• ESL (English as a second language)
• EFL (English as a foreign language)
• ESOL (English for speakers of other languages)
• ELT (English language teaching)
• TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language)
• TESL (teaching English as a second language)
• TESOL (teaching English to speakers of other languages)
• EAL (English as an additional language)
• EIL (English as an international language)
• ELF (English as a lingua franca)
• ESP (English for special purposes
• EAP (English for academic purposes)
• ELL (English language learner)

These are just a few of the acronyms that people use to describe teaching english as a second language. This profession has gained in popularity because of the globalization of our economies.

• Japan
• South Korea
• Vietnam
• China
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• UAE

These are some of the most popular places to teach english as a second language these days.

Of course with the growing number of hispanics coming to the U.S. there are various opportunities there as well. Any other english speaking country will also have immigrants coming and going who want to learn english.

One great place to get started is reading some of the blogs posted on our site. Use them to do research. This is how I made my decision to go to South Korea. Originally I had thought Japan would be better but after I did read some entries from people and contacted a few about questions I had, I learned that many things in South Korea were better for my particular situation at the time. Forums like the one on Dave's ESL Cafe are great for answering questions but they do sometimes offer many negative outlooks. I felt and still do feel that personal blogs are much more positive about life in another country. This is what someone going abroad needs rather than a bad outlook from the get go.