International English the sphere of influence of English-speaking countries. Here English may serve as a useful lingua franca between ethnic and language groups. Higher education, the legislature and judiciary, national commerce, and so on, may all be carried out predominantly in English. The "expanding circle" refers to those countries where English has no official role, but is nonetheless important for certain functions, e.g. international business and tourism. By the twenty-first century, non-native English speakers have come to outnumber native speakers by a factor of three, according to the British Council. Darius Degher, a professor at Malmö University in Sweden, uses the term
Teaching English as a second or foreign language and ESL (English as a second language, a term typically used in English-speaking countries, and more often referring to the learning than the teaching). Teaching English as a second language (TESL) refers to teaching English to students whose first language is not English, usually offered in a region where English "is" the dominant language and natural English language immersion situations are apt to be "plentiful". The teaching profession has historically used different names for TEFL and TESL; however, the more generic term teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) is increasingly used to describe the profession. Both native speakers