[Saskia]

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'what's the difference in usage of choose and elect?'
again from my students who teaches at a college in Tokyo.

I think that "elect" is used in formal contexts, whereas "choose" is not formal. To "elect" is used especially to choose a person for a particular job/post, by voting. Also you can elect to do a particular thing (in this context the register is FORMAL). For example, when you retire you must "elect" how you want to receive your pension, in one single payment or for a period of years or for life.

"Choose" means to decide what you want from a range of things or possibilities.

So we can say that "choose" is the general word, and "elect" has a narrower scope than "choose".

Hope this helps!
Saskia