The difference between TESOL, TEFL, TESL and CELTA certificates

Confused about which certification to get? Dont know what any of these acronyms mean? We demystify it all in
this article!
Want to skip all the in depth information and just look at the bottom line? Scroll down to the bottom! If you want
some detailed information, read on.
So what is the difference between TEFL, TESL, TESOL, and CELTA courses? First lets look at what they are and
then explore some differences.

TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course: This prepares teachers to teach English in a
country where English is not the primary language. For example, John from the USA goes to China to
teach English.

TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) course: This on the other hand would prepare a teacher
to teach in an English speaking country to students whose first language isnt English. For example, John
from the USA stays in the USA and teaches English to students who want to learn English.

TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) course: This encompasses both TEFL and
TESL and can mean either one or both. Basically this prepares a teacher to teach a student whose native
language isnt English. For example, our good friend John from the USA is teaching a student who didnt
learn English as their first language.

Now that you understand those three, understand that they are often used interchangeably. Thats right, even
though they all mean different things some people use them all the same way. I for one am definitely guilty of this.
TESOL and TEFL are the most popular terms when talking about teacher training courses but TESL gets some
use as well. Some people stick to the rules though and use them according to their actual meanings. For our
purposes we are going to lump them all together and call them TESOL. Whats that I hear you say? What about
CELTA?

CELTA (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) course: This is a specific brand of
TESOL course operating under the umbrella of Cambridge University. You can think of TESOL as the type
of product and CELTA as a specific brand. The CELTA course is the best known and some consider it the
most respected of TESOL courses.

Basically for better or for worse CELTA is the industry standard because the quality of instruction doesnt vary a
huge amount, Cambridge is very well known, and it is generally well respected. There are other well known and
respected TESOL courses as well (Trinity TESOL or SIT TESOL) but CELTA is by far the most internationally well
known accreditation. There are literally thousands of other TESOL courses, and Im not saying that all other
TESOL courses are bad. In fact, some would consider many TESOL courses to be superior to the CELTA course.
The problem is that because there are so many other TESOL courses there is a lot of variability in quality and
price. So lets break it down a bit.