Whats the difference between “ESL” and “TESOL”?
Not a whole lot. Technically speaking, “ESL” stands for “English as a Second Language,” and is best used to talk about what you’d be teaching. “TESOL” stands for “Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages,” and is best used to talk about what you will study in order to teach ESL. As you can see, they’re not exactly the same – but they overlap a lot. (By the way: TESL = “Teaching English as a Second Language”; TEFL = “Teaching English as a Foreign Language.
Not a whole lot. Technically speaking, “ESL” stands for “English as a Second Language,” and is best used to talk about what you’d be teaching. “TESOL” stands for “Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages,” and is best used to talk about what you will study in order to teach ESL. As you can see, they’re not exactly the same – but they overlap a lot.
