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 such as law, finance, education, and business. The popularity of English in the country has also posed problems for the regional and traditional languages within the country. Indian languages, such as Hindi, are known and associated with tradition and are regarded as un-modern. At the national level, Hindi has the status of official language in India, and English is recognized as another official language for government work. Teaching English as a second or foreign language Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) refers to teaching the English language to students with different first languages. TEFL can occur either within the