Wondering,,, what would you say?? to a "headbteacher" manage...

We must have an open mind about international English. However I have been criticised for not correcting spelling from ie. harbor to harbour by a person with a closed mind or ignorance of international English.

This tells me that we should ask. "What English style will one be teaching during the job interview?" Your response could have been, "With no disrespect intended, I am only exposing our students to the numerous ways to express themselves." If someone asked about what I do on my day off, I would answer, "I lay around the house all day!" I am an American and that is how I would respond. Must be a control freak. Always be tactful when responding to such individuals. Use this, with all do respect Sir.

I once had someone tell me, and I am a super speller, that I did not spell a word correctly.
He was British and limited to British English, I am American and also know British English.
I toyed with the idea of correcting him, but knowing he had such a macho attitude of superiority I let it go. I fantasize that he will meet someone some day who will punch him in the face for coming across that way, and when I hear about it, as we invariably do, I will laugh.
Christopher some British grammar points are very hard to grasp, so be tolerant, and chalk it up to cultural differences, eventhough it infuriates you. Remeber both British, and American English are correct.

Let’s face it. Neither form of English is going to disappear. Both are legitimate forms of English, and in the example you cited about the teacher snapping, "Only in British English!," that individual was clearly wrong to use that response. What he should have done is to point out, as you did, that there are differences between the two, and that, in this instance, both laid and lay are correct. One should simply make the students aware of both types, and not allow their own bias to taint the student’s understanding. Point out that "center" and "centre" are both correct, as well as "programme" and "program." "On the weekend," or "at the weekend." In all instances both are technically correct, regardless of natural national biases. Actually it’s an annoyance and a distraction to have to point out these differences, but (sigh) professionally necessary.

Lists of irregular verbs I have seen give "lain" as the third form - but would you ever hear a native speaker using this?
The correct response to "I lay around the house all day" is something like "time to get yourself off welfare"...

LAY - LAID - LAID are all correct to use in a sentence but depends on the grammar tense. What did you do on your day off? "I laid around the house all day" is a correct answer but when the question is in present tense, what do you do on your day off? " I lay around the house all day.

Hi, The teacher above is correct. There is one more tense not mentioned which is ’past perfect’ I believe. (I really do not concern myself with labels. Comprehension and accuracy is more important.
Here it goes: In response to the question above..."I lay around the house all day." (and still am doing so). True if the question is asked over a telephone.The action from the past may still be going on AND may continue into the ’future...(another story). ie) What do you do on weekends?
"I lay around the house." conveys future ’plural’...meaning more than one weekend in past and possibly into the future.

If it is one weekend in the past: "I lay around the house all day" is correct. This conveys one point in time...last weekend. One could also substitute "laid" for one past weekend...but not continuous to the present and possibly into the future. Draw a time-line graph and see. Conveying the correct meaning is important not the ’grammatical label’. It all depends on the number of weekends, past present, future. I would tell this condescending Brit to take a walk. "Get stuffed" doesn’t do it as he obviously is already stuffed (full of himself). I hope you all agree. That is my take on this. JR

People should not be lying around the house all day anyway! Get out and enjoy life. However, I see no problem with the request from the Head Teacher in this situation. You teach the way that they ask you to and if you don’t like it, leave and teach somewhere else. I’m English, but if I was asked to spell incorrectly and teach American English, then I would do so if I wanted the job. Get over it.

What has happened to English teachers??? There is a GREAT deal of difference between the verbs LAY (a transitive verb REQUIRING an object - He always lays his books on his desk.) and LIE (an intransitive verb which CANNOT take an object, but can have a compliment - She likes to lie on the beach every afternoon.) And then there is LIE. To say "I was lying on the beach" most usually means "I was lying down on the sand" and not that "I was telling a lie while on the beach".
Of course, the problem LIES in the fact that LAY is the simple past of LIE. To tell a class to LAY DOWN is INCORRECT. The class should LIE DOWN.
Folks, this is not rocket science but if the teacher can’t get it right, how can our students have a snowball’s chance you-know-where???? I don’t even want to get to TOM AND ME versus TOM AND I, the latter of which we overteach to get people away from saying ME AND TOM. But just between YOU AND ME (NOT I), this is easy. Just change it to the plural - would you ever say JUST BETWEEN WE??? I thought not.

I would say, as a native US teacher with twenty years of experience, that he/she should be made aware of the VERY subtle differencess between SBE and SAE. (The S is for standard.) The verbs lie and lay are identical in both. The past for lie (to recline) is lay, and the past for lay (to place) is laid. This is some pretty basic stuff for a ’headteacher’ not to know!

I think you should ask him what dictionary he was using
The Oxford?
or Websters?
founded on the grounds of English
tell him to look up themeaning of each word
he obviously is out of context or is having a hard time understanding the word
he needs to have an open mind and accept the fact that he could be wrong
he should be happy that someone has pointed it out

Choose your battles. You can’t win them all. Remember, in China "face" is everything. Embarrass the man, even if you are right, and you will make an enemy for life. Let your ego go, be diplomatic. Find the middle ground if possible. If it’s the Head you are talking to, concede that he is the boss and ask politely, "Which answer would you prefer that I teach in your school?"
Live to fight again another day. You may want a reference from this man later.
My two cents worth.

This is not a question of "British English" vs "American English"... just like Hank said, lie and lay are entirely different verbs that have the similar meaning of reclining, resting, etc... LIE is intransitive and is followed by an adverb or adjective - the four principal parts are lie, lay, lain, and lying. I lie on the couch after work. I lay in the sauna for an hour yesterday. I have lain in the sun for hours before. My keys are lying on the table as we speak. LAY is a transitive verb - it takes an object. The four principal parts are lay, laid, laid, and laying. The chickens lay eggs every day. The dog laid his head on my lap. That goose has laid a golden egg before. The hunters are out laying their traps in the forest. Maybe you already figured this out, but it's worth reviewing since it's so easily confused and - as your thread states - a hot point of contention. Native English speakers confuse these so often that it's crucial to look at the facts before getting heated about the details! Good luck to you!

Excellent answer Janet

Referring to the original question-it depends on the student(s).If they are in Europe then British English.Anywhere else I would go for American English.Having said that all Cambridge exams accept both. I don´t know if it´s the same for American exams.I always ask the student what their objective is and act accordingly. It´s silly teaching someone who is going to work in the U.S.A. British English and vice versa. Thank you Hank & Jenna for pointing out the mistake of lay/lie.