ESL

What Does ESL Mean in a Text?

The Quick Answer

The abbreviation ESL means "Electronic Sports League," "European Super League," and "English as a Second Language."

Electronic Sports League

ESL is widely used in business and in gaming to refer to the company formerly known as "Electronic Sports League." ESL is an esports organizer and production company based in Cologne, Germany. Its subsidiary ESL Play (established in 1997) is the world's largest independent league for esports.

European Super League

In April 2021, 12 European football (soccer) clubs announced that they would be forming a "European Super League," which would start in August of the same year. The new ESL was only to be open to clubs invited to join, with no possibility of relegation from or promotion to the league on merit. The world football governing body (FIFA), and all of the regional federations (including UEFA in Europe) quickly condemned the plan. Under pressure from the sport's international and national governing bodies, as well as from politicians, clubs, players, and fans, most of the clubs involved quickly withdrew from the project and it collapsed within days. The ill-fated ESL included six of the richest (though not necessarily most successful) clubs in England, three from Italy and three from Spain. It was led by the chairman of TheSpanish club Real Madrid.

English Second Language

In education and training, ESL is used with the meaning "English as a Second Language." In this context ESL is the use of English by speakers of a different native language. ESL is also known as:

The teaching of English to students who speak a different native language is known as:

The teaching and study of any modern foreign language (including the teaching of another language to English native speakers) comes under the umbrella of MFL (Modern Foreign Languages).