ESL Jobs Forum

[sam]

Hey Everyone,

Can someone expalin to me the differences between ESOL, ESL, EFL? I see them used interchangeably. Are they the same of is there a difference?

Thanks,

Confused Sam

[esljunction.com]

ESL = English as a second language. Students that are learning English in an English speaking country as a second language.
(not sure why but this term is used in Korea very often....go figure)

EFL=English as a foreign language, this is taught to students who are in their home country where English is not spoken as a first language (ex. Korea)
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[sam]

Hi ESLjunction,

Thanks for the clarification. That seems to make a bit more sense. The funny thing is it seems that ESL is used pretty much everywhere wether it fits the criteria you mentioned or not!

- Sam

[esljunction.com]

I know that is true for Asia, I am just wondering if the same thing goes on in the rest of the world. I am now also wondering if most teachers know the difference between ESL and EFL.
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[Guy Courchesne]

I think that ESL, being a more popular term, gets used in advertising more often and so it seems the distinction has been lost. I would guess that most employers abroad wouldn't know the difference, although the methods employed vary quite a bit between the two.

What seems more troublesome to me here in Latin America are the amount of new teachers who are non-native speakers of the language. This isn't a bad thing, but think now how the distinction between EFL and ESL should apply.

[PELT]

Let’s not forget ESOL which refers to English for/to Speakers of Other Languages and has a near identical meaning to ESL.

TESOL is frequently used by teacher training companies to describe their teaching courses – Trinity and TEFL International offer TESOL certificates whilst UCLES CELTA is regarded as a TEFL qualification.

EFL is perhaps more frequently used in the UK. Having said that, ESOL is gaining in use as the demand for language courses for immigrants increases

[EFLtrainer]

[PELT]

Sorry, which part of that paragraph did you have problems understanding?

[EFLtrainer]

[Roberta]

I heard that ELL is being used more often then ESL? and it's a "better" positive way of saying ESL? true? or what?

thanks in advance [/i]
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Live life day by day

[Guy Courchesne]

What does ELL stand for? Never heard of it.
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Life is a verb, not a noun - Now Bloggin' and Working Hard

[unionjack]

A Note on Terminology
Numerous acronyms exist to describe those students who are learning English as an additional language (EAL). For example, "learners of English as a second language" (ESL) is often found in the literature to date. Both EAL and ESL refer to students as people first, much as we now term a person with a disability as "a person who is hearing impaired" rather than "the deaf person." Recent federal legislation continues to use the term limited English proficient (LEP). In our survey of recent literature we found English language learners (ELL) to be the most prevalent and widely accepted term. We use this term throughout this publication, except when referring to specific program models that use other terminology.

The above can be located at

http://www.nwrel.org/request/2003may/terminology.html

[Ben Jones]

Is the ESL proactive resource suitable for TEFL certificate teachers as

well? Is a degree necessary?

thanx , Ben

What are some recommended countries to teach EFL?

[Alison327]

I am preparing to get my certifaction this January during a month-long study abourd TEFL Certification program. Someone told me that CELTA certification is the only one worth anything. How can you tell if the program you are enrolled in is a good program? Does anyone have advice as far as degrees, certification, and legitimacy of training programs?

Thanks for any replies.

[crueckert]

Don't forget ELT, which stands for English Language Teaching, and EAL, which stands for English as an Additional Language. EAL is really the most all-encompassing term since it describes students who are studying English as a first, second, third or other language. However, I hardly ever see it used.

As for the TEFL program that you are doing, who is it accredited by? How many classroom hours does it have? How many people per class? How many observation hours will you have? How many hours will you have to teach? Who are your trainers?
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Carol Rueckert
Writer, ESL Lesson Plan
www.esl-lesson-plan.com
crueckert@eslemployment.com

"I hear, and I forget. I see, and I remember. I do, and I understand." - Chinese Proverb