Alphabet Soup: Making Sense of ESL’s Menu of Acronyms and Initialisms

By David Shaffer

Recently, I was reading an article on English language  teaching,  and  an  initialism popped up at me that I didn’t immediately recognize: SDGs. Though not specific to the teaching profession, “SDGs” are much talked about in our field. This led me to think that if retrieval of acronyms and initialisms such as SDG are not always immediate for me, with my decades of association with such alphabet soup, the stew just might be overwhelming to the educator new to English teaching. Hence, the birth of this article.

First, however, an explanation of the difference between the terms acronym and initialism may be in order. These are both capital-letter abbreviations, but an acronym, in its strict sense, is a capital-letter abbreviation that is pronounced like a word (e.g., “UNESCO” and “NASA”). On the other hand, each letter of an initialism is pronounced separately (e.g., U-S-A for “USA” and D-M-Z for “DMZ”). So, “SDG” is an initialism (standing for “sustainable development goal) rather than an acronym.

ELT

The English language teaching field cherishes its capital-letter jargon as much as any, if not more so than many alphabet-soup lovers. Let’s begin our discussion with the initialism found in the title above. “ELT” stands for “English language teaching,” but contrary to what one may readily assume, it does not refer to all English teaching: It is limited to teaching English to learners whose mother tongue is something other than English. The teaching of English to native English speakers, such as that which my secondary school English teachers labored to teach me, is referred to as “English language arts” or sometimes just “English teaching.”

ESL & EFL

Not all ELT, however, is the same. The field is often subcategorized into ESL (English as a second language) and EFL (English as a foreign language) – the difference residing in the terms “second language” and “foreign language.” When the language learning context is such that the learner is learning English is an English-speaking community, they are learning English as a second language. (Here “community” can referto any societal group from a small village to a large country.) If the language learning context, however, is one where English is not the language of the community in which the learner is living and learning, they are learning English as a foreign language. For example, if a Korean is livingand working in western Canada, and learning English there, they are an ESL student. However, for a Korean learning English in Korea – a non-English-speaking community – they are an EFL student. To muddy the waters, I will mention that this dichotomy is not always adhered to. In North America, “ESL” is often used to refer to both ESL and EFL.

“The English language teaching field cherishes its capital-letter jargon.”

EAL & ESOL

And then there is “EAL,” a term that is in use mainly in English-speaking countries. Its emergence most likely arose from the use of “second language” in “ESL,” where it actually refers to any language other than the learner’s first language (i.e., mother tongue). “EAL” removes the ambiguity of the use of “second language” by standing for “English as an additional language.” It is a cover term that includes both ESL and EFL. And then, too, there’s “ESOL” (English for speakers of other languages). ESOL is basically the same as EAL, except that it is most commonly used to refer to adult learners of English who are living, working, and learning English in an English-speaking country. It is most used in the UK, Ireland, and Australia.

TESOL, TESOL, & TESOL

“TESOL” stands for “teaching English to speakers of other languages.” It refers to the professional activity of teaching English to non-native English speakers either in English-speaking countries or elsewhere, and it presupposes the requirement of specialized training. “TESOL” is also used to refer to courses that are available for training in ELT as well as to course certificates in ELT training (e.g., “TESOL course,” “TESOL certificate.” “TESOL” also stands for “teachers of English to speakers of other languages.” It is the name of the largest ELT association in the world – TESOL International Association – based in North America. You will find it in the names of other ELT associations worldwide (e.g., CATESOL – California TESOL; KOTESOL – Korea TESOL; ThaiTESOL – Thailand TESOL). So, “TESOL” is a profession, it is a training course, and it is an association’s name.

TESL, TEFL, & TEAL

Since we have already discussed the differences between ESL, EFL, and EAL, explaining TESL, TEFL, and TEAL becomes simpler. The former three are learning contexts; the latter three focus on teaching English in the corresponding contexts: “TESL” is “teaching English as a second language,” “TEFL” is teaching English as a foreign language,” and “TEAL” is “teaching English as an additional language.” The use of the terms and the scope of their meanings correspond to those of ESL, EFL, and EAL, respectively. Pronunciation of the acronyms “TESOL” and “TESL” may prove confusing for some. “TESOL” is commonly pronounced “tee-sǝl,” as in diesel, while “TESL” is pronounced “teh-sǝl,” as in vessel.

More Alphabet Soup

Here we have barely scratched the surface of the store of acronyms and initialisms that permeate the discourse on English language teaching. There is a plethora of capital-letter terms for learners and educators, teaching approaches, and specialized teaching contexts. We will partake of these in another serving of alphabet soup at a later picnic.