English as a lingua franca English as a lingua franca English as a lingua franca (ELF) is the use of the English language as "a common means of communication for speakers of different first languages". ELF is also "defined functionally by its use in intercultural communication rather than formally by its reference to native-speaker norms" whereas English as a foreign language aims at meeting native speaker norms and gives prominence to native speaker cultural aspects. While lingua francas have been used for centuries, what makes ELF a novel phenomenon is the extent to which it is used – both functionally and geographically. A typical ELF
English as a second or foreign language to programs for Aboriginal peoples in Canadian or Australians. The term refers to the use of standard English by speakers of a creole or non-standard variety. It is often grouped with ESL as "ESL/ESD". All these ways of denoting the teaching of English can be bundled together into an umbrella term. Unfortunately, not all of the English teachers in the world would agree on just only a simply single term(s). The term "TESOL" (teaching English to speakers of other languages) is used in American English to include both TEFL and TESL. This is also the case in Canada as well