Differences Between TESOL, TESL and TEFL Certificates
Now that you know the answer to the question, “What is a TESOL certificate?” it is time to take a closer look at other similar certificates out there. There are three main certificates for ESL teachers: TESOL, TESL and TEFL. Aspiring ESL teachers are often confused about which certificates they should choose. They may even wonder whether they need all three of them in order to be an effective teacher.
The good news is that you definitely do not need three ESL certificates—just one should suffice. The one you should choose depends on your specific career goals. Take a look at the differences between the TESOL, TESL and TEFL to determine which one would best meet your goals.
- TEFL certificate – The TEFL acronym stands for teaching English as a foreign language. TEFL is the most widely recognized of all ESL certificates. It equips ESL teachers to work in countries where English is not a native language.
- TESL certificate – The TESL acronym stands for teaching English as a second language. It is ideal for teachers who intend to teach ELL students living in countries where English is a native language.
- TESOL certificate – The TESOL certificate is a relative newcomer to the ESL teaching subfield. It is a hybrid certificate that blends together elements of the TEFL and TESL certificate courses. This means that TESOL certificate graduates are equipped to teach ELL students in both native and non-native English-speaking countries.
In short, the primary way to determine which certificate you should earn is to consider where you would like to teach. If you would like to teach ELL students in the U.S., Australia, Canada, the U.K., or any other country where English is spoken as a native language, then you should earn the TESL. If you are thinking of living and working in a country where English is not spoken as a native tongue, then you should earn the TEFL.
The TESOL certificate provides a more flexible option for aspiring ESL teachers. If you are not quite sure where you would like to teach, the TESOL is a good choice for you. Even if you think you already know whether you would like to teach either domestically or internationally, you may still want to earn the TESOL just in case you change your mind later on.
What Are the Basic Principles of Teaching English Learners?
As previously mentioned, TESOL is both a certificate and an organization that promotes best practices in English language education. All teachers working with English learners can benefit from actively embracing these best practices and incorporating them into their professional endeavors. The six principles established by the TESOL International Association for teachers of PK-12 students are as follows:
- Make an effort to better understand your students: ESL teachers are strongly advised to develop an understanding of their students’ cultures, languages, families and educational competencies. This helps to ensure that ESL teachers can effectively engage their students in the classroom and adapt lesson plans as needed.
- Establish a classroom culture that is conducive to learning: Classroom culture is crucial, and students of all cultures and backgrounds should feel safe and comfortable.
- Focus on high-quality lessons: ESL teachers should design lessons to fit learning objectives. All lessons should strategically enable students to refine their critical thinking skills and language knowledge.
- Make adaptations as needed, guided by students’ needs: ELL students of various cultural backgrounds and language competencies may either struggle with their lessons or not be sufficiently challenged by them. It is imperative that ESL teachers continuously assess their students to determine when to adapt lessons to meet their students’ individual needs. Although the TESOL International Association does not specifically say so, lesson adaptation is particularly important for ESL teachers working with ELL students with special needs.
- Continuously assess and gather student data: Even if two students have a similar cultural background and language competencies, they will naturally learn at different paces. Continual language development assessments are needed in order to advance the learning of each student.
- ESL teachers should commit to ongoing professional development: Long after an ESL teacher earns their TESOL or other certificate, they must continue to engage and collaborate in their community of teachers, and to look for ways of improving their practices.
Do ESL Teachers Need to Be Bilingual?
Many qualified teachers hesitate to undertake a TESOL certificate program because they are not bilingual, or they aren’t confident in their second language proficiency. You should know that it is not necessary to be bilingual in order to become an ESL teacher.
This is because the most efficient way of learning a second language is via the immersion method. In the full immersion method, the teacher speaks only in the language that the students are learning. The teacher also requires the students to speak in that language. How exactly does this work?
Quite simply, it is because the more exposure a student has to a language, the better the student is able to learn it. Full immersion teachers rely on other communication aids to improve understanding. For example, a teacher who is discussing vocabulary for food items might use a colorful chart that displays pictures of various foods. Hand gestures can indicate which food item the teacher is discussing at any given time.
Similarly, a teacher might point to a student’s red shoes to explain that “red shoes” is the same as “souliers rouge.” Then, the teacher might point to another student’s red backpack and say “red backpack” so the students understand that “red” means the same thing as “rouge.”
Essentially, the full immersion method is a bit like learning how to ride a bike without first using training wheels. It may seem overwhelming at first, but it is a very effective way to accelerate student progress.
Although the full immersion method means that ESL teachers do not need to be bilingual, it is still helpful for these professionals to learn another language. Even if the teacher communicates with students only in English, the process of learning another language will provide the teacher with keen insights about the learning process and how best to assist students. Additionally, if you intend on teaching English in a country where English is not spoken as a native language, learning the native tongue will enable you to more easily live and work in that country.
