TESOL stands for Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, TEFL for Teaching English as a Foreign Language and TESL for Teaching English as a Second Language.
TEFL is mostly used in the UK and has traditionally been applied to the teaching of English to people for whom English is a foreign language and who will use English largely for short-term study, work or leisure purposes. TESL has traditionally been applied to the teaching of English to people for whom English is a second language in their home country, or people who are settling in an English-speaking country.
TESOL is an umbrella term that now usually incorporates the other two acronyms.
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