The Trickiest Word in English: Quite Tricky!

Vicki Hollett (of Learning to Speak 'Merican) wrote a great blog post for the Macmillian Dictionary blog about the trickiest word in English. In it she writes about a quite tricky English word: quite. 

Image via http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/quite_wordle.bmp

The meaning of quite in American and British Englishes has different meanings. In American English the meaning is rather (quite?) positive, and in British English, it is less than positive:

If your American boss says your work is quite good, should you be pleased or a little concerned? In British English quite good only means pretty good or fairly good, but in American English it’s much more positive. Quite good means very good, so you can give yourself a pat on the back.

As I am a native American English speaker, I consider quite to be positive. If you're an English language learner, how did you learn the meaning of quite? If you're a teacher, how do you teach it? With both meanings? Or just for the country in which you're teaching? What if you teach EFL?

"All art is quite useless" -Oscar Wilde

P.S. Here's the link: http://www.macmillandictionaryblog.com/the-trickiest-word-in-american 

A Few Differences Between American and British English

Vicki Hollett, blogger of Learning to Speak 'Merican, has a great site called Simple English Videos. There are tons of great (and short videos) for learning English. These are wonderful mini-lessons and are a great addition to day's objective(s).

In one video, entitled How to Confuse an American, provides five differences between American and British English. Some of the ways include: zed, saying double plus a letter, and saying the day before the month in a date. I think this would be a great addition to a lesson on the differences between the two dialects students often learn. Many of my students learn British English in their home countries and get surprised by the differences when they arrive in the US.

Additionally, these videos have transcripts, so students can watch on their own and follow along by reading. Have you ever used these videos? What is the best way to incorporate videos in the classroom?