TEFL

What is TEFL?

TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language.

TEFL is used when someone teaches English to people whose mother toungue is not English, who live in a region where English is not the main language, such as Japan or Korea. For example, teaching English in Japan, Korea, or China would be TEFL since none of those countries use English as its national language. Hence, theuse of the term 'foreign language'.

Teaching English to immigrants to the United States from Japan, Korea, or China, however, would not be teaching English as a foreign language. Rather, it would be called Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) as the national language of the country where the immigrants live (ie the US) is English. Their first language would be whatever language they learned first; Japanese, Korean, or some form of Chinese.

What if you are teaching students from Korea who go to a month-long English camp in London during the summer vacation? Since they are technically in a country whose national language is English, wouldn't it be called TESL? The answer is no. An educational trip by students from a non-English speaking country to an anglophone, or English-speaking, country falls under learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL).

Teaching English as a foriegn language (TEFL) can happen anywhere in the world and is determined by the nature of the students, where they reside, and their access to an English environment.

TEFL Jobs

Due to the predominance of English as a the language most used for international business, more and more people around the world are placing greater importance on English learning From business to travel to mandatory education, the world has become obsessed with English. As a result, the demand for Engilsh teachers is stronger than it has ever been, and this need is only expected to grow. TEFL jobs in Asia, Europe, and around the world are plentiful and the need for English teachers is so great that simply being from an English-speaking country can allow you to travel the world.