What is TESOL?

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) is an interdisciplinary professional field for teachers of the English language. The acronym TESOL is a catch-all term that originated in the 1960s United States to describe the English language teaching profession, including English as a second language (ESL) and English as a foreign language (EFL), among other distinctions.

In North America, TESOL was also the name of a professional organization (TESOL, which became TESOL, Inc., and TESOL: International Association) that was established in 1965 to facilitate the professionalization of English language teachers and the development of shared knowledge base.