Before instructors taught English as a foreign language, the main languages taught were Latin and Greek, which were viewed as essential to build the intellect of young scholars. Foreign language teachers of the 17th and 18th centuries used the classical method, whereby the primary emphasis was on grammar, syntax and the memorization of vocabulary. Western students of language in the 17th and 18th centuries also were taught how to translate written texts. There was little, if any, focus on oral communication in the second language because the primary goal was to promote academics, which at that time, focused on reading and writing.
In the latter half of the 19th Century, the classical method of teaching language gave way to the grammar translation method, which English language teachers used to instruct those with other native languages. Using this teaching method, instructors focused on the grammatical structure of English as well as how to translate English into a second language, and vice versa.
It was not until the 1940s that English language teachers began to emphasize spoken proficiency as well as reading and writing. In the 1950s, this new way of teaching English came to be called the audiolingual method, based on psychology and linguistic theory. Teachers using this method focused on mimicking English words and phrases, memorization of words and expressions, repetitive drills, the use of visual and audio aids, and the use of vocabulary in everyday context.
By the 1960s, the audiolingual method of English language teaching became less widely used, as teachers began to favor techniques with less emphasis on memorization and quizzing. During the next few decades, at least half a dozen new language techniques and theories were advanced, all of them used to teach English as a second language.
One of these methods, community language learning, was developed by Charles Curan in 1972. It treated students as clients and teachers as counselors, promoting a more secure environment in which to learn language. In the 1980s, Stephen Krashen and Tracy Terrell wrote an ESL teaching primer called The Natural Approach, suggesting that students should learn language silently (by reading and memorizing) until they were ready to practice speaking. ESL teachers now use a mixture of these and other methods, tailoring their approach to each class or student.
English as a second language courses are taught in English-speaking countries, primarily the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and Canada. In these countries, it is usually immigrants, refugees and their children who learn ESL. This is sometimes the case in countries where English is an official language, although not the native language of the majority of citizens, such as in former British colonies.
In recent years, the term English as a second Language has been called inaccurate, as some English language learners already speak multiple languages. Yet proponents of the ESL title counter that the word "a" in English as a second language presupposes that their students might speak other "second languages." Other acronyms for this type of course include EFL (English as a foreign language) and EAL (English as an additional language).