Glossary of Terms
| Term | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ACTDEC | Accreditation Council for TESOL Distance Education Courses. | |
| BE | British English. | |
| Curriculum | Course of study, embracing all subjects, at an educational institution, or within a national education system. | |
| DoS | Director of Studies. | |
| EAP | English for Academic Purposes. | |
| ECP | English for Commercial Purposes. | |
| EFL | English as a Foreign Language. | |
| EGP | English for General Purposes. | |
| EIP | English for Industrial Purposes. | |
| ELT | English Language Teaching. | |
| EOP | English for Occupational Purposes. | |
| EPP | English for Professional Purposes. | |
| ESL | English as a Second Language. | |
| ESOL | English for Speakers of Other Languages. | |
| ESP | English for Specific Purposes. | Also English for Social Purposes |
| EST | English for Science and Technology. | |
| Grammar | The science of the structure of a language and the rules and principles of its generally accepted use. | |
| HonFCOT | Honorary Fellow of the College of Teachers. | |
| HonFTCL | Honorary Fellow of Trinity College London. | |
| IELTS | International English Language Testing System. | |
| IPA | The International Phonetic Alphabet. | |
| LTCL | Licentiate Diploma in TESOL. | Precursor to DELTA. |
| Methodology | The system used for the communication of teaching points from teacher to learner(s). | |
| Morphology | The study of grammatical changes in the forms of a word; e.g. boy, boys; boy's, boys'; sure, ensure. | |
| NBES | Non-British English Speaker. | |
| NQF | National Qualifications Framework. | UK system used to identify the level of an academic qualification. |
| OBE | Order of the British Empire. | |
| OON | Order of Orange-Nassau. | Dutch award, similar to the British OBE. |
| Pedagogy | The science/art of teaching. | |
| PGCE | Postgraduate Certificate in Education. | |
| Phonetics | The science, study, analysis and classification of the physical properties of sounds, including the study of their production, transmmission and perception. | |
| Phonology | The study of sounds, intonation, rhythm, stress and pauses in the language. | Includes the study of phonetics & phonemics. |
| QCDA | Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency. | Formerly QCA. |
| Receptive Skills | Listening and reading. | |
| RP | Received Pronunciation. The English used by educated native speakers in south-east England. | |
| RSA | Royal Society of Arts. | |
| Semantic | Referring to meaning. | |
| TEAL | Teaching English as an Additional Language. | |
| TEIL | Teaching English as an International Language. | |
| TEFL | Teaching English as a Foreign Language. | Outdated term still popular in the UK. |
| TESL | Teaching English as a Second Language. | |
| TESOL | Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. | Umbrella acronym for related terms. |
