TESOL, TEFL, TESL, ELT... A Short Guide to Understanding the Acronyms of Teaching English Abroad

There are a million acronyms related to the field of teaching English to non-English learners. It is very difficult for newcomers to the English Language Teaching world to know what they all mean, so we have compiled a glossary list of TESOL acronyms to help you along the way:

TESOL/ TEFL/ELT
TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) are perhaps the most common terms. They are both used to define the teaching of people, usually in their own countries, often in private language schools, who want to use English for business, leisure, travel, etc. It is also used to describe the teaching that takes place to short-term visitors in the US/UK who believe it is better to pay to study the language in the country where the language is spoken.

Although in essence they mean the same thing, TEFL is used most commonly used in the UK, and TESOL most frequently in the US.

The term ELT (English Language Teaching) has quite recently come into use as an umbrella term which aims to include everything in the field.

TESOL also refers to the American professional association TESOL Inc: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.

TESL/ESOL/ ESL
TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) is teaching immigrants in English-speaking countries, though this area is also, confusingly, referred to as ESOL. ESL is English as a second language.

The Courses

Cambridge CELTA, Trinity Cert TESOL and SIT TESOL
These three courses lead to the most recognized qualifications within the industry worldwide.

All courses can be referred to as ‘TEFL courses’ or ‘TESOL courses’ in general terms, but if you are looking to get an internationally recognized qualification, you need to ensure that the course you are doing is either a Trinity Cert TESOL (moderated by Trinity College, London) or SIT TESOL (moderated by the School for International Training) course specifically.

The Cambridge CELTA course is possibly the longest- standing qualification to date, and is moderated by Cambridge ESOL in the UK.

‘Equivalent’ TEFL / TESOL courses
There are many courses that are based on the model employed with the CELTA/Trinity Cert TESOL/SIT TESOL courses. This model consists of a judicious mix of ‘input’ sessions, which include focus on language (the ‘what’ of TEFL/TESOL courses), and methodology (the ‘how’), along with a total of at least 6 hours teaching practice. Teaching practice is classroom experience of teaching real live students. The most effective teaching practice includes pre-class lesson planning, teaching which is observed and in many cases assessed by tutors. Feedback, from which trainees learn the art and craft of TEFL/TESOL teaching, is usually carried out in a group format, and is often followed by a written record to refer to later.

The contentious areas connected with ‘equivalent’ TEFL /TESOL courses are recognition and accreditation.

The 4 week course training format was originally designed and implemented in the UK, by John Haycraft, the founder of International House. As such, it is the forerunner of its many ‘equivalents’, but it has also engendered a whole industry, including systems of quality control which have attempted to mould TEFL/TESOL training to fit frameworks and criteria which give it value. This value is particularly important in the UK context, although it has also spread too much of the rest of the world. Depending on where a teacher ends up teaching, the perceived value of UK accreditation is more or less important. In many parts of the world, home-grown ‘equivalent’ courses are in fact much better known (recognized) in the local context than the Cambridge CELTA /Trinity CertTESOL or SIT TESOL.