English for Speakers of Other Languages is an English language learning program designed for non-native speakers of English where English is either a second or other language for the learner. Both private and public institutions offer ESOL programs such as churches and colleges as well as companies and businesses.
An English language learner is a student who's a non-native speaker of English and learning to speak the English language. The levels of English that ELL students are familiar with range from coming from homes where English is never used to others where English is spoken fluently. The purposes for which ELL students learn to use the English language vary from academics and personal reasons or for career and professional reasons.
Some misconceptions are that you must be a student at an institution to be an ELL. On the contrary, anyone who chooses to take on the task of learning English as a second or other language is an ELL student. Another misconception is that there are no free ESOL programs for non-native speakers of English. In contrast, there are several options for non-native speakers of English to learn to speak and write English at no cost or very little cost.
Places you can contact that may offer English language classes at not charge in your area are your local library, unemployment office and labor work force offices and religious institutions. Some educational programs such as Tomlinson Adult Learning Center (tomlinson.pinellas.k12.fl.us) offers free ESOL classes to the community as well. Another option is to become a member of a free online ESOL class or social group such as ESOL Courses (esolcourses.com) or Learn English Online (learn-english-online.org).