Qualifications for specialist English language teachers to adults have been available since the 1960s. The type and names of the qualifications have changed over time (see below).
Where would I have studied?
Specialist TESOL qualifications are taken in further education colleges, universities and private language schools, in the UK and abroad. They can also be taken as a distance learning course.
How would I have been assessed?
Assessment is varied according to which qualification and which awarding body.
What result would I have achieved?
Teaching qualifications are usually now named Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages (TESOL) however various acronyms have been used in the past. These include:
EAL English as an Additional Language
EAL English as an Alternative Language
EAP English for Academic Purposes
EFL English as a Foreign Language
ELT English Language Teaching
ESL English as a Second Language
ESOL English as a Second or Other Language
ESOL English for Speakers of Other Languages
ESP English for Specific Purposes.
Titles have changed over time; all the qualifications listed below may be used as evidence of personal skills in literacy.
RSA Certificate in TESFL (Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language) 1966 until 1982. It was then recognised as a diploma level qualification and became the RSA/Cambridge Diploma in TEFLA
RSA Preparatory Certificate in TEFL 1978-1988
RSA/Cambridge Certificate in TEFLA from 1988 – 1996
Cambridge/RSA CELTA
Licentiate Diploma in TESOL (LTCL) 1981 updated in 2001
Diploma in the Teaching of English across the Curriculum in Multilingual Schools
RSA Diploma in the Teaching of English as a Second Language in Further, Adult and Continuing Education (Dip TESL FACE) from 1975
Certificate TEAI (Certificate in Teaching English to Adult Immigrants) 1983
Cambridge ESOL Level 4 Certificate in FE Teaching Stage 2 (TESOL).
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Specialist TESOL qualifications
When were they available?
Qualifications for specialist English language teachers to adults have been available since the 1960s. The type and names of the qualifications have changed over time (see below).
Where would I have studied?
Specialist TESOL qualifications are taken in further education colleges, universities and private language schools, in the UK and abroad. They can also be taken as a distance learning course.
How would I have been assessed?
Assessment is varied according to which qualification and which awarding body.
What result would I have achieved?
Teaching qualifications are usually now named Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages (TESOL) however various acronyms have been used in the past. These include:
Titles have changed over time; all the qualifications listed below may be used as evidence of personal skills in literacy.