British English vs. American English ESL Games & Worksheets

ESL British vs. American English Games - Vocabulary: Categorising, Matching - Pair Work Here are two engaging British English vs. American English games to help students distinguish between British and American vocabulary. First, in pairs, students sort British English words and American English words into their respective groups by taking turns turning over one vocabulary card and placing it under the correct heading. For each correctly categorised word, pairs score one point. Afterwards, pairs match each British word to its American equivalent, placing the two cards next to each other in the two categories. Pairs score one additional point for each correct match. The pair with the most points at the end of the game wins. Students then move on to play a game where they test their partner on the vocabulary. Students turn over each pair of matching cards and place them face-down on the table. Students then take it in turns to choose a pair, turn over one of the cards and ask the question, 'What's another way to say 'candy'?' The other student then says the equivalent British or American word. If the student's answer is correct, they win and keep the cards. If not, the cards are placed face-down to be used again. The student with the most pairs of cards at the end of the game wins. show less

ESL British vs. American English Game - Vocabulary and Speaking: Identifying, Matching, Forming Sentences, Freer Practice - Group Work In this fun British English vs. American English board game, students practice common British and American English vocabulary by matching equivalents and using them in sentences. Players place their counters on the start square. Next, players take turns picking up a British or American card and reading the word aloud. The player then says the equivalent word in the other English variant, e.g. if it's a British word like 'flat', they say 'apartment'. If the answer is correct, the player rolls the dice and moves their counter along the board. If the answer is incorrect, they do not roll the dice. If a player rolls the dice and lands on a 'Challenge' square, they pick up a card from the alternate pile and create a sentence using the word, then restate the same sentence using the equivalent word in the other variant, e.g. 'I took the elevator to class this morning.' and 'I took the lift to class this morning.' If the group agrees that the word has been used correctly in the sentence and the second sentence uses the correct equivalent, the player moves forward two squares. If not, the player does not move forward and stays on the square. The card is then returned to the bottom of its pile and play passes to the next student. The first player to reach the finish wins the game. show less

ESL British vs. American English Worksheet - Vocabulary Exercises: Gap-fill, Word search, Matching, Binary Choice In this free British English vs. American English worksheet, students practice common British English words and their American English equivalents. First, students complete sentences with British English words from a box. Students then find American English words in a word search that have the same meanings as the British English words and match each American word to the sentence that contains the British word with the same meaning. Next, students complete sentences with words from a box and match each sentence with one on the left that contains the word with the same meaning. After that, students read the sentences on the left and right and write A next to the sentences that contain an American English word and B next to the sentences that contain a British English word. Lastly, students complete sentences with the correct word from each word pair. show less

ESL British vs. American English Game - Vocabulary: Bingo, Matching - Group Work In this enjoyable British English vs. American English game, students play bingo by matching British and American words with their meanings and recalling the cross-variety equivalent. In groups, the bingo caller reads a definition at random from the caller's sheet, e.g. 'Clothing worn from your waist to your ankles with two legs.' The players listen and look at the words written on their bingo cards to see if they have one that matches the definition, e.g. Trousers. If they do, they cross it off. The game continues until a player has crossed off four words in a row. When this happens, the player shouts 'Bingo!' and reads the words they crossed off, along with the corresponding British or American equivalent for each word. If the player makes a mistake in any of the four equivalents, they are allowed one chance to fix it. If they correct it, the win counts. If the player fails to correct the mistake or the words are wrong, the bingo is void, and the game continues. If the equivalents are correct and the words match the definitions, the player wins the round. Players then continue to see who can cross off all 16 words first. Groups play several rounds, with students taking turns being the bingo caller and players using a different bingo card each time. show less