British English (BrE)
|
American English (AmE)
|
Autumn term
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Fall semester
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Break
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Recess, free period
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College high school
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High school
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Exam
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Test
|
Module
|
Class
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Nursery, playschool
|
Day care, preschool
|
Primary school
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Elementary school
|
Pupil
|
Student
|
Read a subject
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Major in a subject
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Reception year
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Pre-kindergarten, pre-K
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Secondary school
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Middle school
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Sit an exam
|
Take a test
|
Spring term
|
Spring semester
|
Summer term
|
Summer semester
|
Term
|
Semester
|
University
|
College, university
|
Year 1
|
Kindergarten
|
Year 2
|
1st grade
|
Year 3
|
2nd grade
|
Year 4
|
3rd grade
|
Year 5
|
4th grade
|
Year 6
|
5th grade
|
Year 7
|
6th grade
|
Year 8
|
7th grade
|
Year 9
|
8th grade
|
Year 10
|
9th grade, freshman year
|
Year 11
|
10th grade, sophomore year
|
Year 12
|
11th grade, junior year
|
Year 13
|
12th grade, senior year
|
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Americans have exams, too; as in "midterm exams" or "final exams" (aka midterms or finals) in the middle or the end of a high school or college semester.
ReplyDeleteDon't British and American English also use the terms "public" and "private school" differently?
ReplyDeleteYou only "read" a subject at Oxford or Cambridge. Elsewhere, we just "study X"
ReplyDeleteYou could also have mentioned that AmE terms such as "freshman", "sophomore" etc are not used in BrE. We prefer "first year", "second year" etc.
ReplyDeleteJay, in AmE, public school is what we Brits refer to as a state school or comprehensive (i.e. it is public in the sense that anyone can attend without having to pay). In the BrE, public school refers to schools that were set up back when most schools were only available to people of a certain religion or within a certain area. These public schools were public in the sense that anyone could attend them regardless of faith or home address as long as they could afford the high costs. Most UK public schools started as boys boarding schools although some now have day students and many are co-educational.
ReplyDeleteThe term private school basically means the same thing in both AmE and BrE. These are schools to which people must pay in order to attend and that are not (solely) funded by the government.
Thank you for that public and school comment! I was looking for the diference of those terms between BrE and and AmE. Thanks! ❤
ReplyDeletePublic School in the UK also means no entrance exam, as in anyone can attend if they can afford it. Private school means there is an entrnce exam and you have to pay to attend.
ReplyDeleteDave that is untrue, Public schools in the UK have entry exams. They are simply a subset of private schools.
ReplyDeleteI have a question - in the UK we would refer to things being in term-time e.g teachers are not allowed to take holidays in term-time. Is there a AmE equivalent? Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHigh school and College are different in the UK. High school is years 7 to 11, college is just 12 and 13 however some High Schools go up 1o 13 from 7.
ReplyDelete