American English versus British English as EFL models

Abstract

American English and British English are two varieties of the same language. This topic, belonging to the Dialectology subject is a sub-field of sociolinguistics and an optional course of the English Studies Degree. This project involves discovering the main differences between American English and British English as well as their similarities with our language. Through my research I have drawn parallels between their evolution and significance in countries in which English is not the first language. The goal is to understand how these differences affect the way in which the English language is taught around the world and more specifically in Europe and in our country. Through this research we have discovered how these differences and similarities are perceived in Spain. After comparing arguments, we can state which of them has more influence today, how this will evolve in the next years, and which one of them will have more prestige in our society in the years to come. The main purpose of this paper is to give a short explanation about how these two English varieties appeared, in which countries of the world are used and the importance of acknowledging which variety of English is being learnt in order to obtain the best results in our personal or professional life.