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The English Language Teaching (ELT) industry is full of acronyms, each with its own specific meaning. This guide breaks them down, so you can confidently answer when someone asks, “what is EAL?” or “what does EAL stand for education?”
EAL describes students in UK schools who speak a language other than English as their home language. They are usually immersed in the English-speaking environment, learning English at the same time as learning curriculum content, which can be extremely challenging.
While EAL is also used as an acronym in some international schools, there is an increasing movement towards the use of “multilingualism” and “multilingual learners” in its place. This recognises the strengths of using multiple languages. You can read more about the benefits of multilingualism and translanguaging in our blog.
ESL is the term widely used in the USA and Canada to describe students who speak a home language other than English.
Teachers of EAL and ESL learners should be mindful of this context in identifying errors caused by first language interference or language transfer. In multilingual classrooms we know this can be a real challenge so we created our Learner Profiles, like this Arabic profile, to help you better understand the language background of your students.
ESOL stands for English for Speakers of Other Languages and is commonly used in the Further Education and Adult English sector, where ESOL courses often focus on employment and skills relevant to adult life.
There is often a literacy focus to support adults whose first language uses a different alphabet, or who have limited literacy skills in their home language. Courses may be government-funded or provided by employers who see a need for their employees to develop their English language skills. You can read more here about how FlashAcademy’s Leap platform supports ESOL learners.
EFL is used to describe students who are learning English in countries where it is not the primary language.
They may be looking to work or study in an English speaking country in the future or develop skills to enable them to communicate more effectively in international business.
This is the equivalent of MFL (Modern Foreign Languages) in the UK. As a result, learners will have more limited opportunities to use English as they are not immersed in it and so teaching approaches may vary.
EAP is specialised English learning that prepares students for studying in English at school or university level.
It supports students to learn specific academic skills like referencing, paraphrasing and using formal academic vocabulary. EAP courses are usually university-based and focused on developing these skills in an academic context through writing essays, reading academic articles, listening to lectures and preparing formal presentations. To find out more about EAP, the professional body BALEAP supports development in this area.
ESP refers to English language learning tailored to a particular job, field or professional need, rather than general everyday English.
There are a plethora of reasons why people may need to learn English for their work, and a number of industries require their employees to know specialist vocabulary relevant to their employment context – Airline English, English for healthcare professionals, legal English, military English, construction, manufacturing, and production. FlashAcademy’s Leap provides workplaces with a solution to these challenges through co-designing specific modules for the workplace.
MFL stands for Modern Foreign Languages.
It refers to the teaching and learning of languages other than the main language spoken in a country, usually within a school setting.
In the UK, for example, Modern Foreign Languages form a core part of the curriculum. You can download helpful MFL resources including these translation card packs from the FlashAcademy® website.
