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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Vocabulary
kindergarten, nursery, creche and our educational system
Hello,
I have this problem.
My son goes to a pre-school day care centre and I want to express it correctly and similar to a) British and b) American English. I know (I used wikipedia) that the British and American school system are different and they also use different expressions.
In our country it is a part of pre-school system, it isn´t a part of the elementary school which the children have to attend. This day care centre is for children between 3 and 6. The children don´t have to go there and their are not regularly taught there, however the teachers try to teach the children while playing (for example drama, they read strories or say rhymes). Some children stay there in the afternoon and some go after lunch home.
So I would say:
a) In British English: My son goes to nursery (school).
b) In American English: My son goes to nursery (school)/kindergarten.¨
And another question:
There is also another sort of children care centres in our county which attend younger children (not many, they usually stay at home with their mothers) between 2 and 3 years.
I would call it a creche in British English and a nursery in American English. Is it a suitable choice?
Thank you for your answer Mowgli
I have this problem.
My son goes to a pre-school day care centre and I want to express it correctly and similar to a) British and b) American English. I know (I used wikipedia) that the British and American school system are different and they also use different expressions.
In our country it is a part of pre-school system, it isn´t a part of the elementary school which the children have to attend. This day care centre is for children between 3 and 6. The children don´t have to go there and their are not regularly taught there, however the teachers try to teach the children while playing (for example drama, they read strories or say rhymes). Some children stay there in the afternoon and some go after lunch home.
So I would say:
a) In British English: My son goes to nursery (school).
b) In American English: My son goes to nursery (school)/kindergarten.¨
And another question:
There is also another sort of children care centres in our county which attend younger children (not many, they usually stay at home with their mothers) between 2 and 3 years.
I would call it a creche in British English and a nursery in American English. Is it a suitable choice?
Thank you for your answer Mowgli
Top answer
Amercian response: Nursery school and pre-school are both interchangeable to describe the first part, but not kindergarten, and not nursery without the word school. (A nursery is either in a hospital where the newborns are. We also used it in my church to say where the youngest kids went who were not old enough for Sunday School.
- Amercian response: Nursery school and pre-school are both interchangeable to describe the first part, but not kindergarten, and not nursery without the word school.
- (A nursery is either in a hospital where the newborns are.
- We also used it in my church to say where the youngest kids went who were not old enough for Sunday School.
- And in most states, kindergarten is part of the elementary/primary school and is funded through public funds, and is required.
- ) In America, the other place is generally called a day care center.
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8 Answers
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Amercian response:
Nursery school and pre-school are both interchangeable to describe the first part, but not kindergarten, and not nursery without the word school.
(A nursery is either in a hospital where the newborns are. We also used it in my church to say where the youngest kids went who were not old enough for Sunday School. And in most states, kindergarten is part of the
Nursery school and pre-school are both interchangeable to describe the first part, but not kindergarten, and not nursery without the word school.
(A nursery is either in a hospital where the newborns are. We also used it in my church to say where the youngest kids went who were not old enough for Sunday School. And in most states, kindergarten is part of the
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Hello,
thank you for your answer. It helped me a lot. I´ve studied the websites of British Council concerning the UK educations system and I think the British don´t use the expression kindergarten. I think they also have nursery schools or pre-schools which would probably be the best translations of the school which my son attends in our country. So I think I can say: My four-year-old so
thank you for your answer. It helped me a lot. I´ve studied the websites of British Council concerning the UK educations system and I think the British don´t use the expression kindergarten. I think they also have nursery schools or pre-schools which would probably be the best translations of the school which my son attends in our country. So I think I can say: My four-year-old so
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The UK does not use the word kindergarten. What you are describing is called nursery, in the UK. Adding the word school after the word nursery, is unnecessary and not normally done. Nurseries are for children up to 4 years old, which is the age that most children then move on and start primary school. The term pre-school is not generally used.
You can th
You can th
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AnonymousThe UK does not use the word kindergarten. What you are describing is called nursery, in the UK. Adding the word school after the word nursery, is unnecessary and not normally done. Nurseries are for children up to 4 years old, which is the age that most children then move on and start primary school. The term pre-school is not generally used.You can therefore sa
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What do you think about this program which will be used in UK kindergartens?mykindergarten.co.uk:
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fivejedjonCompulsory primary education begins at the age of five, though many primary schools now have 'pre-school' or nursery school departments.Not so long ago, primary education in the UK started at age four.
fivejedjonThe terms 'play school' and 'kindergarten/kindergarden' used to be alternatives to 'nursery school', but they appe
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AnonymousNot so long ago, primary education in the UK started at age four. I've lived in the UK for many decades and never once have I heard the word "kindergarten" used in this country. It must have been very rare.The compulsory age to start primary education has never been four in the UK.
The British National Corpus has 92 citations for kinderga
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fivejedjonThe compulsory age to start primary education has never been four in the UK.Almost everyone that I went to school with and knew in other schools, as well as all my younger relatives, started school in reception class. That meant starting at age four.
Reception (school)
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