italki - Instruction, teaching, tuition, etc. Which word should I choose?

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Mikkel

Instruction, teaching, tuition, etc. Which word should I choose? - for native speakers of English Edited. I want to say that in Danish schools/high schools English instruction is generally good. (I mean lessons in which Danes are taught English.) But I’m not sure if “instruction” is the right word to use. We have a word in Danish that can be translated into many different English words (instruction, teaching, tuition, education, schooling, lessons, training, etc.) and this sometimes confuses me. Is it clear what the following sentence means and is it natural? How would you express it?: “English instruction is generally good in Denmark”

25 feb. 2017 13:39

Antwoorden · 17

teaching, instruction is all about "do this, then do that".

25 februari 2017

English 'instruction' in AmE. I suppose that 'tuition' is BrE and maybe that's the word you would use if Danes are taught BrE. 'Instruction' doesn't always mean an outline of steps to take as one person suggested. Teachers are sometimes called instructors in America. This is because they instruct. There's nothing strange or wrong about this usage.

25 februari 2017

My instinct is the same as Bill's. I think 'teaching' is the best word. For me, 'instruction' suggests telling someone what to do, while 'tuition' is confined to one-to-one coaching.

25 februari 2017

Because Denmark is close to England, you should probably follow the advice of the British speakers. In US English we would never say "tuition;" that word is reserved for money that is paid for instruction! In US English, "instruction" would be exactly the right word to use in normal "expository writing." "Teaching" would also be perfectly correct, but slightly less formal. (This is a typical of the dual English vocabulary, "teach" being derived from Middle English, "instruct" from Latin).

25 februari 2017