American English X British English

Some of us, when first got in touch with English may have thought, am I gonna learn/speak American or British English? I can only understand Americans, but I can't British people...

According to Linguistics there isn't such difference, both are the same language. What makes them differ are some aspects like: vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling and really few grammar rules.

If you think about vocabulary and spelling, there goes a very useful list of synonyms between American and British English - http://www22.brinkster.com/abistene/doubts/AmExBrE.htm

About pronunciation perhaps the biggest difference between British and American English lies in here. In British English, many vowels have different sounds and are usually not nasalized. Stressed vowels are usually longer in American English. In packet, for example, the "a" is longer. #In British English, the "a" in words like can't, class and fast is pronounced at the back of the mouth whereas in America English it's pronounced at the front of the mouth.

#In British English the consonant /r/ is pronounced only before a vowel (for example in red and bedroom). In all other cases the /r/ is silent, sounding more similar to the sound "ah" (for example in car, learn, over). In American English the /r/ is always pronounced wherever it appears in word.
#In American English the "t" between vowels is pronounced as a soft "d" (/d/), so that writer and rider sound similar. British English speakers usually pronounce the "t" as /t/.
#The pot is hot - In British English, the "o" in words like pot and hot is pronounced by rounding lips.
These are just a few of the many differences in pronunciation between British and American English. British English also has a different rhythm, which makes it sounds more "clipped" and emphatic. American English, on the other hand, tends to sound more drawled.

Concerning grammar here are the major differences:

a - Present Perfect x Simple Past - In American English (AmE) the Simple Past can be used with already, just and yet. In British English (BrE), the Present Perfect is used with these adverbs. AmE: I already gave her the present vs. BrE: I have already given her the present

b - Have x Have got - In BrE it is possible to use have got or have to express the idea of possession. In AmE only have can be used in questions and negative sentences.

BrE: Have you got a computer? Yes, I have vs. Ame: Do you have a computer? Yes, I do

c - Prepositions and particles
Some prepositions and particles are used differently in British and American English:
American English / British English
checking something (out) / check something
different from/than / different from/to
do something over/again / do something again
in a course / on a course
live on X street / live in X street
look around the church / look (a)round the church
Monday through/ to friday / Monday to friday
on a team / in a team
on the weekend / at the weekend
ten after/past four (time) / ten past four
ten to/of/before/till four / ten to four
stay home / stay at home]

d - Form of the Adverb - In informal American English the adverb form ending in -ly is often not used: He looked at me really strangely. (BrE) vs. He looked at me really strange. (AmE)

e - Irregular Verbs - In British English the past simple and past participle of many verbs can be formed with -ed or -t, for example, burned/burnt. In American English only the forms ending in -ed are used:
They burned/burnt the documents. (BrE) vs. They burned the documents. (NAmE)
When the past participle is used as an adjective, British English prefer the -t form, whereas in American English the -ed form is preferred, (with the exception of burnt):
a spoilt child (BrE) vs. a spoiled child (NAmE) burnt toast (BrE and NAmE)
f - Go x Come and...
In these expressions "and" is often omitted:
Go and take a look outside. (BrE) vs. Go take a look outside. (NAmE)

g - On the telephone
Hello, is that David? (BrE) vs. Hello, is this David (NAmE)

That's it fellas!!! Next time you get worried about having American or British English, just keep in mind to use the language properly, regardless it's American or British.

"England and America are two countries separated by a common language." (George Bernard Shaw, Irish writer - 1856-1950)

Citizen Journalism

Citizen journalism’. ‘Citizen journalism’. You probably know both of those words on their own. A citizen? A member of a city or state. You may even remember ‘netizen’, ‘a citizen of the internet’. I expect you know that a journalist is generally someone who writes for a newspaper or magazine. But what does it mean when you put the two words together?
The incredible rise of the internet has brought countless changes to the way we communicate and get our information. It’s hard to think of any aspect of our daily lives which hasn’t been affected by the spread of the internet and mobile technology, and news and journalism is certainly no exception.
The easy availability of mobile phones which can take high quality video and photographs and record sound means that almost anybody who is on the scene of a newsworthy event is able to record it. News organisations are only too happy to use the public as a vast - and cheap - source of content for its news items, as it’s impossible to have reporters and correspondents everywhere. In fact, in a sense, we have become their eyes and ears on the ground. We can all become ‘citizen journalists’, although many ‘real journalists’ are not happy with the idea that everybody can do what they do…
Think of some memorable recent news events… you can bet that some of the images which you associate with them are examples of ‘citizen journalism’. Coverage of the Asian tsunami, the London bombings in 2005, the floods in New Orleans, or the terrorist attacks in Mumbai all made extensive use of mobile phone photos and video sent in by members of the public. When a plane was forced to land in the Hudson River in January 2009, the most up-to-date news came from ordinary people using Twitter on their mobiles to describe what was happening and send pictures.
I sometimes imagine what it would be like if current mobile technology had been around at key moments in history. Can you imagine watching mobile phone footage of the last moments of the Titanic, or the storming of the Bastille in Paris? Going further back, what if we had mobile phone footage of the Great Fire of London or the Battle of Hastings?

If you could be a citizen journalist in any historical period, which specific event would you like have witnessed?

Stay tuned with the best music in English

Since we'll be dealing with some musical affairs for the following weeks, I'd like to bring to you a good way to stay tuned with the best of English songs ever.

The United Kingdom, specially England, is famous for providing the best music artists of all time such as The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Elton John, Queen, George Michael and more recent stars like Oasis, Coldplay, Amy Winehouse, Lilly Allen...

How to listen to their songs without having to buy their albuns? If you thought about downloading, I'm sorry but there's a better way dudes. It's gonna save you space on your hard disk and time.

There are some great radio stations broadicasting live music on the internet. I'd like to present you "Absolute Radio"!

Absolute Radio (formerly Virgin Radio) is one of the UK's three Independent National Radio stations. The station rebranded to its current name at 7.45am on 29 September 2008. The station is based in London and plays popular rock music. It currently broadcasts on mediumwave and DAB across the UK, on 105.8 FM in London. The station also recently launched on the new free to air satellite service Freesat (channel 724). It is also available in other parts of the world via satellite, cable, and on the Internet.

Here goes the link to the radio webpage www.absoluteradio.co.uk/

There are some procedures in order to get ready to listen to the radio, just click on the blue tag at the top of the page. If you think that's complicated, scroll down and you're gonna see a black part where all the information necessary to get tuned is available.

For the students participation in class, you just need to listen to radio and tell the class as many songs as possible you heard (songs titles), the artists, the ones you may have liked, and if you came across to something really extraordinary in terms of music.

Have Fun and Discover Real Music!!!

Swine Flu Outbreaks

Media reports suggest that the deadly H1N1 swine flu virus, which has killed sixteen people and infected hundreds worldwide, is continuing to spread. According to the United Nations' World Health Organisation, there are a total of 331 confirmed cases of swine flu throughout the world, with hundreds more suspected cases.
The WHO raised its pandemic alert level to its fifth level on Friday, on a scale of one to six, and has said that it is possible that a transition to the highest level will be made.

In a televised address, Mexican president Felipe Calderon encouraged people to stay at home with their families, saying that there is "no place as safe as your own home."

Brazil investigates 2 suspect cases and Anvisa asks the population to avoid panic.

The Brazilian government complained last Monday that Mexican authorities took too long to inform other countries of its swine flu outbreak. Brazil has so far not reported any cases of swine flu, the Health Ministry said.
"In such cases as these there cannot be such a delay in notification. Brazil has a habit of not hiding serious public health cases," said Agenor Alvares, general director of the public Agency for Health Surveillance (Anvisa).
"They have been having cases since March, and we only found out a couple a days," Alvares complained.

Should we be alarmed? Should we avoid traveling overseas? Should we consider wearing masks in order to prevent infection? Should we restrict acess of people from countries with the reported disease cases?

Think about it guys! I wanna hear you sharing your opinions about that next Wednesday.