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TEFL vs TESOL: Is There Any Difference?
July 25, 2023
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- TESOL vs. TEFL
- CELTA, TESL & ESL
- TESOL/TEFL Career Paths
- Choose TEFL vs. TESOL
- TEFL/TESOL Certifications
- Getting Started
- Summary
- TEFL and TESOL refer to teaching English as a foreign language to non-native speakers.
- TEFL mainly focuses on teaching English in non-English-speaking countries, while TESOL refers to teaching English in English-speaking countries.
- Both TEFL and TESOL are certifications required to teach English to speakers of other languages.
- While the two terms have subtle differences, the qualifications are similar, and course content is likely to be similar too.
You may have heard of the terms TEFL and TESOL floating around because teaching English as a foreign language is all the rage nowadays. But do you really know what the difference is between TEFL and TESOL, and is it something you want to get involved in?
TESOL vs. TEFL: What’s the difference?
Let’s talk about it: TESOL vs TEFL: What’s the difference?
Spoiler alert: not much!
You may have noticed that there are a large number of acronyms and abbreviations when it comes to teaching English online as a foreign language.
The problem is, what do they all mean? We don’t want to write a novel here so let’s look at two very important terms: TESOL vs TEFL.
TEFL: Teaching English as a Foreign Language
This is the acronym used for teaching students who do not speak English as their first language but want to learn it. Usually this refers to a learning context in a non-English-speaking country – hence the Foreign Language part – but more and more it’s used to describe any situations in which English is taught to a speaker of another language.
TEFL is not only about teaching English. It’s also the qualification needed in order to become certified to teach English as a foreign language.
A TEFL teacher needs to complete a TEFL course to prepare them to be a teacher, and to qualify them to apply for teaching jobs online or abroad.
The minimum hours needed to become TEFL-certified is 120 hours, but TEFL teachers wanting to find the best jobs should get a Level 5 qualification.
Most importantly, your TEFL qualification should come from a reputable, accredited and internationally recognised TEFL course provider.
TESOL: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
TESOL is often used as a synonym for TEFL, though it can refer to teaching English to non-native speakers in an English-speaking country.
While TEFL is the term generally used in the UK and Europe, TESOL is more likely to be heard in the United States, Canada and Australia. In this sense, the origins can be understood to refer to non-English speakers who have immigrated to an English-speaking country.
In this context, you’ll often be teaching learners that will use the local language to engage with their new surroundings and improve their English for work and study. If you’re teaching English in an English-speaking country, your classes will be multinational and multilingual.
As with TEFL, TESOL is also the name given to the qualification you need to be able to teach English in an EFL context. While the qualification is generally the same thing, you’ll find that American, Canadian and Australian teachers and websites might refer to TESOL while the rest of the world calls it TEFL.
If you decide to study TEFL at a degree level, these degrees are commonly referred to as TESOL degrees, for example, a Master’s in TESOL.
What about CELTA, TESL, ESL? Do they all mean the same thing?
Then we have TESL and ESL.
TESL is Teaching English as a Second Language.
ESL is English as a Second Language.
They differ in specific detail but by and large these terms are used interchangeably with TEFL and EFL respectively. Again, you might hear about TESL and ESL when in North America and Australia.
TESOL/TEFL career paths
The TESOL/TEFL career path you choose to follow totally depends on you. There are a number of different options available to you with a TESOL/TEFL certification.
With a TESOL/TEFL qualification, you can:
- teach in schools, universities and language centres,
- teach on summer camps or homestays,
- teach privately and online,
- teach General English, Business English, English for Exams, English for Specific Purposes,
- become a Head Teacher or Director of Studies,
- become an exam assessor,
- write and develop classroom materials,
- present at conferences,
- train teachers, or
- be a digital nomad.
With a TEFL certification the world really is your oyster.
Choosing between a TEFL or TESOL certification
Choosing between a TEFL or TESOL certification really depends on where you are.
If you live in the United States, Canada or Australia, or choose to do a qualification from a company based in one of these countries, it’ll probably be identified as a TESOL course.
If you live in other countries or choose to use a TEFL course provider from somewhere else besides these countries, then you’ll be looking at a TEFL certification.
The course content of both courses is likely to be very similar. Both will prepare you to teach English to English language learners, be it in an English-speaking country or not. It’s not important what it says on the certificate. What is important is the quality of the qualification.
Where to obtain TESOL/TEFL certification
The beauty of TEFL certification is that you can get TEFL-certified in many ways. The most obvious and convenient way to get a TEFL certification is online. These days, online qualifications are considered on a par with face-to-face courses.
Online TEFL courses can include a face-to-face practical teaching component or an online practical teaching component.
The TEFL Academy offers a Level 3 (120-hour) and a Level 5 (168-hour) online course, and a Level 5 (168-hour) combined course which includes 10 hours of in-class instruction. If you’d rather do everything online, in place of the Classroom Practice course there is a 40-hour Online Observed Teaching Practice Course – the first of its kind!
Plus, when you sign up you are given access to our Top-Up Courses for free – you can choose from Teaching Business English, Teaching Young Learners, and Teaching Online and 1:1 .
How to get started with TEFL/TESOL
The question that remains is, how do I get started with a TESOL/TEFL certification?
The first thing is to choose the course that suits you. With literally thousands of TEFL course providers around the world and online, deciding which TEFL course is right for you can be quite a headache. Since you are spending your valuable time and hard-earned cash on whichever course you choose, it’s understandable that you want to be sure you’re making the right choice.
So how do you know which is the right TEFL course for you?
A TEFL course should be from an accredited, reputable and internationally recognised TEFL course provider. You can dig into a TEFL course provider’s credentials by checking out their accreditation and reading student reviews and testimonials online.
Other important factors to consider:
- The length of the course. A TEFL course should be at least 120 hours long, the equivalent to 4 weeks’ full-time study.
- The content of the course. Your TEFL course should cover the basics of teaching English as a foreign language to prepare you to step into the classroom at the end of it.
- The support you receive. This is especially important for online courses. With The TEFL Academy, our trainers are qualified and experienced TEFL teachers, and we have a team of tutors available to you at the click of a button.
- The cost of the course. We all like pinching pennies but when it comes to TEFL, super cheap is usually too good to be true.
Now that you know everything you need to know about TEFL and TESOL courses, it’s time to take action and start your TEFL journey with confidence. With The TEFL Academy, you can trust that you’ll receive a high-quality, accredited TEFL certification that will open up a world of opportunities for you.
Enrol now and let us guide you every step of the way.
But if you want to learn more about TEFL and TESOL before committing to a course, check out our comprehensive TEFL guide, packed with everything you need to know about teaching English as a foreign language.
Whether you’re just starting to explore your options or are ready to take the next step, our guide is the perfect resource for you.
READ MORE:
Meet The Author
Kirsten Colquhoun is the Content Manager for The TEFL Academy. A graduate of Cambridge University and DELTA-qualified, she first started teaching kindergarten in Thailand in 2003. A South African, she has also taught in China, the UK, Spain, Qatar and South Africa, but these days she is a teacher trainer and freelance writer and editor.Table of Contents
- Introduction
- TESOL vs. TEFL
- CELTA, TESL & ESL
- TESOL/TEFL Career Paths
- Choose TEFL vs. TESOL
- TEFL/TESOL Certifications
- Getting Started
- Summary
- TEFL and TESOL refer to teaching English as a foreign language to non-native speakers.
- TEFL mainly focuses on teaching English in non-English-speaking countries, while TESOL refers to teaching English in English-speaking countries.
- Both TEFL and TESOL are certifications required to teach English to speakers of other languages.
- While the two terms have subtle differences, the qualifications are similar, and course content is likely to be similar too.
You may have heard of the terms TEFL and TESOL floating around because teaching English as a foreign language is all the rage nowadays. But do you really know what the difference is between TEFL and TESOL, and is it something you want to get involved in?
TESOL vs. TEFL: What’s the difference?
Let’s talk about it: TESOL vs TEFL: What’s the difference?
Spoiler alert: not much!
You may have noticed that there are a large number of acronyms and abbreviations when it comes to teaching English online as a foreign language.
The problem is, what do they all mean? We don’t want to write a novel here so let’s look at two very important terms: TESOL vs TEFL.
TEFL: Teaching English as a Foreign Language
This is the acronym used for teaching students who do not speak English as their first language but want to learn it. Usually this refers to a learning context in a non-English-speaking country – hence the Foreign Language part – but more and more it’s used to describe any situations in which English is taught to a speaker of another language.
TEFL is not only about teaching English. It’s also the qualification needed in order to become certified to teach English as a foreign language.
A TEFL teacher needs to complete a TEFL course to prepare them to be a teacher, and to qualify them to apply for teaching jobs online or abroad.
The minimum hours needed to become TEFL-certified is 120 hours, but TEFL teachers wanting to find the best jobs should get a Level 5 qualification.
Most importantly, your TEFL qualification should come from a reputable, accredited and internationally recognised TEFL course provider.
TESOL: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
TESOL is often used as a synonym for TEFL, though it can refer to teaching English to non-native speakers in an English-speaking country.
While TEFL is the term generally used in the UK and Europe, TESOL is more likely to be heard in the United States, Canada and Australia. In this sense, the origins can be understood to refer to non-English speakers who have immigrated to an English-speaking country.
In this context, you’ll often be teaching learners that will use the local language to engage with their new surroundings and improve their English for work and study. If you’re teaching English in an English-speaking country, your classes will be multinational and multilingual.
As with TEFL, TESOL is also the name given to the qualification you need to be able to teach English in an EFL context. While the qualification is generally the same thing, you’ll find that American, Canadian and Australian teachers and websites might refer to TESOL while the rest of the world calls it TEFL.
If you decide to study TEFL at a degree level, these degrees are commonly referred to as TESOL degrees, for example, a Master’s in TESOL.
What about CELTA, TESL, ESL? Do they all mean the same thing?
Then we have TESL and ESL.
TESL is Teaching English as a Second Language.
ESL is English as a Second Language.
They differ in specific detail but by and large these terms are used interchangeably with TEFL and EFL respectively. Again, you might hear about TESL and ESL when in North America and Australia.
TESOL/TEFL career paths
The TESOL/TEFL career path you choose to follow totally depends on you. There are a number of different options available to you with a TESOL/TEFL certification.
With a TESOL/TEFL qualification, you can:
- teach in schools, universities and language centres,
- teach on summer camps or homestays,
- teach privately and online,
- teach General English, Business English, English for Exams, English for Specific Purposes,
- become a Head Teacher or Director of Studies,
- become an exam assessor,
- write and develop classroom materials,
- present at conferences,
- train teachers, or
- be a digital nomad.
With a TEFL certification the world really is your oyster.
Choosing between a TEFL or TESOL certification
Choosing between a TEFL or TESOL certification really depends on where you are.
If you live in the United States, Canada or Australia, or choose to do a qualification from a company based in one of these countries, it’ll probably be identified as a TESOL course.
If you live in other countries or choose to use a TEFL course provider from somewhere else besides these countries, then you’ll be looking at a TEFL certification.
The course content of both courses is likely to be very similar. Both will prepare you to teach English to English language learners, be it in an English-speaking country or not. It’s not important what it says on the certificate. What is important is the quality of the qualification.
Where to obtain TESOL/TEFL certification
The beauty of TEFL certification is that you can get TEFL-certified in many ways. The most obvious and convenient way to get a TEFL certification is online. These days, online qualifications are considered on a par with face-to-face courses.
Online TEFL courses can include a face-to-face practical teaching component or an online practical teaching component.
The TEFL Academy offers a Level 3 (120-hour) and a Level 5 (168-hour) online course, and a Level 5 (168-hour) combined course which includes 10 hours of in-class instruction. If you’d rather do everything online, in place of the Classroom Practice course there is a 40-hour Online Observed Teaching Practice Course – the first of its kind!
Plus, when you sign up you are given access to our Top-Up Courses for free – you can choose from Teaching Business English, Teaching Young Learners, and Teaching Online and 1:1 .
How to get started with TEFL/TESOL
The question that remains is, how do I get started with a TESOL/TEFL certification?
The first thing is to choose the course that suits you. With literally thousands of TEFL course providers around the world and online, deciding which TEFL course is right for you can be quite a headache. Since you are spending your valuable time and hard-earned cash on whichever course you choose, it’s understandable that you want to be sure you’re making the right choice.
So how do you know which is the right TEFL course for you?
A TEFL course should be from an accredited, reputable and internationally recognised TEFL course provider. You can dig into a TEFL course provider’s credentials by checking out their accreditation and reading student reviews and testimonials online.
Other important factors to consider:
- The length of the course. A TEFL course should be at least 120 hours long, the equivalent to 4 weeks’ full-time study.
- The content of the course. Your TEFL course should cover the basics of teaching English as a foreign language to prepare you to step into the classroom at the end of it.
- The support you receive. This is especially important for online courses. With The TEFL Academy, our trainers are qualified and experienced TEFL teachers, and we have a team of tutors available to you at the click of a button.
- The cost of the course. We all like pinching pennies but when it comes to TEFL, super cheap is usually too good to be true.
Now that you know everything you need to know about TEFL and TESOL courses, it’s time to take action and start your TEFL journey with confidence. With The TEFL Academy, you can trust that you’ll receive a high-quality, accredited TEFL certification that will open up a world of opportunities for you.
Enrol now and let us guide you every step of the way.
But if you want to learn more about TEFL and TESOL before committing to a course, check out our comprehensive TEFL guide, packed with everything you need to know about teaching English as a foreign language.
Whether you’re just starting to explore your options or are ready to take the next step, our guide is the perfect resource for you.
READ MORE:
Meet The Author
Kirsten Colquhoun is the Content Manager for The TEFL Academy. A graduate of Cambridge University and DELTA-qualified, she first started teaching kindergarten in Thailand in 2003. A South African, she has also taught in China, the UK, Spain, Qatar and South Africa, but these days she is a teacher trainer and freelance writer and editor.