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It's worth noting that ESL/EAL/EFL programs also differ depending on the variant of English being spoken; "English" is a term that can refer to various dialects, including British English, North American English, and other dialects. For example, students studying ESL/EFL in Hong Kong are more likely to learn British English, especially British idioms, which may make travel to the United States marginally more complex for them, as North American English uses very different idioms and slang. For this reason, many teachers of English as a foreign language now emphasize teaching English as an international language (EIL), also known as English as a Lingua Franca (ELF).

If you find all these acronyms confusing, it may help to simplify. ESL tends to concentrate on English for daily needs, and for living in an English-speaking community. EFL tends to concentrate on English for academic success (whether in the local school exam system, or for post-graduate study abroad), on exams, and sometimes on using English at work, ie within an office where English is sometimes needed.

Part of the confusion is created by the funding structure. Again, as a gross generalisation, in English-speaking countries such as Canada and Britain, the goverment pays for ESL, to integrate newcomers into the wider society, and the individual student or their sponsor (parents, boss) pays for EFL.

1 Common European Framework for Languages

Between 1998 and 2000, the Council of Europe's language policy division developed its Common European Framework for Languages. The aim of this framework was to have a common system for foreign language testing and certification, to cover all European languages and countries.

The Common European Framework divides language learners into three levels:
A. Basic User
B. Independent User
C. Proficient User

Each of these levels is divided into two sections, resulting in a total of six levels for testing (A1, A2, B1, etc).

The Association of Language Testers in Europe (ALTE) took the CEF levels and developed a series of "can-do statements" which describe what a learner should have achieved at each level. ALTE calls the steps "level 0 - 5" rather than using the CEF terminology.

This table compares EFL exams according to the ALTE/CEF levels: