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British English vs American English The English language consists of two major variations. One is British English, which is spoken in the UK, and the other variation is American English. British English has its origin in the UK and includes several dialects within the UK. British English is often referred to as Oxford English, which is one of the dialects. Usually, this is the variation taught as a foreign language at public schools throughout Europe. American English also has its origin in the UK but is a variation which is spoken in the US and Canada. There are several dialects or accents within the US and Canada. Due to British colonization English was introduced in America. Later lots of immigrants from the UK came to America and kept speaking English as a first language. Some accents or dialects resulted from immigrants from other countries. Over the years English language spoken in America changed to what is today called American English. British English and American English are different in spelling, pronunciation and grammar. The pronunciation differs from dialect to dialect. Spelling There was no standardization of the English spelling until the 18th century which is the reason why American English retained some older word forms. Most differences can be found at the end of a word. For example: colour ? color or centre - center Names There are different names for the same things in American and British English. An American would say that there are trucks on the road whereas a British would say that there is a lorry. There is no difference in the thing itself but in the name used for it. Another example is that in the US you find parking lots and in the UK car parks. The meaning is the same; it is a place where you can park your car. Grammar In both variations you have irregular or regular verbs. Some forms differ between American and British English. For example: learnt ?learned Pronunciation People pronounce words differently according to where they come from. Some words are stressed on different syllables in American or British English. Dates Another major difference between American and British English is the way they write the date. In Britain it is common to write day.month.year whereas in the US they write month/day/year. In the US they usually refer to a 12 hour clock and in Britain and most of Europe they refer to a 24 hour clock. Those are some of the main differences of these to variation of English. Whether you teach American or British English depends on where you come from and where you teach. In Europe you might have to teach British English, when it comes to spelling and grammar, because it is more common to do so even though you might come from the US. In germany and other European Countries American English becomes more and more popular to learn. As a teacher you should check with the school you would like to teach at whether they prefer British or American English. If you teach advanced students it might be a good idea to point out differences between British and American English. In my opinion it does not matter whether you teach British or American English. You should always teach the variation which is your native language. If you are not an English native speaker you should decide on one variation and do not mix. For the students it usually makes no difference. They will be understood no matter which variation they were taught.