Teaching In England As An American

British english vs american English With English being recognised as the global language of choice, which one is considered the official language? So just how did American English diverge from British English in the first place? American English roots back to the early colonial days of the late 16th century, were a whole gamut of cultures converged into a single society. In some colonies English wasn’t even a spoken language and in those colonies that did speak English it was quite different from the English we know today. The Elizabethan English of the day consisted of many varieties of regional English dialects. All these different dialects, intermingled with a multitude of cultures formed one big boiling pot, of which over time, a new variant was produced – American English. And...  [Read more]

Cool Britannia offers an almost vertigo-inspiring range of attractions, life-styles and experiences, and one can chose between the big cities and their glittering array of restaurants, nightlife and cultural attractions, and the justly famous countryside offering everything from mountains and lakes, to the verdant, bucolic landscapes that inspired many an artist and writer. In addition to this Britain is an immensely culturally diverse society. This brings with it great food, fascinating people and life-styles, and it matters little that nobody is quite sure - or that fussed about - what it means to be British any more! One of Britain’s greatest assets is its density. There really is an awful lot of stuff packed into a relatively small island. In addition this dirt-cheap airfares make...  [Read more]

The term TESOL is one that is often used in a general sense, although it does have a specific meaning. Generally the meaning of TESOL is some form of ‘the Teaching of English to people whose first language is not English’ and is often used interchangeably with terms such as TEFL, TEAL, TESL and many others. It is also generally used as the name of a qualification, such as a TESOL certificate, which relates to the result of a TESOL training course. Here we will look at the meaning of TESOL in these broad terms and also give its specific meaning, along with many other common acronyms used throughout the industry. The general acronym for the field of teaching English is ELT: English language teaching. This term applies across the board to teaching English, be it to American high school...  [Read more]

Since time immemorial Poland has stood as a gateway between East and West, and, hence, is a country of surprising contrasts. It has risen to meet the challenges presented by the fall of the communist party in 1990 with style and aplomb. The new Zloty has stabilized, and inflation is slowly spiralling down - less than ten percent at time of writing. The striking contrasts continue when one compares slick cities, with no shortage of ‘slickers’, to rural agricultural villages where horse-drawn vehicles are commonly in use. It remains a relatively cheap country to live in, but this won’t last forever. Polish people tend to be helpful, friendly and hospitable, and westerners are still something of a novelty. A population of thirty-eight millions fits comfortably into a landmass of...  [Read more]

There is such a tremendous amount of marked regional diversity in Spain that one is almost dealing with a mini continent. Life on the costas - Spain’s huge coastline - differs greatly from that in the big cities, which in turn differs from life in the thousands of picturesque rural villages, which is again different from the ski slopes of Andora or Granada. Dispirit locations and circumstances are united in a profound love of life, sometimes combined with a slight disdain for work. Spaniards work to live, they do not live to work. Hence it is very easy to get swept up in a seemingly constant round of fiestas and festivals, music and dancing - eating well and drinking well being all part of pursuing the good life in the best of all possible worlds. Despite the fact that practically...  [Read more]