Vocabulary for talking about Studying

Words and phrases for talking about studying I

Almost everyone needs to talk about education now and then, so this blog post looks at some useful words and phrases connected with studying. It describes the most typical systems in the UK and the US, and explains some important differences between UK and US vocabulary.

The very youngest schoolchildren have a reception year in the UK and a kindergarten year in the US. After that, Brits talk about year 1, year 2, etc., while US children are in first grade, second grade, etc. The word grade is also used in US English to talk about scores in exams or written work. British English uses mark: He always gets good grades/marks.

In general, the UK has primary schools for ages 5-11 and secondary schools for ages 11-16, followed by sixth form colleges for ages 16-18. In the US, elementary schools teach grades 1-5 or 1-6, middle schools grades 6-8 or junior high schools grades 7-8, and high schools grades 9-12.

Even the use of the word school is different – for Brits, the question ‘Where did you go to school?’ refers only to primary or secondary school (i.e. up to the age of 18), whereas for North Americans, it can refer also to any form of higher education including colleges and universities.

Another thing to remember is that speakers of British English talk about people being at school/college, etc. (My daughter’s at school.), while in the US they are in school (We learned that in school.).

The word college is also used in slightly different ways. In the UK, it most often refers to a place where students study practical subjects and which is less academic than a university, although confusingly it can also mean a place which is part of a university, such as King’s College, Cambridge. In US English, college means a place where you study for a degree, which can be a two-year course at a community college or a four-year course at a larger college or university.

In British English, you go to university to do, take or get a degree. In American English, you go to college to get or earn a degree. Students studying for a first degree are undergraduates, while Master’s degree or PhD students are postgraduates in British English or graduate students in American English. In British English, the verb graduate is used only for degree students, but in the US, students also graduate from high school.

To talk about the subject you are studying, you can say you are studying French, physics, etc.; you can also say you are doing (UK English) or taking (US English) a subject instead. In US universities, where students often study a wide range of subjects, students who focus on one subject more than others say they are majoring in that subject.

When talking about exams, it is important to know which verbs to use. We say that we take an exam (in British English we can also say do an exam): I’m taking my French exam tomorrow. Be careful with the phrase pass an exam. This means to be successful, not simply to take an exam: He worked hard and passed all his exams. If you are not successful, you fail.

This blog post has focused on very general words and phrases; in my next post I will provide some language to talk about the experience of studying.