The History Of TEFL: A Timeline Of English Language Teaching

With French being the main language of the day, English popped up in niche contexts. Within some schools and universities, English was taught as a fringe subject, but was overshadowed by the bigwigs: French, Latin, and Greek.

Here is a timeline of the way English was taught using the language teaching methods that were popular at the time:

• Mid-1700s: Learning was done on paper, focused primarily on grammar and direct translation with limited verbal practice.
• Late 1800s: Some educators called for the cancellation of boring grammar books. One of them is François Gouin, who changed the game with the Series Method, which taught language the way kids learn to speak. 
• 1890s: Enter Charles Berlitz’s Direct Method, which was only taught in the target language, with no translations to help you out!
• Late 1890s: The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) was established. It was a game-changer for teaching pronunciation.

Read more: How To Teach Pronunciation Online Like A Pro

After World War 2, English went viral. The British Empire had schools in all its colonised territories, and the US became the new big shot on the world stage. 

Read more: Why is English So English? A (Very) Brief History Of English

Suddenly, everyone needed English, and they needed it fast!

• 1940s: Because of the war, the US military came up with the Audio-Lingual Method, so soldiers could communicate basic information fast. English was learnt through drilling, repetition, and speaking. 
• 1945 onwards: With the war over, English became the world’s lingua franca. English was everywhere, from Hollywood movies and pop music to the UN and NATO boardrooms. 
• 1950s: In the UK, the Situational Language Teaching method was developed. English was taught through learning how to speak in real-world situations, like ordering lunch at a restaurant or introducing yourself.

By the early ‘60s, English was indeed the world’s lingua franca. 

The catch? Most EFL teachers were untrained, weren’t native English speakers, or were literature teachers called in at the last minute. 

From the 60s to the 80s, English teaching stopped being a casual gig and started becoming a real job. Demand for trained teachers exploded, new courses popped up, and the TEFL industry as we know it started taking shape — complete with the alphabet soup of acronyms we still use today.

1962: John Haycraft, an English language teacher and the founder of International House, created one of the first TEFL teacher training courses! He hosted intensive workshops to train aspiring TEFL teachers. 

Mid-1960s: Local and international groups were formed, from TESOL International Association in the US to IATEFL in the UK. These groups connected English teachers around the world through conferences, journals and a network of peers.

1970s: A new and improved method was introduced: Communicative Language Teaching (CLT). Learning English became practical through activities such as role plays, problem-solving games, and dialogue. The term “TEFL” became the popular term for teaching English as a foreign language. 

1978: Cambridge English introduced the CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults). This new course offered more practical elements than other teacher training courses at the time, like assessed teacher observations and practice.

Read more: What Is The Difference Between CELTA Versus TEFL?

1980: Trinity College in London launched its own certificate, and from there, the TEFL certification world took off, and with it, the need to have a certificate became a standard requirement for getting a job.

The 70s and 80s were a TEFL boom: private schools popped up across Europe and Asia; Japan couldn’t get enough of English conversation schools (eikaiwa); countries in the Middle East hired teachers left and right; and English spread through schools in Africa and Asia.

1990: TEFL had gone fully global. Tens of thousands of teachers were teaching English worldwide.

Read more: Is There Really A Demand For TEFL Teachers?

By the 90s, the world was more connected than ever. The Cold War was over, economies were thriving, and companies, governments, and people were trying to speak the same language.

TEFL went from steady growth to a full-on explosion! 

Schools couldn’t hire English teachers fast enough, and new markets seemed to open up overnight.

• 1990s: In Eastern Europe and Russia, the end of the Cold War brought a massive shift. Countries that once focused on Russian suddenly switched to English, hoping to move with the times.
  
• 1990s: East Asia’s attraction to English went into overdrive, and English demand soared. Japan, South Korea and Taiwan all invested heavily in education.
• Late 1990s – early 2000s: The internet arrived, making English essential for global communication.
  
• 2000s: China joined the World Trade Organisation in 2001, and English language learning exploded. Schools, universities and private training centres across China hired foreign teachers in huge numbers.

The 2010s brought a tech revolution to the TEFL world. No more dial-up connections, and Skype and new online learning platforms changed the game for both teachers and students. 

• 2010s: Online TEFL courses and platforms like VIPKid connected teachers with students globally. This is where the birth of teaching English online began, which opened up a wave of online teaching jobs.

Read more: Online Teaching Platforms You Need To Know

• 2020: COVID-19 happened. Many classrooms moved online, from popular language schools to private tutors. Teachers who had never taught a Zoom lesson in their lives suddenly found themselves learning how to navigate software they knew nothing about, while juggling classes of 35+ students.
• 2020s: China’s restriction of online English teaching changed the online TEFL world again. Thousands of online TEFL teachers lost their Chinese Young Learner students. With the biggest market of EFL students having closed its digital borders, the online TEFL market changed. 
• So began a shift, with TEFL teachers running private classes, launching their own online learning platforms and becoming business owners. 

Read more: From Classroom To Business: Exploring The Teacherpreneur Movement

Blended learning dominated while AI started to emerge as a teaching aid.

• Now: AI education tools have become part of the everyday TEFL toolkit. ChatGPT has quickly become a go-to resource for teachers, helping with everything from personalised feedback to lesson planning. Gamification and VR are making their way into classrooms. English for Specific Purposes (ESP), such as Business English, is growing in demand.

As a consequence of the dissatisfaction with hourly pay being offered by some online learning companies, many TEFL teachers started with small-scale side hustle ideas that grew into thriving online schools. 

TEFL teachers are now becoming TEFL CEOs!

Read more: Becoming A Freelance Teacher Online With TEFL

If TEFL’s past has taught us anything, it’s that it evolves with the times.

So, what does the future look like?

AI and VR (virtual reality): AI in education is here to stay, working with teachers and students in ways we’re only starting to fathom. Combined with VR, the learning experience will be enhanced and even more engaging!

Read more: Embracing AI In Teaching English: Tips And Tools For TEFL Teachers

Teaching niches explode: ESP is booming, from aviation English to hospitality English. AI in education will make personalised niche courses more accessible than ever.

Teacher-entrepreneurs (teacherpreneurs): The evolution of the TEFL teacher has begun. More teachers will run their own online TEFL courses as well as their own online learning platforms. 

Teaching what machines can’t: As technology evolves, TEFL teachers will focus on cultural understanding, humour and soft skills. 

Read more: The Future Of English In The EU In 2025

The TEFL industry has come a long way. It has evolved from a niche subject into a global movement, and it’s still expanding and evolving at a rapid pace!

That means wherever you are in your TEFL journey — a bright-eyed new teacher ready to conquer the TEFL classroom or a veteran switching to the online teaching landscape — you’re part of a story that’s FAR from over.