A study on the differences between American English and British English in terms of vocabulary and spelling

As we know, English has become a world-language. A world language means an international language. As a world-language, English is used almost everywhere in the world. Even in non-English speaking community, English is a \nmajor language to be taught Up to now, uncountable dialects of English exist in the whole world. There are, British English, American English, Australian English, Canadian \nEnglish, Singaporean English, etc. Among those dialects, British English and American English are the most well known dialects. These two dialects influence the learners in non-English speaking countries, especially those who use English as a foreign language. \nThe primary differences between British English and American English are in the rhythm and intonation of speech. But, there are many differences in shade of meaning, in common shared stock of English vocabulary. Such \ndifferences are enhanced by changing of meaning in the same words, new words in both forms of English. \nFor non-English speaking learners, those differences cause difficulties, which at the end will lead them into inconsistent usage. As they can't differentiate between American English and British English, they will unconsciously mix them. \nTherefore in this thesis, the writer would like to discuss about the familiarity of the freshmen of English Department of Teacher Training Faculty of Widya Mandala Catholic University toward American English and British English \nin terms of vocabulary and spelling.