Instructor Companion
Terms for Language Learners: What to Use, and When
Use this page when you are not sure whether to say ESL, ELL, multilingual, or nothing at all.
Why the terms keep changing
For decades, “ESL” was the word for almost everything: the students, the classes, the office. That is no longer true. Terms for language learners change with laws, funding, research, and how students describe themselves. Each sector, from K-12 schools to universities to federal agencies, has its own preferred word.
An NCTE glossary written by five teacher educators traces part of this history. Before 2001, school documents mostly used “bilingual” or “ESL,” terms that acknowledge a first language. Federal policy then moved toward “English language learner,” and later toward “English learner” (Alvarez et al., 2017). The authors note that shifting terms can confuse instructors and can sound like jargon. They also quote a student who asked when she would stop being an English language learner and become a user of English.
The overall direction in college writing is from deficit terms, which name what a student lacks, toward asset terms, which name the languages and skills a student brings. WIDA, for example, describes “multilingual learners” as an assets-based term that emphasizes what a student knows.
For instructors, the question is practical: which word to use, with whom, and when to use none.
Common terms and what they mean
| Term | What it means | Who uses it now | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ESL (English as a Second Language) | Once the umbrella term for students and programs | Mostly for programs and courses | “An ESL class” is still common. Calling a person “an ESL student” is increasingly dated. “Second” is often inaccurate: English may be a student’s third or fourth language. |
| ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) | English instruction for speakers of other languages | Programs, especially adult education | Avoids “second.” Like ESL, it usually names a program. |
| EFL (English as a Foreign Language) | English studied in a country where it is not the main language | International and overseas contexts | Describes where English is learned, not a student in a U.S. college. |
| ELL (English language learner) | A student still developing English | Common in K-12 and in many colleges | Widely understood. Some find it limiting, because it describes a student only by what they are still learning. |
| EL (English learner) | The same group, in shorter form | Federal education law and many state K-12 agencies | Students from K-12 may have been “classified” or “reclassified” as EL. That label usually does not follow them to college. |
| LEP (limited English proficient) | An older federal term | Some federal documents; federal regulations now define it by “English learner” | Many scholars consider it a deficit term. Avoid it. |
| Emergent bilingual | A student developing two or more languages | Researchers and some K-12 programs | Proposed to name what students are building, not what they lack. |
| Multilingual learner | “Students developing proficiency in multiple languages” (WIDA) | WIDA, many K-12 systems, a growing number of colleges | WIDA chose it as an assets-based term. It can include students who are fully fluent in English and still developing another language. |
| Multilingual writer, second language (L2) writer | A writer working in a language that is not their first | College writing studies, including the CCCC statement | “Multilingual writer” is increasingly common in college composition; the CCCC statement’s title uses both. “L2” is common in research but can be inaccurate for students who spoke two or three languages before English. L1 and L2 mean first and second language. |
| Generation 1.5 | Long-term U.S. residents, often born abroad, educated partly in U.S. schools | Researchers and writing programs | Often fluent in spoken English while still developing academic writing. Many reject the ESL label. |
| International student | A student who came to the U.S. to study, often on a student visa | International offices, admissions | About enrollment, not language. Many international students are highly proficient in English. |
| Native / non-native speaker | Whether English was a first language | Everyday speech | Often misleading. Many multilingual students learned English as young children. The CCCC statement calls it “a common misperception” that native speakers are necessarily better teachers of writing. |
Glossary entries draw on Alvarez et al. (2017) unless another source is named.
Seven practices
Describe the skill, not the student
In feedback and conversation, name the task: “articles and verb tense,” “reading long sentences.” You rarely need a label for the person to help them.
Use the term the student uses
If a student calls themselves bilingual, an international student, or a Spanish speaker, use their word. If they do not mention language at all, you do not need to either.
Match the term to the setting
Use a program’s or a law’s official name when you refer to that program or law. For a course name, such as an ESL course, use the course name. For general writing about students, “multilingual learners” is current and broad.
Avoid deficit terms
“Limited English proficient,” “non-native,” and “ESLs” as a noun for people describe students by a gap. Choose terms that describe a situation or a skill.
Do not make the native speaker the standard
Academic English is a learned way of writing for every student, including students who grew up speaking English. Frame expectations around audience, purpose, and genre, not around sounding like a native speaker. Separate language development from thinking: a strong argument can arrive in sentences that still show a second language. See Knowing your students’ language backgrounds.
Welcome other languages in the process
Students can brainstorm, take notes, or plan in any language they think well in, then write the final work in English. This is often called translanguaging. It is different from using a translation tool to produce the English text, which is a separate question for each assignment. See Setting expectations for translation, grammar tools, and AI.
Expect the terms to change again
No term is permanent. What matters more than the word is that it is accurate, respectful, and used only when it is needed.
Student pages use no label at all. They describe skills and tasks, so any student can use them without identifying as a language learner. Instructor pages use “multilingual learners” for students and “second language writing” when following the CCCC statement.
These practices are practitioner advice from faculty development work at OCTC, informed by the sources below. The terms and definitions come from the sources; the advice on when to use them does not.
Before and after
Both versions are the same syllabus line about support.
ESL students and students with limited English proficiency should visit the TLC for help with grammar.
Any student who wants help with reading, writing, or grammar can visit the Teaching and Learning Center for free tutoring. The Language of College also has short lessons on each skill.
What changed
- The labels are gone. Students choose the help they need without first placing themselves in a group.
- “Limited English proficiency,” a deficit term, is gone.
- Grammar is one skill among several. The offer covers reading and writing too.
Wording you can copy
When you need to refer to the group, in writing for colleagues
multilingual learners · students who use more than one language · second language writers (in writing courses)
A welcoming syllabus line
This course welcomes writers who use more than one language. If you do, you bring real strengths to our class. For feedback on any part of your writing, visit the Teaching and Learning Center, or use The Language of College for short lessons on each skill.
When a student brings up their language
Thank you for telling me. Which parts of reading or writing in this course would be most useful to work on? I can point you to resources for those.
Related pages
Sources
- Alvarez, S., Gilliland, B., Ortmeier-Hooper, C., McBee Orzulak, M. J., & Pella, S. (2017, September 7). ESL, ELL, Generation 1.5: Why are these terms important? (opens in a new tab) [Statement of terminology and glossary]. National Council of Teachers of English.
- Conference on College Composition and Communication. (2020). CCCC statement on second language writing and multilingual writers (opens in a new tab).
- WIDA. (n.d.). Understanding multilingual learners (opens in a new tab). Wisconsin Center for Education Research.
- 34 C.F.R. § 300.27 (opens in a new tab), Limited English proficient.