English is my second language, but instead of swift bricks I had to web search what ESL stands for… When addressing non-native speakers, please don’t use cryptic and ambiguous acronyms.
I researched this term (I read the wikipedia page) and apparently it is used in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US. In Ireland and the UK, ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) is more common, and some other terms are floating around in the anglosphere. Where this is notably not used is where English is not a native language.
Again, when addressing non-native speakers, using cryptic (and ambiguous, I as a German mostly know ESL as an abbreviation for Electronic Sports Leagues, swiss people could first think of l’École Suisse de Langues, etc) terms is really not the best idea.
notably not used is where English is not a native language
I mean, not to be blunt, but duh?
it would only really make sense to even talk about English as a second language if the general population does speak it as a native language. in the US people arent ever going to say something like french as a second language, because there’s no need for the distinction
But most people with English as an additional language live outside countries where English is a native language. So again, when addressing people who speak English but not as their native language, why use terms that are exclusively used in countries with English as a native language?
Or do you think the internet exists only in countries where English is a native language?
the likelyhood of talking about ESL (an initialization of English words to begin with) wouldnt generally happen where English is non-native, though. you don’t have two Germans asking if the other speaks English as a second language
So again, when addressing people who speak English but not as their native language, why use terms that are exclusively used in countries whith English as anative language?
As an English speaker in a city with many people whose first language isn’t English, it was probably just habit. I didn’t originally know it wasn’t a well known term either.
I have now spent majority of my life speaking English/living in English speaking country and yeah they love their acronyms. Unnecessary useless acronyms. I suspect they’re wired for it from young age and don’t even realize, because despite starting to learn English at a young age, there was no incentive for me to start coming up with or learning acronyms.
English is my second language, but instead of swift bricks I had to web search what ESL stands for… When addressing non-native speakers, please don’t use cryptic and ambiguous acronyms.
ESL (English as a Second Language) is an incredibly common and widely recognized acronym (at least in the US, not sure about other countries).
LOL
I researched this term (I read the wikipedia page) and apparently it is used in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US. In Ireland and the UK, ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) is more common, and some other terms are floating around in the anglosphere. Where this is notably not used is where English is not a native language.
Again, when addressing non-native speakers, using cryptic (and ambiguous, I as a German mostly know ESL as an abbreviation for Electronic Sports Leagues, swiss people could first think of l’École Suisse de Langues, etc) terms is really not the best idea.
I mean, not to be blunt, but duh?
it would only really make sense to even talk about English as a second language if the general population does speak it as a native language. in the US people arent ever going to say something like french as a second language, because there’s no need for the distinction
But most people with English as an additional language live outside countries where English is a native language. So again, when addressing people who speak English but not as their native language, why use terms that are exclusively used in countries with English as a native language?
Or do you think the internet exists only in countries where English is a native language?
the likelyhood of talking about ESL (an initialization of English words to begin with) wouldnt generally happen where English is non-native, though. you don’t have two Germans asking if the other speaks English as a second language
As an English speaker in a city with many people whose first language isn’t English, it was probably just habit. I didn’t originally know it wasn’t a well known term either.
I have now spent majority of my life speaking English/living in English speaking country and yeah they love their acronyms. Unnecessary useless acronyms. I suspect they’re wired for it from young age and don’t even realize, because despite starting to learn English at a young age, there was no incentive for me to start coming up with or learning acronyms.
No we’re not. I fucking hate them and don’t understand things at work because there are too many to know.
It was used in my (German) university’s English classes.
To be fair, they are taught by native speakers. But still!
unfortunately ESOL is the less common/more cryptic term generally. we all learn a lot every day!
I figured as much. That’s why I thought it might be helpful to explain the cryptic term to make communications easier. Hoped it was helpful.
I mean, you don’t need to know what ESL means for my comment to be helpful. The helpful bit is in the second part without any confusing abbreviations.
So? I mean, while honorably clearing up some confusion, you created another point of confusion for someone else to clear up.