List of terms

• EFL - stands for English as a Foreign Language and involves the acquisition of English by non-native speakers.

• ELT stands for English Language Teaching. This is a blanket term that covers all forms of English language acquisition, whether for native- or non-native speakers.

• ESL stands for English as a Second Language and involves the acquisition of English by non-native speakers.

• ESOL stands for English for Speakers of Other Languages and involves teaching English to non-native speakers.

• TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language and involves teaching English to non-native speakers, to people usually in their own countries, who want to use English for business, leisure, travel, etc.

• TESL stands for Teaching English as a Second Language and involves teaching English to non-native speakers, often immigrants in English-speaking countries.

• TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages and involves teaching English to non-native speakers.

TESOL and ELT are terms that cover both TEFL and TESL. Confusingly, the acronym TESOL also refers to the American professional association: Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages.

TEFL / TESOL / CELTA: what's the difference?

There is often confusion about TEFL Certificates, TESOL Certificates and CELTA qualifications. TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language; TESOL is Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. CELTA is the Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults.

In other words they are different ways of referring to the same thing. External monitoring of Cambridge CELTA and Trinity TESOL courses provides a mechanism of quality control, which self validating TEFL courses cannot provide and leads to British Council recognition of both qualifications. When choosing a course you should consider the merits of the program itself and whether it is recognized and externally validated. As important as the qualification is the course itself, the place and the people.