language and those who study it as a second or other language. It has been suggested that students of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) tend to be learning so that they can use English when travelling or to communicate with other people, from whatever country, who also speak English. ESI. (English as a Second Languagej students, on the other hand, are usually living in the target-language community. The latter may need to learn the particular language variety of that community (Scottish English, southern English from England, Australian English. Texan English, etc) rather than a more general language variety (see page 79). They may need to combine their learning of English with knowledge of how to do things in the target-language community - such as going to a bank, renting a flat, accessing health services, etc. The English they learn, therefore, may differ from that studied by EFL

students, whose needs are not so specific to a particular time and place. However, this distinction begins to look less satisfactory when we look at the way people use English in a global context. The use of English for internation: I communication, especially with the Internet, means that many 'EFL students' are in effect living in a global target-language community and so might be thought of as'ESL students instead! Partly as a result of this we now tend to use the term ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) to describe both situations. Nevertheless, the context in which the language is learnt (what community they wish to be part of) is still of considerable relevance to the kind of English they will want and need to study, and the skills they will need to acquire