How to understand the differences between British and American English

 

Trousers or pants? Can you tell the difference?

Watch

Watch the video

Watch the video and find out if your predictions from the Preparation task are correct?

If you need help you can click on Read transcript below and read along while you watch the video.

Preparation

Before you watch

Do this vocabulary task before you watch.

What do you think is going to happen in the video?

Exercise

Task

Match the words in American English with the words in British English.

Exercise

Downloads
 

Comments

Phisamai Phillipps's picture

hi every body i love to reading people comment about different language but one think i want not to come few  i just want to remember English only.ha ha.

aqasewani's picture

i am working on it but its little bit difficult :( 

is there anybody who can speak in British accent please add me on facebook or skype.

Jeremy Bee's picture
LearnEnglish
team

Hello aqasewani!
 
If you want to improve your British accent, then keep listening to British English! Most of our material has British accents. However, I shouldn't worry too much about it - it can take a long time to reach native speaker pronunciation!

Also, please remember our house rules ask you not to share personal information, including Skype and e-mail. This is to protect you and everyone else who uses our site.
 
Have fun, and enjoy your stay on LearnEnglish!
 
Regards
 
Jeremy Bee
The LearnEnglish Team
 

aqasewani's picture

hi Jeremy Bee i replyed you post but you did not get. well i want to learn about 

Expression: like None of my concern etc please help me 

Regards

Abdul Qadir Sewani

aqasewani's picture

HI Jeremy Bee Thank you for such nice reply with advice .  I  already listing British English  as  can as possible  for me but for improving my conversation skills i need to talk with native speakers for that  my  skype id is. 

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Regards

Abdul Qadir Sewani

AdamJK's picture
LearnEnglish
team

Hi Abdul,
I understand that you want to practise your English. However, as Jeremy said, the House Rules say that you are not allowed to share your Skype id. Please don't do that here.
Best wishes,
Adam
The LearnEnglish Team

Amiraliyeva Aydan's picture

I love British accent. I think it is very fluently.....

Dhirar's picture

This video is so useful to learn about two kinds of English, but the problem here how I can download it in my computer ...

Jeremy Bee's picture
LearnEnglish
team

Hello Dhirar!
 
I'm sorry to say that you can't download this series of videos at the moment. If you want to download things to listen to while you're on the move, try our Elementary Podcasts, which has mp3s for download.
Enjoy the rest of the site!
Jeremy Bee
The Learn English Team

J U J U's picture

I think most British their accent are heavy in speaking their mother language because English comes from their dialect which is also first language of using but they are using their more difficult and higher education to talk to people who are native speakers. they spoke their language in proverb because of being spoken constantly in their nation.
however, US territory has been taken control by UK government.  American is British sovereignty such our Taiwan is also handover to china as a part of their because we are younger generation in contemporary usually spoke Chinese which is Chinese people their first language as saying. In our Taiwan here, most roadside were written in Chinese characters. IF is in large metropolitan, there would have small letters of English writing on billboard for notification, warning, way of direction and instruction so on. that is because going to let those foreigners,European can read that sign then they will know when they coming to our Taiwan for traveling around at first time or not very long.
Language is for communication and being spoken by us our society.
everyday someone talk to me in English then I'll listen to you saying in my left brain then day by day it will accumulate more vocabularies in my here and again plus I constant to use the language I've known and learnt to say in communicating or idea or something opinion I am having
SO this is called linguistic and someone who are studying language called linguistics
one of my classmates , she lend this material of her to me reading through and she asked me to be sure reading IF I had some time , mostly I work at , I would just read a part of it is very important.
I choice English as my main study since was college years and also English literature for option.
the classmate , she ever had been to England for home stay said she. she has her experience of teaching kids for 4 at cram school settling in our here but I think she has not good enough to teach English and be an effective qualified instructor because she has no license of skillful for teaching with qualification that would best which is several countries consent with or accredited by official and useful for our life forever wherever we go then no afraid again we have no professional expertise to seek a job, study oversea, immigrate