Can we say, "She teaches English IN a highschool in China" or "She teaches English AT a highschool in China"? [duplicate]
There are a lot of posts on this topic, but I can't find any answers to my question.
I came across the following two definitions of 'school':
[uncountable] (used without the or a) the process of learning in a school; the time during your life when you go to a school (British English)
[uncountable] (used without the or a) the time during the day when children are working in a school
Source: http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/school_1?q=school
I know there are better ways to convey the message, but which sentence would a teacher utter if he was a school teacher teaching students, adults, etc.? What about a janitor, director, and secretary?
I teach at/in school OR I teach at/in a school
The above definitions concern students, and not working individuals like teachers or janitors.
I would appreciate if you also stated whether you're American, Canadian, British, etc.
Solution 1:
I believe you're trying to say where it is that you work and not what it is that you teach.
You have several options, but you'll need either a proper noun (e.g., Jackson Middle School) or the countable noun "school" and an article. It would also be natural to include the type of school (e.g., a high-school or a language school).
A: What do you do?
B: I teach at a ______ school.
When you say "I work (teach) at a school" you make a more general reference to location, one which does not specify that you work inside of the school.
A: What do you do?
B: I teach in a ______ school.
Teachers are in a classroom, and this is going to be what person A pictures in his/her mind.
Of course, the janitor also works at a/the school, as do the secretary and the director, but should each of these workers choose to say "in a school", they evoke different mental images. Person A would picture the secretary in his/her office, the director in his/her office, and the janitor in the hallway (perhaps pushing a mop).
When is there no article?
Teachers are "at the school" but students are "in school" (meaning in class) and "at school", whether they are in class, outside on the playground, or in the cafeteria.
Let's say that someone (A) telephones the janitor, the secretary, or the director:
A: Where are you?
JSD: I'm at work. -or- I'm still at the school.
Only the students are "at school", with no article. Adults work "at the school", with an article.