Information collection & exchange

 Appendix C - Acronyms 
 
EFL (English as a Foreign Language) and ESL (English as a Second Language) 
From the point of view of language teaching, the most important difference between these two terms lies 
in the amount and kinds of exposure to English which your students have outside the classroom. In an 
ESL situation, they will hear and see a lot of English being used around them because it is a major 
language in the community and has an official or semi-official status. Large numbers of people use 
English on a daily basis. Typical ESL countries are Nigeria and Kenya, India and Pakistan, Malaysia and 
Singapore, and the Philippines. 
In contrast, in EFL countries such as Indonesia, Nepal, or the Latin American countries, the use of 
English is much more restricted. Your students are not as likely to hear English on the radio or find 
English being used in the daily newspapers. Most of the population may go along most of the time 
without using English. 
ESP (English for Specific Purposes) 
This term refers to English-teaching situations in which the range of language which is taught is restricted 
or specialized in various ways. For example, engineering students in university courses may need 
English only for reading their textbooks. Technicians may need just enough English to use instruction 
manuals for maintaining and operating equipment. People in international business need to communicate 
and negotiate with each other. The students in ESP courses are likely to be adults rather than younger 
learners. 
TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) and TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) 
ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) and ELT (English Language Teaching) 
These are general terms meant to include both EFL and ESL. 
TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) or (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other 
Languages) 
The second meaning of the term is the name of an international organization of teachers of EFL and ESL. 
See Appendix B for more information about this organization and its publications.