The TEFL Times

By Ron Edwards

So you believe you have what it takes to be one of the many English language teachers around? You should know that English language teachers are not all of one type – there are differences between English language teachers (just like in other occupations).

Types of English language teachers

1. EFL – EFL teachers are English language teachers who teach English as a Foreign Language.

2. ESL – Teachers under this category teach English as a Second Language.

3. ESOL – ESOL teachers teach English for Speakers of Other Languages

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As you may have observed, these three types of teachers have one thing in common: they are all concerned with helping people trained in other languages (usually their mother tongue) become educated in English. This field of teaching may also be known by other acronyms (and terms) namely:

1. TESL – Teaching of English as a Second Language.

2. TEFL – Teaching of English as a Foreign Language.

3. ELT – English language teaching.

4. TESOL – Teaching of English for Speakers of Other Languages.

You can see that the first three types of English language teachers are just called by the other 4 names and acronyms – but their function is the same: to teach the English language to people who have a mother tongue different from English. The field populated by English language teachers has grown in so many ways. For one thing, English language teachers may choose to get international accreditation to boost their credentials – particularly if they are planning to migrate to another country. One country that officially demands this, for instance, is Australia which requires potential English language teachers to present the results of their TOEFL exams (yet another acronym to describe English language teachers – it stands for Teaching of English as a Foreign Language.) At present, there are two umbrella terms to subdivide the field of English language teachers. For those English language teachers concentrating on American English, they rely on the TESOL system. English language teachers who are well versed in British English opt for the ELT system. Countries which used to be territories of the US (such as the Philippines) generally use American English, while countries that may have been under the British in the past (like India) will usually use British English. An English teacher should be aware of the traits of the English language so that he or she may be better at teaching it.

1. The phonemes of vowels

2. The phonemes of consonants

3. The structure of syllables

4. Vowels which are not stressed

5. The timing of stress

6. Connected speech.

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In grammar, the points to take note of are:

1. Articles.

2. Tenses

3. Modal verbs

4. Functions of auxiliaries

5. Idiomatic usage

In vocabulary, a teacher should be honed in:

1. Word derivation

2. Phrasal verbs

3. Size of lexicon.

Some teachers specialize in either written or spoken English. By being aware of all this concerning the English language, one may become a more effective teacher.

About the Author

The author runs an online portal to english language jobs. Check out this website to find out more about english language teachers, and worldwide employer contact information.