**** ETNI on the web http://www.etni.org.il http://www.etni.org **** ----- Original Message ----- From: "Christina Shmuely" <shmuely@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <ask@xxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, October 03, 2003 3:30 PM Subject: RE Differences between TESOL, TESL, TEFL Thought I'd respond to Ahmed's question: TESOL = Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages TESL - Teaching English as a Second Language TEFL - Teaching English as a Foreign Language What's the main difference between English as Second Language and English as Foreign Language? If you're teaching English to immigrants in the USA or Britain, then that would be considered a second language, as the students are immersed in English -- being that they live in a country where English is the language spoken. In Israel, for ex., for most students English is a foreign language -- it's not spoken here and it is not assumed that students are exposed to it regularly (even though, in fact, through music, television, etc. they kind of are), hence TEFL. That's essentially the difference. Hope this helps. Regards, Christina Shmuely Tel-Aviv ##### To send a message to the ETNI list email: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ##### ##### Send queries and questions to: ask@xxxxxxxx #####