“America's public schools are on the cusp of a new demographic era. This fall, for the first time, the overall number of Latino, African-American, and Asian students in public K-12 classrooms is expected to surpass the number of non-Hispanic whites” (Lesli A. Maxwell, 2014). The new combined majority of minority students, anticipated to be 50.3 percent by the National Center for Education Statistics, is compelled largely by dramatic growth in the Latino population and a waning in the white population, and, to a lesser degree, by a steady rise in the number of Asian-Americans. African-American growth has been mostly even.
The new combined majority of minority students, anticipated to be 50.3 percent by the National Center for Education Statistics, is compelled largely by dramatic growth in the Latino population and a waning in the white population, and, to a lesser degree, by a steady rise in the number of Asian-Americans. African-American growth has been mostly even.
Although I am of Hispanic and American Native heritage, I do believe that learning English is a must for any student in any school within the United States of America. I also believe that for many students the ESL programs are a must in order for them to integrate themselves into mainstream America. That being said, the need for ESL teachers has been on the uprising since the 1980’s and there is no end to the need to train new teachers in L2 languages, not only Spanish but also many other languages so that every student has a fair chance to become proud citizens of this beautiful country we call home.
That being said, the need for ESL teachers has been on the uprising since the 1980’s and there is no end to the need to train new teachers in L2 languages, not only Spanish but also many other languages so that every student has a fair chance to become proud citizens of this beautiful country we call home.
On the other hand, EFL teachers, whether native or non-native English speakers, face other challenges not faced by the teachers within the United States. Teaching English as a foreign language (TESOL) Presents its own challenges.
Many individuals are learning English abroad as part of their higher education. However, many institutions are teaching American English because American English has become the business, technical, professional, and scientific language of the world.
Although both, ESL and EFL have many similarities, they also have many differences, can you name a couple of differences?
References:
Lesli A. Maxwell, 2014. “U.S. School Enrollment Hits Majority-Minority Milestone”. Retrieved from: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/08/20/01demographics.h34.html
Hi
Both of them are related to foreign learners but in ESL case the learners supposed to be supported from the community foundations who speak the same target language so their language supposed to be better than EFL learners who is community foundations speak their native language. So, it is a matter of motivation and support as I think.
Liqaa
Hello Guillermo Rivera,
You have nicely portrayed the demarcation line between EFL and ESL teachers. Although both seem to be involved in the same activity, they are different in one distinct way. Notably, they need to have different lesson plans, approaches and themes.The reason is that an English language learner studying ESL may have more immediate English needs largely because they are not concerned with learning grammar rules in the first place; all they need is to acquire the basic survival skills allowing them to satisfy their immediate needs. By contrast, the learners studying EFL do not worry about learning communicative aspects of English as quickly as possible because they are living in a language environment where they do not need to speak the language and they are able to cope with the necessities of daily life easily. On this basis, it can be stated that EFL and ESL teachers or tutors will have to consider the ecofactors dominating language teaching as well as the needs of the learners for preparing lessons for English language learners.
Best regards,
R. Biria
Hi, Guillermo Rivera
Your way of showing the difference between EFL and ESL seems sounds. Here is my way of looking at the differences:
1-Teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) typically take place in a foreign country, usually with students from the same country. In contrast, English as a Second Language (ESL) classes takes place in an English-speaking country, with students from all different backgrounds.
2-English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) require two different strategies for teaching for a number of reasons. Most people don’t know the difference between the two and don’t consider the difference when they set out to teach English. It’s important to know what each one is so that the different needs of the students can be met.
EFL is where the teacher teaches English to students in a country where English isn’t the native language. For example, a Chinese student learning English in China would fall under this category.
On the other hand, ESL is where English is taught to students in a country where English is the primary language. An example of this is where a Chinese student is learning English in Australia. The difference between ESL and EFL might seem little at first, but they do require very different teaching strategies to meet the aims and objectives of the students.
Regards
I am in agreement with Arwa. The aims and objectives of ESL and EFL difer as does the audience. As such, different lesson plans with different themes would be needed. Whereas EFL is taught mainly for its communicative ends, ESL could be termed more academic.
I agree with Arwa's way of showing the difference between ESL and ESL especially with the examples of country-location that she has given. Indeed strategies for planning and teaching lessons will differ for ESL and EFL.
In agreement with all comments: EFL is typically taught to students who do not have sufficient exposure to the English language while ESL is dominant in countries where English has legal entitlement and is prevalent alongside the native languages of those countries. Indeed, different lesson plans and approaches as well as pedagogy may be implemented for both.
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