| ACTFL |
American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages |
| ARELS |
Association of Recognised English Language Services |
| BASELT |
British Association of State English Language Teaching |
| BC |
British Council |
| BE |
bilingual education |
| CALL |
computer assisted language learning |
| CEELT |
Cambridge Examination in English for Language Teachers |
| CELTA |
Certificate in English Language Teaching for Adults (replaces CTEFLA) |
| CLT |
communicative language teaching |
| CILT |
Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research |
| CTEFLA |
Certificate in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language to Adults (replaced by CELTA) |
| DELTA |
Diploma in English Language Teaching for Adults (replaces DTEFLA) |
| DOS |
director of studies |
| DTEFLA |
Diploma in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language to Adults (replaced by DELTA) |
| EAP |
English for academic purposes |
| ECIS |
European Council of International Schools |
| EFL |
English as a foreign language |
| ELICOS |
English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (Australian) |
| ELL |
English language learner |
| ELT |
English language training or teaching |
| EMT |
English mother tongue |
| ESL |
English as a second language |
| ESOL |
English for speakers of other languages |
| ESP |
English for specific purposes |
| EST |
English for science and technology |
| FES |
fluent English speaker |
| IATEFL |
International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language |
| IELTS |
International English Language Testing System |
| JALT |
Japan Association for Language Teaching |
| JET |
Japanese Exchange and Teaching Programme |
| L1 |
first language |
| L2 |
second language |
| LCCIEB |
London Chamber of Commerce and Industry Examinations Board |
| NATESOL |
National Association of Teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages |
| ODA |
Overseas Development Agency |
| PGCE |
Post Graduate Certificate in Education (UK teaching qualification necessary for state sector) |
| RSA |
The Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce (UK) |
| SLA |
second language acquisition |
| STT |
student talking time |
| TEFL |
teaching (of) English as a foreign language |
| TESL |
teaching (of) English as a second language |
| TESOL |
a) teaching (of) English to speakers of other languages
b) Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages, Inc. |
| TOEFL |
Test of English as a Foreign Language |
| TOEIC |
Test of English for International Communication |
| TSE |
test of spoken English |
| TTT |
teacher talking time |
| TWE |
test of written English |
| UCLES |
University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate |
| USIA |
United States Information Agency |
| VSO |
Voluntary Service Overseas |