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  • Do you want to study at a British university or an American college? Because if you do,

  • this is the video for you! Because we are going to look at ten essential words that

  • you are going to need to know if you want to study abroad. This is going to be super

  • useful guys. So let's roll the intro.

  • The first big difference is that British students go to university whereas American students

  • would call it college or school, ok? So in Britain we would say 'Which uni do you go

  • to?' So we shorten university down to uni. So which uni do you go to? "I go to Leeds

  • uni.' But in American English they would say school. Well college is the institution but

  • often they would say school. So which school do you go to? I go to Harvard or Yale or whatever.

  • That's a bit of a strange one for British students because school for us, well that's

  • when you are a kid, right? From the ages of five to eighteen you go to school. Then you

  • go to university. So using the word school, it's always a bit of a strange one for us

  • but in American English school is high school and also college. So that's the first major

  • difference. British students go to university or uni. American students go to college or

  • school. When British students arrive at uni they are known as freshers. So I was a fresher

  • for my first year. In America they are known as freshmen. So the idea is the same, that

  • fresh, like new but slightly different. So fresher in the UK, freshman in America. Now

  • at the beginning of the course you will find out your timetable. This is when your classes

  • are, what time, what day your classes are. So in Britain we would say timetable. In America

  • they would probably say schedule. So in Britain we get our timetable, in America they will

  • get their schedule. Now this is an interesting difference. In American English I know that

  • they major in a subject. So let's say I'm studying English, 'I major in English'. But

  • in Britain we would use other verbs. So we don't use major we'd use things like I read

  • so 'I'm reading English' or 'I read English' in the past. Or we might say 'I'm doing English'

  • or 'I did English'. I did media studies, not sure why but anyway. So you could say 'I did

  • media studies' or 'I'm doing media studies' if it's in the present tense. You could also

  • say study so 'I'm studying English' or 'I'm studying history.' So we've got a couple of

  • verbs read, study and do whereas in America it's just major.

  • Here's a question for any of you guys out there in America. Now in Britain we have something

  • called a gap year. This is a year in between school and university where somebody might

  • want to work for a while or travel. The idea is that you get a bit more experience of life.

  • So we take a gap year. Now what is that in American English? I don't actually know. So

  • I'd love it if you guys knew so let me know in the comments below. What is a gap year

  • in American English? Maybe it's gap year, I don't know. Anyway, let me know. In British

  • English we divide the academic year up into terms so usually we have three terms one before

  • Christmas, one between Christmas and Easter and then the summer term so from Easter till

  • the summer. Now in American English they would say semester but I have noticed that the word

  • semester is coming more and more into British English. So perhaps they are interchangeable

  • here. So maybe in American English they will also say term, in British English we will

  • also say semester but generally in British universities we use term and in American colleges

  • they'll say semester. Now when you are on your course you will have to write essays

  • all about different topics whatever the thing is that you are studying.

  • In American English they call those papers. So 'On Friday I have to hand in a paper' you

  • would say, whereas in British English 'On Friday I have to hand in an essay.' So essay

  • in British English, paper in American English. Then at the end of the term or the course

  • or the year whatever it might be in British English we have to do exams whereas in American

  • English I think they would say tests. Now again this could be quite fluid. I think maybe

  • in American English they might also say exams and certainly in British English we say tests.

  • Throughout the year you might have little tests, kind of progress tests or whatever

  • it might be but at the end of the year you'll have an exam and that's the big important

  • one that will decide if you pass your course or not. In American English, I think they

  • call that a test. Now on your course you are going to have different classes. Now in American

  • English it is a class and that could be small or big it doesn't really matter whereas in

  • British English we divide them up into two different categories.You have lectures where

  • the lecturer or professor will talk for an hour two hours and you sit and you take notes.

  • There isn't much of a discussion. You don't really generally ask questions. It's usually

  • in a big hall or big lecture theatre. Whereas we also have seminars. Now a seminar is smaller.

  • So there are fewer students, you've got one professor, one teacher and you can generally

  • ask them questions. It's more of a discussion. So yeah we have a seminar and a lecture whereas

  • in American English it's a class, it's the same thing. Now before your big exam at the

  • end of the course, in British English we revise. That means to study again the things that

  • you have already learned. So you revise for an exam or you revise for a test. In American

  • English I think it's review. They would use the word review or study but i think we would

  • use study as well. But the concept here of revising is that you have already studied

  • it and so you are looking at it again to remind yourself of what you have already learned.

  • So in British English revise, in American English review. And finally for that exam

  • the verb that we use in British English is to sit an exam. Also we use take as well,

  • so you could take an exam as well. In American English I think they would generally use the

  • word take. So in British English we sit an exam, in American English they take a test.

  • Now guys, if at the moment you are studying in the UK or in the USA or that you want to

  • study in the UK or the USA let me know in the comments below. Tell me where you are

  • studying, what you are studying and if you have found any other differences between studying

  • at a British university or an American college. Let me know if you know any different words

  • or generally how's your experience been? How is it different from studying back home? Let

  • me know, I would love you to share it with the rest of the Eat Sleep Dreamers. Alright

  • guys, you know that I am back every Tuesday and every Friday with fresh modern British

  • English. Please check me out on Facebook, check me out on Instagram where we do daily

  • English content but until next time guys this is Tom, the Chief Dreamer, saying goodbye.

Do you want to study at a British university or an American college? Because if you do,

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