| 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 |
