What is TESOL?

© Language Training Institute
​Last updated: 28th March, 2022

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 🤔
 
Firstly, let’s clear something up: 

• TESOL = Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

It is used to encompass both employment (i.e. teaching English to people whose first language is something other than English) and training (i.e. learning to teach English to speakers of other languages).
 
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?”. Follow us and we'll post 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 ESL – you’ll start to see a pattern.
 
Some other common acronyms 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
• L1 = First Language or Native 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
• NESB = Non-English Speaking Background

 
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 TESOL Courses:

• Certificate IV in TESOL
• Diploma of TESOL

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