Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Jerry Chen]

Hello,

When we call a teacher, we usually use "Mr.," "Miss," or "Mrs." It's also common to use "sir" and "ma'am". Is it acceptable to call a teacher by using "Teacher," for example, "Teacher Brown," "Teacher Smith," and the like? Is it polite to do so?

Thanks for your reply!!

[Schweppes]

I would say, no, it's not really acceptable. It's kind of cute when an elementary student says that but it's not really acceptable for an adult student to say it. It sounds strange.
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As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality.--Albert Einstein

[LucentShade]

I know that some languages, like Japanese, have special terms for teachers that are used in this way, like calling a teacher whose last name is Nishikawa "Nishikawa-sensei" or simply "Sensei." Aside from professors at the university level, there really isn't any special term of respect used for teachers in English--it's just Mr./Ms./Mrs. + last name. I wonder if that says anything about how we consider teachers in our culture...