If you are new to the field of teaching English, you will run across many acronyms. We hope the following will clear up some of them for you�
ABE |
Adults Basic Education (Canadian version of GED) |
| ACT | The ACT is America's most widely accepted college entrance exam. It assesses high school students' general educational development and their ability to complete college-level work. The multiple-choice tests cover four skill areas: English, mathematics, reading, and science. The Writing Test, which is optional, measures skill in planning and writing a short essay. |
CAI |
Computer-Aided Instruction (like CALL but not necessarily for teaching the English language) |
CALL |
Computer-Assisted Language Learning (using computers to teach English) |
CELTA |
Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (Cambridge) |
COTE |
Certificate for Overseas Teachers of English (British course for non-native English teachers) |
EAL |
English as an Additional Language (where people already know two or more - such as in Europe) |
ECE |
Early Childhood Education |
EFL |
English as a Foreign Language (People have usually had little or no exposure to English. More a European term. |
ERIC |
Educational Resource Information Center in the USA (great online resource for teachers) |
ESL |
English as a Second Language (People have usually had some exposure to English) |
ESOL |
English for Speakers of Other Languages (usually interchangeable with ESL/EFL) |
ESP |
English for Special Purposes (English for New Immigrants/Survival English, Academic English, Business English, English for Accounting and Finance, Legal English, Medical English, Technical English, English for Tourism and Hospitality) |
GED |
General Education Diploma (High School diploma for mature students primarily in the USA) |
K-12 |
Kindergarten through Grade 12 |
| P/SAT | PSAT/NMSQT stands for Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. It's a standardized test that provides firsthand practice for the SAT Reasoning Test�. |
RSA |
Royal Society of Arts. Cambridge University took over administration of their RSA course and renamed it CELTA. |
| SAT | Scholastic Aptitude Test. US Colleges use this as an entrance test. It tests English language skills, reasoning and math problem solving. |
TEFL |
Teaching English as a Foreign Language |
TEFLA |
Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults |
TESL |
Teaching English as a Second Language |
TESOL |
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (usually interchangeable with ESL/EFL) |
TESP |
Teaching English for Special Purposes |
TEYL |
Teaching English to Young Learners (combines ECE and ESL) |
TOEFL |
Test of English as a Foreign Language (Used for university entrance for foreign students primarily in North America) |
TOEIC |
Test of English in International Communications (used by companies primarily to test the English of new employees) |
WALL |
Web-Assisted Language Learning (using the Internet to teach English) |