TEFL

TEFL stands for Teaching English as a Foreign Language. This acronym is commonly used in Europe, particularly in the UK and Ireland.

It means teaching English to people who need English for business or for pleasure or for an exam. They most likely live in their own country and do not need English to converse with their neighbours or at their place of work or their school.

Compare this to TESL - Teaching English as a Second Language - which is more common in America and Asia.

Often these days TESL, TEFL and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) are used to mean the same thing: teaching English to people whose first language is not English. In many cases, these terms are used interchangeably.

In general to teach English you'll need a degree (although there are still possibilities if you do not have this) and a TEFL certificate to get a visa and work.