Cultural differences between uk and us

Just something to summarize these diferences

1. Cultural differences between UK and US CULTURE AND CONTEXT IN ELT By Gabriela Rodriguez del Aguila May 2017

2. Government and location Federal Republic Constitutional Monarchy NORTH AMERICA CURRENCY: US DOLLAR $10 boxes (informal) EUROPE CURRENCY: POUND STERLING 10 quids (informal)

3. Language . Both cultures speak English with their own particular accent, for example: however, major, can’t, etc. . They have some differences when writing the same Word; Grey – gray, color – colour , neighbour – neighbor, etc. . Many words have different meanings. See picture  They also vary in grammar when they refer to “have”, for Example: I have got a car… / I have a car. There is the idea that slang like wanna , gonna , gotcha , etc are American, but they are not, they were developed by the working class of England first and just went to America during the occupation as most Brits that went to America were the lower classes looking for a better life. This is why the upper class English speech is very different as crisper.

4. Customs : Americans tend to be more patriotic tan British, Americans love to show off their flag, even it is not a national holiday. People are less friendly in the UK, eye contact in public transportation is almost impossible. When you are done with your food, Americans call the waiter or ask for the bill, in UK they just put the fork and knife together, meaning “bring me the check”. In the US, tax in not included in the price tag, In the UK, it is When you go to a restaurant, portions are smaller in UK, food portions in US are ridiculously bigger. In the UK, they drive on the left but in Us, they do on the right. Not all places have air-conditioners in UK. Americans recycle more. School vacation in UK lasts 6 weeks whereas in the US lasts 3 whole months. There are greener areas to visit in UK. People do family picnics on Sundays. About religion, the US tends to be slightly more religious than the UK. Harvest festival, the UK celebrate the harvest in September, while in the US they have thanksgiving in November. Xmas in the US is a smaller affair with celebrations happening on at midnight between the 24th/25th, but in the UK Xmas is bigger, with the main celebrations spanning 24/25/26th. Scotland also has a huge New Year celebration 31st/1st/2nd for Hogmany .

5. Customs:Rewiew

6. Educational System . US, people generally buy homes based on the school district , their children will attend . . UK, children are allowed to take entrance exams according to their preferences . . US, students send their applications to universities in autumm and receive results in Winter. . UK, students have a gap year after school to travel or gain work experience . . US, students have a guidence counselor , in UK the closest one is the head of the year . . US goes for breadth of knowledge whilst in the UK it tends to be depth of knowledge. Hence at University in the US undergraduate degrees cover a lot of areas and do post graduate specialisms. This is because they go to university straight out of high school at the age of 17. Although there are option subjects in senior high school. Whereas in the UK, at the age of 14 pupils choose, within guidelines, there high school certificate subjects, then at 16 they elect to specialize further for advanced level subjects, before at 18 going to university for a specialist degree subject. Hence few students take post graduate specialism.

7. Traffic control / Publishing / Studies have shown that roundabouts – the preferred traffic control measure in the UK – are more efficient and safer than intersections – the more popular feature in the States. The UK publishes more books per capita than any other country, according to a report from the International Publishers Association released in 2014. Plus, we’ve got Shakespeare, Austen, the Bröntes and J K Rowling. But who’s counting?

8. Gabriela Rodriguez