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TEACHING ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

There are many acronyms in use related to teaching English. Here are a few of the most common ones:

• CALL = Computer Assisted Language Learning
• CEF = Common European Framework (for languages)
• EFL = English as a Foreign Language
• ELT = English Language Teaching
• ESL = English as a Second Language
• ESOL = English to Speakers of Other Languages
• IELTS = International English Language Testing System
• L1 = Language 1 = the student's native (mother tongue or primary language.)
• L2 = Language 2 = the language being learned or studied
• TEFL = Teaching English as a Foreign Language
• TESL = Teaching English as a Second Language
• TESOL = Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (It is also the name of an international teaching association.)
• TOEFL = Test of English as a Foreign Language
• TOEIC = Test of English for International Communication

With such a wide range of different acronyms related to ELT, it is perhaps not surprising then that many people find the whole English teaching thing rather confusing. In an attempt to make some sense of it all we (a group of German and Polish English language teachers based in Germany and Poland) have put together this list of some of the many sites on the internet aimed at helping out teachers of English. If you are looking for a student centred site one of the the best places to start is World English. You might also be interested in having a look at our links to articles about languages.