American vs. British English / Complete ESL Lesson for B2 Level Adult Learners

This is a communicative writing lesson for ESL upper-intermediate levels (CEFR: B2). Differences between American and British English vocabulary and spelling are the main lexical focus of this lesson. The grammar focus is based around differences in AE and BE in the use of present perfect simple and use of prepositions. This lesson was originally designed for adult learners, but the material is suitable for teens and older children. This PowerPoint is great for introducing learners to the nuances between how Americans and Brits speak or help them understand which style they prefer; this is important when considering international exams such as IELTS or TOEFL. The lesson includes printable handout slides and a homework slide. Although designed for group in-person classes, this lesson is easily adapted for online use with individual students. At the end of the lesson, learners should practice the target language by role playing situations using either British or American English and trying to spot the differences in their partner's speaking!

FAQs:

How this resource be used for an in-person lessons?

This resource is intended for small groups of ideally up to 6 learners. For in-person lessons it is best if the teacher splits students into pairs or groups of three to briefly discuss each question or resolve tasks as they appear. Afterwards, the teacher should get feedback from the learners because this maximizes student talk time. Handouts should be printed out before each lesson and brought to class by the teacher. Handouts, homework, or reading slides can be printed out by pressing the keys “Ctrl + P” and selecting the range of slides to be printed under “settings.”

How can this resource be adapted for online lessons?

Adapting the lesson for online lessons is relatively easy, but requires some preparation. First of all, this resource is ideally used with groups online through platforms that support breakout rooms such as Google Meet or Zoom. In contrast to in-person classes, students should only be split into break-out rooms for major tasks and the small questions should be briefly discussed as a group; this reduces student talk time, but creating and closing breakout rooms can be too cumbersome and time-consuming. There are multiple options regarding the handout, reading, and homework slides. In the ideal scenario, the teacher should preview the PowerPoint and save the handouts to separate document or image files and sent to learners before or during the lesson. Slides can be saved by copying them into document files using the “print screen” on the desired slides in slideshow mode. Alternatively the “snipping tool” in Windows can be used to save image files. Students can solve tasks using annotation tools in Zoom or Google Meet.

The PowerPoint seems to have text over text and is illegible. How can I fix this?

This resource will open in PowerPoint in “edit” mode and uses animations to present headings and material. In order to view the PowerPoint in slideshow mode as intended you have two options. The first and easiest option is to press the “F5” key with the PowerPoint open. Alternatively, navigate over to the "Slideshow" tab and click on the “From beginning” button.

If you have any other questions don’t be shy and feel free to ask!

Terms of Service:

You are allowed to:

- change the pictures

- tune the lesson to the level of your learners

- add/remove material

Terms of Service:

You are not allowed:

Big no-no: distribute the resource for profit

Also “not cool”: distributing the resource for free

A humble note on intellectual property:

I have chosen to keep all my resources completely unlocked and editable. This is because I believe that flexibility is essential in making a good teaching resource. A good resource should be capable of being tweaked and tuned to meet the needs of learners. As a creator, this brings increased risks, but these are risks I’m willing to take and I put my faith in you the buyer.

Thank you for your purchase or at least your consideration!