The consistency in the use of spelling and vocabulary of American and British English in written communication

The importance of English has made it become the most popular language in this world. It is studied in many countries in the world. Even in Indonesia, \nEnglish becomes a compulsory subject in education field. There are two major dialects of English which are dominantly used by the people around the world, \nAmerican English and British English. \nThe study was started with the writer's curiosity on whether the Indonesian learners know the words used in American English and British English, and whether they can apply either of American English or British English \nconsistently. As the writer felt that the area of the study is too broad, the writer limited the study in terms of spelling and vocabulary, which are used in written \ncommunication. The data sources of this thesis were collected by means of a questionnaire and tests. The tests consist of a spelling & vocabulary test and a descriptive \ncomposition test. After the data was collected, the writer finally analyzed the data and concluded the result. \nThe result shows that the respondents were not consistent in using either American English or British English, and they were not aware the differences of the spelling and vocabulary used in American English and British English. \nThe writer realizes that this study is far from perfect. That is why it is suggested to the next researchers who conduct their studies in the scope of English dialect to have deeper studies than the one conducted by the writer.