Having to teach a unit on the differences between American and British English a few months back, I decided to make it a little more interesting with a PPT guessing game, a set of dominos and a worksheet.
PPT Guessing Game
A great way to start the lesson off and gage what your students know. Show them the image and turn the word around. They then have to guess whether the word is used in America or England. I played it as a betting game, having students bet a limited amount of money on what they thought the answer was. Once they have chosen (by clicking on the flag of America or Britain) you can reveal the correct answer or move on to the next question.
Dominos
Split the students into teams and have them match the American English word with the British English word to create a circle of words. I had them compete to see who could finish first.
Worksheet
Show your students the answers PPT (a word bank) and have them fill in the missing American or English words on the worksheet. This consolidates their learning and gives them a reference sheet for the future.
It works well as a fun, slightly different lesson and a vocabulary builder. It also worked well to help my students understand me a little better. Being English and mostly teaching American English can cause some issues with understanding at times. I often tell students to put their rubbish in the bin, when they understand trash can, and to take their hands out of their trousers, when they understand pants. And this did help to clear some confusion.
