Spelling: UK vs. US

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[Valery]

Hi, could i get a clarification whether it is acceptable for our students to use (or sometimes-accidentally use..) US spelling in their exams? eg: Color, realize, analyze, neighbor..instead of colour, realise, analyse, neighbour (UK spelling)..

I told them that to be on the safe side,just stick to the system-UK spelling, that is..still,if they happen to mistakenly spell those words in their essays, would they be penalised? will marks be deducted for language (spelling)?

Thanks..

[Richard Boon]

Hello cg Valery,
This is the question on spelling, or rather, writing convention. Very interesting. Correct me should i go astray: In our country, we adapt and adopt the British spelling. In my instance, yes, am well versed on the British / UK spelling. Later, in our varsity years, i asked one of our tutors, which convention to use when writing assignments and thesis. He told us to use either one. He told us to be consistent, meaning, "if you start your write-ups in UK spelling, end it with UK spelling - don't mix the two conventions. Both conventions are acceptable". But i assume the UK spelling is preferred by our KPM. Let the children themselves explore the US spelling through the use of US-made softwares.
Anyway, let's hear from others on this.

[Valery]

But i assume the UK spelling is preferred by our KPM.

Thanks Mr. Richard..I believe we share the same assumption-it's better for the students to stick to UK spelling for exams/exercises in schools.

[Adeline Ong]

In public exams like pmr or spm, students are asked to spell the words in the UK spelling.  Previously those using us spellings like 'color' were considered minor errors.  do teach your students to use the uk spelling.

[Timothy Salang ak James Anin]

Malaysian are using the UK spellings.   

[Jong Tian Se]

Please take note that our English syllabus is based on the British English. Malaysians are taught the British English since the begining and there is no ruling from KPM saying that we can use the American English. Our English textbook says it all. It is written in the British English. There is no doubt that students nowadays are greatly influenced by American English through the media like Hollywood movies and songs. Needless to say the 'Black English' that frequently appears in their essays. This is a very serious ignorance. Therefore, they should be reminded about it.

[Teoh Say Beng]

I feel the 'problem' goes deeper than just spelling... with the proliferation of American movies and dramas in our TV and screens nowadays..... the usage of American terms for certain things might become more commonly used by our students...
eg. apartment (flat), flashlight (torchlight), trunk (boot), fender (bumper), elevator (lift), college (university), gas/gasoline (petrol), counter clockwise (anti-clockwise) truck (lorry), mailbox (post box/ letter box)  pants (trousers) etc.

You may refer to this link for the differences in American and British commonly used terms:
http://www2.gsu.edu/~wwwesl/egw/jones/words.htm

[Philomina]

Thanks for those who share their thoughts on this matter. As a primary school teacher myself, it is crucial and important for me to get my pupils to spell correctly. The problem will proceed to Secondary school if it is not being corrected in the early years of Education. I'm glad that Cikgu Valerie brought this almost unseen matter here in the forum.

[Anita Bt. Othman]

Please take note that our English syllabus is based on the British English. Malaysians are taught the British English since the begining and there is no ruling from KPM saying that we can use the American English. Our English textbook says it all. It is written in the British English. There is no doubt that students nowadays are greatly influenced by American English through the media like Hollywood movies and songs. Needless to say the 'Black English' that frequently appears in their essays. This is a very serious ignorance. Therefore, they should be reminded about it.

To be on the safe side, its better to teach our pps with British English.

[Jong Tian Se]

The BBC programme on ASTRO channel is a good source of standard British English.

[Adeline Ong]

The NST spell-it-right only accepts British English.  So just stick to it.  Tell the students the difference.

[Lester Kalum]

Thanks for bringing this matter up. In my opinion we should use the UK Spelling. Thanks for reminding me on this matter.

[Lim Yong Soon]

Thank you teacher Teoh for the useful website on common words in American and British English.

[Harvard Anak Nupe]

I have been adopting and adapted to British English all this while.

[Mohd. Asrulfarid B. Alias]

Besides spelling,some words are also not same in UK and US,example rear mirror (US) side mirror (UK).
Most film on TV was from US,so students get confused.So I suggest students to watch Mr. Bean  ,thats definately from UK and watch SIR (spell it right).

Thats why if you want to further study in UK must take IESTL not Tofel  ,why not we take the IESTL to see where are we,then the score must be at least 6.0 in all paper...then we can be a good British english teacher's.
Good luck to all of you,take care.

[Sain Anak Akong]

This is a very interesting topic to read... thanks for all the info given by my fellow teachers. In fact I'm aware of these problems during my school times because I went to different schools with English teachers with different education background. When I decided to become English teacher myself .. I always remind my pupils about the differences in UK and US English especilly in terms of spellings, pronunciation and writing conventions. But other factors such as songs, TV, ICT and other influences can make the pupils/learners/non English speakers become more confused than the teachers.

[Elsie Theng]

Yes, you are right.   

[Mohana Ram Murugiah]

we should encourage our students to take part in SIR.....i was very shameful to see the Sarawak level competition....only a few famous schools from Kuching took part and my school was the only school from other division(SMK BINTULU) thanx to our principal for being so supportive....i think more schools should take part in this competition as i helps to improve our students vocab....my students who took part in this competition improve tremendously....it doesnt matter whether you are from rural or urban....as the saying goes when there is a will there is a way....who know you might be the winner....dear teachers please make sure you take part next year....i will keep you guys updated next year.... 

[Nurul Hidayah bt Hairuddin]

we should encourage our students to take part in SIR.....i was very shameful to see the Sarawak level competition....only a few famous schools from Kuching took part and my school was the only school from other division(SMK BINTULU) thanx to our principal for being so supportive....i think more schools should take part in this competition as i helps to improve our students vocab....my students who took part in this competition improve tremendously....it doesnt matter whether you are from rural or urban....as the saying goes when there is a will there is a way....who know you might be the winner....dear teachers please make sure you take part next year....i will keep you guys updated next year.... 

how to take part?

[Lester Kalum]

Apapun, sama-samalah kita semua belajar dan bertanya kepada yang lebih arif akan penggunaan ejaan tersebut. Satu perbincangan yang baik dan ianya memberikan faedah kepada semua user di sini.

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