IELTS. ESP. TOEFL. TESOL. You might have heard a lot of people talking about these abbreviations and acronyms but do you know exactly what they mean?
As in every field, there are lots of abbreviations and acronyms used in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) that are thrown around with reckless abandon, with no thought for those of us who might not be familiar with them.
The most common abbreviations and acronyms in TEFL are:
- TEFL: teaching English as a foreign language – teaching learners who do not speak English as their first language.
- TESOL: teaching English to speakers of other languages – a synonym for TEFL, though it can also be used to refer to teaching English to non-native speakers in an English-speaking country.
- ELT: English language teaching – used to describe the field of English language teaching, usually referring to ELT resources and materials.
But there are loads more!
At The TEFL Academy, we put together a handy guide filled to the brim with all the pesky letters you might not know so that you too can whip them out at dinner parties and sound like a rockstar…or at least a teacher.
Read more: TEFL Abbreviations and Acronyms Explained