Teaching English as a second language
Encyclopedia
TESL or teaching English as a second language refers to teaching English
to student
s whose first language
is not English and is usually offered in a region where English is the dominant language and natural English language immersion situations are apt to be plentiful.
TEFL or teaching English as a foreign language refers to teaching English
to student
s whose first language
is not English and usually in a region where English is not the dominant language and natural English language immersion situations are apt to be few.
These two teaching situations are different; so the teaching profession has different names for them.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
to student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s whose first language
First language
A first language is the language a person has learned from birth or within the critical period, or that a person speaks the best and so is often the basis for sociolinguistic identity...
is not English and is usually offered in a region where English is the dominant language and natural English language immersion situations are apt to be plentiful.
TEFL or teaching English as a foreign language refers to teaching English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
to student
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s whose first language
First language
A first language is the language a person has learned from birth or within the critical period, or that a person speaks the best and so is often the basis for sociolinguistic identity...
is not English and usually in a region where English is not the dominant language and natural English language immersion situations are apt to be few.
These two teaching situations are different; so the teaching profession has different names for them.
See also
- Teaching English as a foreign languageTeaching English as a foreign languageTeaching English as a foreign language refers to teaching English to students whose first language is not English. TEFL usually occurs in the student's own country, either within the state school system, or privately, e.g., in an after-hours language school or with a tutor...
- English language learning and teachingEnglish language learning and teachingEnglish as a second language , English for speakers of other languages and English as a foreign language all refer to the use or study of English by speakers with different native languages. The precise usage, including the different use of the terms ESL and ESOL in different countries, is...
- Language educationLanguage educationLanguage education is the teaching and learning of a foreign or second language. Language education is a branch of applied linguistics.- Need for language education :...
- Second language acquisitionSecond language acquisitionSecond-language acquisition or second-language learning is the process by which people learn a second language. Second-language acquisition is also the name of the scientific discipline devoted to studying that process...