What is the difference between TESOL and TEFL? What is CELTA?
For all intents and purposes the terms mean the same with TESOL being more common in America and with large state sector colleges in Britain (e.g. the Institute of Education in London) while TEFL is more common in U.K. Language Schools and in the U.K. press. There is a slight technical difference since TESOL refers to all learners whose first language is not English, including ethnic minorities living in this country, whereas TEFL refers only to “foreign” students. Potentially, therefore, a TESOL course encompasses more than a more narrowly defined TEFL course. The CELTA (Certificate for English Language Teaching to Adults) is a TESOL certificate course. It was actually the first course of this type of teacher-training course and was originally an in-house training course for teachers at International House (a large chain of language schools based in London). Because it was the first, it is very widely recognized by name.
For all intents and purposes the terms mean the same with TESOL being more common in America and with large state sector colleges in Britain (e.g. the Institute of Education in London) while TEFL is more common in U.K. Language Schools and in the U.K. press. There is a slight technical difference since TESOL refers to all learners whose first language is not English, including ethnic minorities living in this country, whereas TEFL refers only to “foreign” students. Potentially, therefore, a TESOL course encompasses more than a more narrowly defined TEFL course. The CELTA (Certificate for English Language Teaching to Adults) is a TESOL certificate course. It was actually the first course of this type of teacher-training course and was originally an in-house training course for teachers at International House (a large chain of language schools based in London). Because it was the first, it is very widely recognized by name.
