Foreign language education involves a completely different teaching style from TESOL (Teaching English for Speakers of Other Language) or TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language). Likewise, English speakers studying a foreign language take a different approach from those who are studying English as a foreign or a second language. English-speaking students of a foreign language usually study the language as part of working toward a degree, while students of English often need it for everyday life.

Learning a Foreign Language
Students who can benefit most from TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) methods are those who are learning a foreign language in a nonacademic environment. For example, a non-English-speaking adult who has immigrated to America is probably not going to enroll in school to study English. That individual will be much more likely to learn English at his local library or community center, taught by volunteer tutors using TEFL methods rather than an ESL curriculum. He is also more likely to try experimental methods such as code-switching, where speakers switch back and forth between languages in the same sentence, or to take computer courses making use of audio-repetitive methods.

TEFL Methods
TEFL methods of Teaching English as a Foreign Language are less formal than curriculum-based programs of English as a Second Language. TEFL teachers hold certificates rather than degrees, and focus on outcomes in each lesson or class rather than long-term test results. TEFL tutoring is often done on an informal or volunteer basis, and students do not have to go through formal enrollment or placement tests in order to study English. TEFL methods focus on target language, drills and practice.

Learning a Second Language
Most students who are learning English as a Second Language are enrolled in a school or college where their studies are based on a language curriculum, including initial tests for placement and ongoing measurement of progress and competence in the new language. ESL learning is focused on an outcome such as a diploma or degree. Students learn with a certain level of proficiency in mind, proficiency which will help them to achieve goals in their work or further education. The same is true of English-speaking students who will be using their second language in work such as translating or international marketing.

Teaching ESL
Most ESL teachers have an advanced degree and approach second-language acquisition as a science, with measurable outcomes. Teaching methods usually focus on flashcards, language in context, immersion, directed practice and grammar/translation -- all task-based methods. ESL teaching discourages code-switching and auto-lingual instruction as means to an end, preferring instead a combination of approved strategies.

Computer-Assisted Language Learning
Independent language studies provide adventurous learners with opportunities to try different ways of learning a foreign or second language. Using computer-programmed hypercards to generate random sentences is one possibility for the student who wants a different challenge. Another possibility is online language courses that allow learners to move quickly through grammar, verb conjugation and the like, depending on their ability to assimilate language quickly without the benefit of formal classes or a face-to-face teacher.