TESL

TESL is an acronym standing for Teaching English as a Second 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 the dominant language. This type of English teacher must receive special accreditation, most commonly a CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults).

TESL is often used interchangeably with TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign 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, TESL refers to cases in which to learn English is to learn the native language. TEFL, on the other hand, refers to the teaching of English in a region where English is not the native language. In this case, to learn English is to learn a foreign language. Because the circumstances under which learning English differ, two distinct terms have been created to describe each. TESOL is often used as an umbrella term, incorporating both TESL and TEFL, as it does not distinguish between English as a second or foreign language, like TESL and TEFL respectively do.