Starting to look into the world of TESOL can feel a little bit like deciphering a secret code or staring into a bowl of alphabet soup with a bunch of different letters swirling around.
 
Let’s clear a few things up. Firstly:

• TESOL = Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

It is used to encompass both employment (teaching English to people whose first language is something other than English) and training (learning to teach English to speakers of other languages). Starting to look a little clearer? Let’s confuse you a little more then 😉
 
In addition to the common name of “TESOL” it can also be called other acronyms, such as:

• TEFL = Teaching English as a Foreign Language
• TESL = Teaching English as a Second Language

 
If you’re looking at doing training in England then you may also run into:

• CELTA = Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults
• DELTA = Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults

If this is you, you might also be interested in our up and coming article “What’s the difference between TESOL and CELTA?”. Subscribe to our blog to be notified when this article is published.
 
Now we’ve got the TESOL terms down pat, let’s dive a little deeper into the different terms around English teaching – there’s even more than the TESOL acronyms! You’ll start to see a pattern though.
 
Some common letters you’ll run into with English teaching are:

• ESL = English as a Second Language
• EFL = English as a Foreign Language
• EAL = English as an Additional Language
• ESOL = English for Speakers of Other Languages
• EIL = English as an International Language
• L2 = Second language
• SLA = Second Language Acquisition
• ELD= English Language Development
• ELT = English Language Teaching
• EAP = English for Academic Purposes
• ESP = English for Specific Purposes

 
Is your head spinning from all the letters yet? Feel like you’ve earned a TESOL qualification already just by learning all this? Not quite, but we can help you with that! Check out our:

• Certificate IV in TESOL (580-650 hrs)
• Diploma of TESOL (1300 hrs)
• International TESOL Certificate (200 hrs)

 
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In Australia, teaching positions are very competitive, more so than overseas or online teaching positions. Your existing qualifications and teaching experience (volunteer or paid) play an important role in what types of positions you could potentially hold in Australia.

The level of positions open to you will also depend on the type of English training provider and level of English taught.

You need to be realistic about the types of opportunities available to you and in some cases, you may need to look at doing extra qualifications or volunteer work to get your foot in the door.

​If you are looking at positions in Australian ELICOS centres, employment eligibility and conditions for teachers and certain other English language college staff are regulated by the federal government through the Department of Education. Specifically, the ELICOS Standards 2018 set out that ELICOS teachers must:

• have a degree or diploma of at least three years full-time or equivalent (teaching or other)
• have a suitable TESOL qualification or qualification that contains TESOL as a method
• have appropriate TESOL teaching experience or be formally mentored by a senior staff member with this experience.

​There are further requirements for teachers who teach on English language programs in the primary or high school sector. Similarly, there are further requirements for those teachers who teach on English language programs for students under the age of 12.

(Source: ELICOS Info - https://www.englishaustralia.com.au/our-sector/teaching-in-australia)

If you are looking at teaching in NEAS endorsed ELT Centres, then you would be required to hold at least the following qualifications:

• a recognised degree or equivalent * and
• a recognised TESOL qualification **; or
• a recognised degree in education with TESOL method ***

To break this down more:

*1. a recognised degree or equivalent - NEAS expects your Bachelor degree or equivalent to be at least three years full-time (or its part-time equivalent) in length. It also says that teachers holding a degree or equivalent from overseas institutions should contact the relevant State or Territory education authority or Department of Education and Training to confirm local equivalence.

**2. a recognised TESOL qualification - NEAS wants a TESOL qualification that results from a program of study having all of the following characteristics:

• no less than 100 contact hours, or the equivalent in Distance Education programs, with a content focus on English language, language learning and TESOL teaching (note: our Certificate IV in TESOL is 580-650 hours, (depending on elective) and our Diploma of TESOL is 1300 hours. Both of these qualifications are delivered by either online education or blended learning with the full nominal hours equating to distance education contact hours.)
• a practical component including at least six hours practice teaching in TESOL to actual students (not to classmates), supervised and assessed by a teacher who is qualified as per these requirements (note: all of our students complete practical placement in authentic ESL learning environments. Certificate IV students complete a minimum of 6 hours practice teaching and Diploma students complete a minimum of 10 hours practice teaching.)
• is a recognised qualification delivered by an education provider registered with government as being eligible to deliver nationally recognised qualifications (note: we are an Australian Registered Training Organisation, RTO No. 30173.)

​OR as opposed to meeting the above requirements, you can instead hold ***3. a recognised degree in education with TESOL method - for example: a Bachelor of Education with a major in TESOL. Again, teachers holding a degree from overseas institutions would need to contact the relevant State or Territory education authority or Department of Education and Training to confirm local equivalence / acceptance.

(Source: NEAS Info - https://neas.org.au/resources/career-advice/#neas-teacher-qualifications)

If you're passionate about teaching English in Australia, then we encourage you to keep working towards it. Right now, it might seem like there are a few things you need to check off - and that's true, but keep in mind that it always seems impossible until it's done.