English As A Second Or Foreign Language
English as a second language (ESL) is the use or study of English by speakers with different native languages. It is also known as English for speakers of other languages (ESOL), English as an additional language (EAL), and English as a foreign language (EFL) The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is described below. These terms are most commonly used in relation to teaching and learning English as a second language, but they may also be used in relation to demographic information.
English language teaching (ELT) is a widely used teacher-centred term, as in the English language teaching divisions of large publishing houses, ELT training, etc. Teaching English as a second language (TESL), teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) and teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) are also used.
Other terms used in this field include English as an international language (EIL), English as a lingua franca (ELF), English for special purposes, or English for specific purposes (ESP), English for academic purposes (EAP). Some terms that refer to those who are learning English are English language learner (ELL), limited English proficient (LEP) and culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD).
Read more about English As A Second Or Foreign Language: Terminology and Types, Difficulties For Learners, Exams For Learners, Professional Associations and Unions, Acronyms and Abbreviations
Famous quotes containing the words foreign language, english, foreign and/or language:
“There is the fear, common to all English-only speakers, that the chief purpose of foreign languages is to make fun of us. Otherwise, you know, why not just come out and say it?”
—Barbara Ehrenreich (b. 1941)
“The traveler to the United States will do well ... to prepare himself for the class-consciousness of the natives. This differs from the already familiar English version in being more extreme and based more firmly on the conviction that the class to which the speaker belongs is inherently superior to all others.”
—John Kenneth Galbraith (b. 1908)
“Go to foreign countries and you will get to know the good things one possesses at home.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)
“The “sayings” of a community, its proverbs, are its characteristic comment upon life; they imply its history, suggest its attitude toward the world and its way of accepting life. Such an idiom makes the finest language any writer can have; and he can never get it with a notebook. He himself must be able to think and feel in that speech—it is a gift from heart to heart.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)