:

 

 

I have been teaching English in Myanmar for about 5 years (on and off). Without exception, all my students and their local teachers prefer the British accent to an American/Canadian accent. They cite the ease of understanding - British English is much clearer and easier on the ear.

Additionally, many online audio resources for learning English use an American accent and both students and local teachers complain that the speech is spoken too fast and is unclear, which causes them to lose confidence in learning the language.

As a 'Brit', I recognise the importance of learning the subtle (and not so subtle) differences between British and American English, especially for common words. (You can admire my pants if you're American, but please don't admire them if you're British!).

As for the American accent, ... meh... no thanks :)

 

Rubbish! Diction has nothing to do with accent... As any proper linguist or even language teacher will tell you.

In general American English is far better annunciated and more traditionally pronounced than British English

[Airbagwill]

22 hours ago, dinsdale said:

American in English is cheaper. Less letters e.g. colour/color. Aluminium/aluminum. Aeroplane/airplane.

Aluminum is the original name

[Rally123]

10 hours ago, Airbagwill said:

Why would you do that?

Airplane and aeroplane are a classic example.

 

Quote

Given the amount of places around the world that English is spoken, various differences are bound to emerge. Despite how much the USA and UK have in common, there are enough differences between their two versions of the English language that someone may not always understand exactly what someone from the other country is saying.

https://www.boredpanda.com/british-american-english-differences-language/

[simon43]

In general American English is far better annunciated and more traditionally pronounced than British English

 

 

[Airbagwill]

1 hour ago, Rally123 said:

Airplane and aeroplane are a classic example.

 

https://www.boredpanda.com/british-american-english-differences-language/

So both spellings are correct.

 

British understand US English but not so much vice versa...why do you think that is??? 

Many of the differences aren't even truly American!

Edited December 5, 2017 by Airbagwill

[Rally123]

10 hours ago, Airbagwill said:

So both spellings are correct.

 

 

That is not true. If you take a spelling test in Thailand or England (plus others) depending on how you spell airplane/aeoplane determines if you go on to the next round. Both answers cannot be correct. 

Edited December 5, 2017 by Rally123

[scorecard]

22 hours ago, Airbagwill said:

Rubbish! Diction has nothing to do with accent... As any proper linguist or even language teacher will tell you.

In general American English is far better annunciated and more traditionally pronounced than British English

 

So there's no differences in pronunciation across the USA.

[Airbagwill]

50 minutes ago, Rally123 said:

That is not true. If you take a spelling test in Thailand or England (plus others) depending on how you spell airplane/aeoplane determines if you go on to the next round. Both answers cannot be correct. 

Both correct

[Airbagwill]

23 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

So there's no differences in pronunciation across the USA.

You're confusing accent, pronunciation and diction. When it comes to variations the UK is second to none.

[Rally123]

5 minutes ago, Airbagwill said:

Both correct

Bo**ix

[simon43]

My understanding is that 'airplane' is the spelling used in North America, and 'aeroplane' is the spelling used in the UK.

So both are correct spelling, as long as one continues to use the appropriate spelling for other words in the document that you're writing

 

.. meaning...

 

If you write your document using British spelling 'aeroplane', then you will be making a spelling mistake if you then write the word 'color', 'meter' or 'theater', because those are US spelling.

 

In a similar manner, you can't mix 'airplane' with 'metre' and 'colour' in your document, because you're mixing US and UK spelling. (The exception would be if you are quoting what a US person said in your British document...)

 

By the way, if you take an IELTS English test (which is often considered to be a British English test - it's not), it is perfectly correct to use US spelling in your written test, so long as you do not mix US and UK spellings - see above.

 

My young students learn 'British' English, but also learn the major differences between UK and US spelling, as well as common different words, such as 'trousers' and 'pants'.

[ozmeldo]

Kids don't bother with learning to spell ye olde English. American English is far simpler. Despite all the British teachers here, I've met one student with a British accent out of thousands and she lived in UK as a child. Watch American movies, YouTube... Even Cambridge and Oxford produce American texts. Now IELTS is hot. Another British monopoly like Cambridge assessments.

 

Stick a fork in it, yer done.

 

Asia wants American English. Ignore it at your peril.

[ozmeldo]

I've worked with a number of UK teachers and found it difficult to understand them.

 

A chronic complaint from students is they don't understand many Filipino teachers. Neither do I.

[Airbagwill]

5 hours ago, simon43 said:

My understanding is that 'airplane' is the spelling used in North America, and 'aeroplane' is the spelling used in the UK.

So both are correct spelling, as long as one continues to use the appropriate spelling for other words in the document that you're writing

 

.. meaning...

 

If you write your document using British spelling 'aeroplane', then you will be making a spelling mistake if you then write the word 'color', 'meter' or 'theater', because those are US spelling.

 

In a similar manner, you can't mix 'airplane' with 'metre' and 'colour' in your document, because you're mixing US and UK spelling. (The exception would be if you are quoting what a US person said in your British document...)

 

By the way, if you take an IELTS English test (which is often considered to be a British English test - it's not), it is perfectly correct to use US spelling in your written test, so long as you do not mix US and UK spellings - see above.

 

My young students learn 'British' English, but also learn the major differences between UK and US spelling, as well as common different words, such as 'trousers' and 'pants'.

Who says you can't mix spelling?

I think some people should look at the history of spelling.

You will soon find that spelling is not static and is continually changing. Only dead languages don't change.

From the first monks who tried to find letters to write down the language to the international English used on the internet.

BTW there is now more permanent record of written English than ever before. It's not just spelling that changes, grammar pronunciation and vocab .... Every aspect of language is fluid and changes.

English is a democratic and organic language there are no rules, only conventions. Anyone who thinks there is a right or wrong English, is just showing their ignorance.

In at I suggest you read a bit of Joyce and bit of Shakespeare...than you might get a perspective.

How do you spell encyclopedia, analog, hard disk and program, judgment....do you realize there might be more than one "correct" spelling?

[simon43]

Who says you can't mix spelling?

 

Experienced English teachers, IELTS examiners, you know... the people who actually know about correct spelling.

 

If you mix US and UK spelling of words in an IELTS written exam, you will be marked down, because unless you are quoting someone, there is no reason to use different spellings.  You either use US or use UK, but never mix them.

 

I have read lots of Shakespeare, as well as many other authors.  I don't see them mixing US and UK spelling in their writings.

 

How do you spell encyclopedia, analog, hard disk and program, judgment....do you realize there might be more than one "correct" spelling?

 

Yes, you prove exactly what I'm saying.  There is more than one correct spelling.  'Analog' is the correct US spelling and 'analogue' is the correct UK (and French) spelling.

 

Try making up your own spelling rules in an English exam and you will come unstuck :)