Based on geography and history, rather than the speakers’ use of English.
Grey area between Inner and Outer Circles as well as Outer and Expanding Circles.
The world’s bilingual or multilingual speakers are not taken into account.
Difficulty of using the model to define speakers in terms of their proficiency in English.
Does not account for the linguistic diversity within and between countries of a particular circle.
The term Inner Circle implies that speakers from ENL countries are central, and may thus be interpreted as superior.