University Professor

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sabz

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Hello,
What do you call the university professors? I've heard instructor, Prof, and sometimes teacher, which one is correct?
And how about when you want to call them, for example when you want to ask a teacher: excuse me,...? (school teachers and university professors)
 

zainab shah

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Hello,
What do you call the university professors? I've heard instructor, Prof, and sometimes teacher, which one is correct?
And how about when you want to call them, for example when you want to ask a teacher: excuse me,...? (school teachers and university professors)
I would like to call them teacher.
I think our wording doesn't matter what we call, but it just show our respect for them...........
& obviusly we call them excuse me teacher, what you think what you like?:up:
 

TheParser

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Hello,
What do you call the university professors? I've heard instructor, Prof, and sometimes teacher, which one is correct?
And how about when you want to call them, for example when you want to ask a teacher: excuse me,...? (school teachers and university professors)

********** NOT A TEACHER **********

Hello Sabz,

(1) Here in the United States, many university students would say, "Good

morning, Professor" or (even better) "Good morning, Dr. Smith." (Most

university instructors have a Ph.D. )

(2) In high school, students usually say, "Good morning, Mr. / Mrs. /Ms.

Jones." Some English learners say, "Good morning, Teacher." I guess that

they do this because that is the way they greet their teachers in their

countries.

(3) Of course, if you wish to show perfect respect to either a university

or high school teacher, you answer with "Yes, sir/ ma'am."

THANK YOU :)

*****

P. S. If your university (or even high school instructor) has a Ph.D.

be sure to say "Dr." They worked very hard to get that Ph.D., and

they appreciate the respect.
 

Abstract Idea

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Some English learners say, "Good morning, Teacher." I guess that

they do this because that is the way they greet their teachers in their

countries.

Yes, that is right for some countries.
I think this is a point that ESL teachers should pay more attention.
It is important to teach not only the language itself but also a bit of the culture from the countries which use the language.

More interesting stuff about this topic here:
https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/...008-teaching-vs-training-vs-facilitation.html
 

Barb_D

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My advisor, who was a recent recipient of her Ph.D., and I were on a first-name basis.

The ones I didn't know on a personal level were "Dr. Smith."

I suppose some people may raise their hand to say "Excuse me, Professor!" but I would have said "Excuse me... Dr. Smith?"

I would never, never call a university professor "teacher."

These all apply to a US university.

In an elementary school, very young children may just say "Teacher" but most will say "Miss Adams" or "Mrs. Young" etc.

Most children over the age of 8 or so will use Mr./Mrs./Miss/Dr. + family name for their teachers. At my niece and nephew's school, they call them by their first names. It's a private school. Different mindset.
 

sabz

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Thank you for your useful replies. :)
But I also meant which word is correct to talk about a university professor. For example: He/She is a good teacher/ professor/ instructor (without mentioning their names). which one is common?
 

Barb_D

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Ah, I see.
At the university level, if someone was very good at helping me understand something, he or she is a good teacher.

If I felt that in addition to being a good teacher, he had fair grading policies, was available for student questions, etc., I'd say he was a good professor.

You have Professor Wilkinson for statistics? He's a good teacher. You'll learn a lot. But he's tough and you'll be lucky to get a C.

You have Professor Wilkinson for statistics? You're lucky - he's one of the best professors on campus. His classes are fun and you'll actually enjoy learning something.
 
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