Trinity College London announces exciting developments to its world-leading Diploma in TESOL, with refreshed assessment from April 2026

Trinity College London is proud to announce the launch of its refreshed Diploma in Teaching of English to Speakers to Other Languages (TESOL) from April 2026.

Trinity launched the world’s first Diploma in TESOL in 1968, setting the standard for vocational excellence in the Teaching of English to Speakers to Other Languages (TESOL). As our knowledge about learning and teaching has developed over the years, so has the DipTESOL, integrating changes to content and assessment to ensure it continues to meet the needs of schools, teachers and learners.

Following a two-year period of review and consultation with educational experts, including TESOL centre teams, examiners and course participants, the TESOL team have been able to refresh the assessment while maintaining the core aims of objectives of the DipTESOL. By doing so, Trinity has not only been able to keep the spirit and essence of the qualification the same, but also managed to ensure parity between new and old assessments, aligning assessment outcomes and continuing the DipTESOL’s global recognition with its highly respected Ofqual Level 7 status.

Trinity’s Head of Teacher Education and Pedagogy, Dr Ben Beaumont, notes:

“Our extended collaborative review with course providers, teacher educators, schools and teachers has enabled us to produce a refreshed set of assessments that incorporate the benefits of AI in knowledge creation and application, while maximising that which makes teaching special: human involvement that encourages curiosity, criticality and creativity.”

Ideal for English language teachers looking to progress their careers as senior teachers, teacher educators or directors of studies, the DipTESOL continues to focus on the knowledge and skills professional educators need across different learning environments, from young learner teaching to general skills development and English for academic or special purposes to classes for exam preparation. Key changes include:

• Unit 1: A change from a 3-hour handwritten exam to a remotely assessed essay and pre-assessment discussion.
• Unit 2: Linking the research portfolio elements under a unified topic, enabling a clearer focus on a teacher’s specific development needs.
• Unit 3: Enabling an applied, phonological analysis of a teacher’s own classroom language.
• Unit 4: Reducing the number of assessed observations and having a jointly observed lesson with both centre tutor and Trinity examiner.

“This launch of the refreshed DipTESOL marks another important milestone in Trinity’s long-standing mission to transform lives through authentic and innovative assessment.” said Dr Eleanor Andressen, Trinity’s Chief Academic Officer. “This will help teachers around the globe create positive classroom environments that maximise opportunities for learning.”

The full qualification specifications will be available from the end of March, with refreshed assessment live from 1 April 2026. Teachers currently studying on the DipTESOL will have the opportunity to complete their studies using the old DipTESOL assessments or switch to the refreshed assessments. For further information, teachers should liaise with their course providers.

• You can also learn about the inspiring work of Trinity-qualified teachers in our Trinity Success Stories.