Love makes the world go round

The British Council poll produced a list of 75 most loved and hated English words [see here for full results]. The lists originated from a global English language lesson taught in British Council teaching centres across the world to mark the 75th anniversary of the organisation.

Michael Carrier, Head of English Innovation, said: "It is always interesting to hear what the pupils themselves think about our language. Some of the reasons students gave for their choices included love as a favourite ‘because it’s the best feeling in the world’, and flip-flop because ‘it’s a wonderful word to write and pronounce’. One student said he chose broccoli as his most hated word ‘because it’s gross’ – unfortunately not enough agreed with him for broccoli to make the list."

“The demand for English is stronger than ever.  We estimate that over the next decade a third of the world will be learning English. We’re seeing that English is considered crucial by those who want to succeed in the global economy. At the same time, teaching English language abroad is extremely valuable to the UK – both as a major export and, in many cases, by forging lasting links back to the UK.” Mr Carrier continued.

Top ten favourite words around the world

1. Love    2. God    3. Peace    4. Awesome    5. Hello     6. Freedom    7. Gorgeous    8. Sunshine    9. Health    10. Happiness

Ten least popular words around the world

1. Cancer      2. Racism    3. Corruption    4. Terrorism    5. Slavery    6. Flatulence   7. Killing     8. Study     9. Herringbone     10. Fail

See the full results for 75 favourite and least favourite polls here (pdf file).

Teaching centres in the following countries took part in the survey: Senegal, Cameroon, Portugal, Venezuela, Spain, Slovakia, Malaysia, Mexico, Colombia, UAE, Thailand, Italy, Greece, Eritrea, Bulgaria.