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TESOL, TEFL and CELTA forum

Re: What are the differences beteween TEFL, TEAL, TESL, ELT and TESOL? (General)
By/Re:ICAL_Pete <admin@icalweb.com>
29 August 2007

Close but not quite.

The usage of these acronyms varies around from country to country and it is related not so much to whether English is spoken in a country or not, but to the type of learners.

TEFL - Teaching English as a Foreign Language – the term is more commonly used in Europe but also in the UK & Ireland so as you can see the idea that it is used in non English speaking countries applies only in part.

TESL - Teaching English as a Second Language. This is generally an American term used in the USA, Asia, South America & Africa.

TEAL= Teaching English as an additional language – this acronym in not as commonly used as TESL or TEFL and I’ve yet to see a TEAL Certificate

ELT = English Language Teaching – this is not really a subject to teach. It simply refers to the whole industry.

TESOL = Teaching English to speakers of other languages – this is an umbrella acronym, if you will, which combines TEFL & TESL.

In many cases, TESL, TEFL and TESOL are used interchangeably.

Hope this helps






Messages In This Thread

What are the differences beteween TEFL, TEAL, TESL, ELT and TESOL? (General) -- answers.yahoo.com 1 July 2007
Re: What are the differences beteween TEFL, TEAL, TESL, ELT and TESOL? (General) -- ICAL_Pete 29 August 2007

Go to another board -