As an ESL tutor for 13 yrs, funnily enough, I've never been asked this question, so maybe it's a waste of time that I even writing about this! That's not to say I haven't had students ask me which word is preferable to use when there is a choice between the American used word and the word used in the UK but as for wanting a general rule I think my students must be more practical than I am and they don't seem to be as bothered about this as I am. So why aren't my students more bothered by this? In no particular order I'd say: 1. They have bigger fish to fry, meaning when you're learning a foreign language while it's important to take note of the finer details and...