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Issues
FEATURE
'We
put the top on the job'
False friends between
Dutch and English
Common
false friends
between Dutch and English
COLUMNS
Language
Interference
Language interference
outside word meaning
Focus
on Language
Awareness:
Introduction
British and American English
Difference in semantics and pronunciation
UK
version ¦ US
version
New
word of the month
Neologisms from American English
 Top
Tips for the CD-ROMs
Using the CD-ROM to explore British and American false friends
onestopenglish.com
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Top
Tips for the CD-ROMs
by Mairi
MacDonald
Usage notes
There are 28 usage notes in the Macmillan English Dictionary
dealing with the differences between British and American English. These
notes provide a great basis for creating lessons that focus on common
false friends such as bathroom, gas, mean and smart
between these two varieties of English.
You can use SmartSearch to find all these notes
and then use TextSearch (select Examples) to get a selection
of example sentences.
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Activity
1 Find the difference
| Aim: |
To explore different meanings certain words
have for British and American speakers. |
Procedure
| 1 |
Ask students to look at the selected sentences
and see if they can predict the differences in meaning. The
difference is not always obvious, so don't let students spend
too long on the first part. |
| 2 |
Next, ask students to look at the usage notes
at the relevant entry in the dictionary to see if they were
right and establish the difference in meanings. |
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Read the British
and American English sentences below. What is the difference in
meaning of the underlined words?
1
professor
British
English
Professor Edwards is one of the main experts in his field.
American English
Her first academic appointment was as an assistant professor
at Yale.
2 college
British English
He teaches cookery at the local college.
American English
At college he had dated a medical student from Kansas.
3 state
British English
The state needs to maintain an adequate supply of trained
teachers.
American English
Five state elections will be held in March.
4 subway
British English
It's safest to use the subway to get from the car park
to the museum.
American English
Take the subway to 14th Street.
5 federal
British English
a federal organization of voluntary environmental groups
American English
The cost will be split between state and federal governments.
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Activity
2 British or American English?
| Aim: |
To explore different meanings certain words
have for British and American speakers. |
Procedure
| 1 |
Ask students to read the sentences and decide
if they are British or American English. Point out that the
words in italics will help them to decide. |
| 2 |
Ask students to check their answers in pairs. |
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Tip
You can direct the
students to relevant usage notes in the dictionary to check their
answers. These are:
1 bathroom
2 smart 3 time 4 mean 5-6 gas
7-8 sea 9 school 10 student
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Look at the words in italics. Decide whether
the following sentences are British or American English.
| 1 |
I had to go to the bathroom and lost
my place in the line. |
| 2 |
One dress was too smart, the other too
casual; she had nothing in-between. |
| 3 |
'What time do you have?' 'It's ten after
three.' |
| 4 |
She was too mean to put the heating
on. |
| 5 |
We'd better get gas on our way out of
town. |
| 6 |
We ran out of petrol in the middle of
nowhere. |
| 7 |
The sea is getting rougher. |
| 8 |
Amazingly, he survived when his plane crashed
into the ocean. |
| 9 |
She's still in school, but she's graduating
in the spring. |
| 10 |
The students spent the whole lesson copying
from the blackboard. |
See
answers
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Follow up
Students can translate the British sentences into American
English or vice versa depending on the type of English most relevant to
them.
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