The Different Aspects of English Language Teaching and Learning: A Scientometric Analysis

We analyzed publications in English as a Foreign Language (EFL), English as a Second Language (ESL), Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), and Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) between 1900 and 2016 as indexed by Web of Science. We found that there were 1,839, 2,143, 44, 46, and 414 publications, respectively. Moreover, language and English were the common words in almost all the EFL, ESL, and TESOL abstracts. EFL and ESL shared study and students, while learning and learners appeared in almost all the EFL abstracts and teachers appeared in almost all the TESOL abstracts. Topics such as motivation, self-efficacy, and anxiety were significantly more frequently examined in EFL than in ESL but not in TESOL. Research related to non-English-speaking countries such as Taiwan, Iran, China, and Turkey were significantly more frequently considered in EFL than in ESL but not in TESOL. However, research on diverse populations within the same country such as immigrants, kindergarten, children, and adults was significantly more frequently conducted in ESL than in EFL.