TEFL

TEFL is an acronym standing for Teaching English as a Foreign Language, and refers to the the profession of teaching English to students whose first language is not English and who live in a region where English is not the dominant language. Instruction usually occurs at a state, private or specialized language school, or with a tutor. This type of English teacher must receive special accreditation, most commonly a CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults), and may be a native or non-native English speaker.

TEFL is often used interchangeably with TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages), but there are subtle differences in their connotations which depend on where the teaching is conducted. As previously stated, TEFL refers to cases in which to learn English is to learn a foreign language. TESL, on the other hand, refers to the teaching of English in a region where English is the native language. In this case, to learn English is to learn the dominant language. Because the circumstances under which learning the English language differ, two distinct terms have been created to describe each. TESOL is often used as an umbrella term, incorporating both TEFL and TESL, as it does not distinguish between English as a foreign or second language, like TEFL and TESL respectively do.