How To Become An English Teaching Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is an english teaching assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Derek Pacheco Ph.D.,

Karen Chandler Ph.D.

An English teaching assistant is an educational professional who supports English teachers and their students. They help to prepare teaching materials, coordinate with teachers, assist students with particular topics, take attendance, and help to ensure a safe and calm learning environment. An English teaching assistant also assists with lectures and assignments and may assist the primary instructor with grading tests and papers and tutoring students in various English topics.

An English teaching assistant is typically a student enrolled in a teaching certification program or holds an associate's or a bachelor's degree in English. These individuals work as assistants to gain teaching experience, and mentorship in the instruction of English students and should possess strong communication, organizational, instructional, and interpersonal skills. These professionals should enjoy teaching and be comfortable working with a variety of students.

If you would like to pursue a career as a teacher and need to gain experience In teaching English, a position as an English Teaching Assistant can be a very rewarding one. Most English Teaching Assistants can make up to $56,000 per year, and the career field is expected to grow 4% by 2028.

What general advice would you give to an english teaching assistant?

Derek Pacheco Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies in English, Purdue University

When talking about job prospects for English majors, I always recommend George Anders' You Can Do Anything (2017). In it, he argues that there are enormous possibilities for humanities and liberal arts graduates in "tech-adjacent" careers-not Big Tech or Silicon Valley per se, but a wide swath of industries (that is to say most of them) transformed by the major digital innovations of the last couple of decades, especially as the cost of technological literacy has come down and the need for human-centered skills has gone up. So, even in a world where STEM and engineers seem to reign, the biggest opportunities tend to be in careers that emphasize time-honored skills like curiosity, creativity, clear writing, deep reading, empathy, racial and cultural sensitivities, and collaboration. A long perspective, the ability to understand and learn from the past as well as to anticipate trends in the future, is also helpful. The great thing about studying English is that these essential career skills are embedded in the activities our students love to do: reading great books, learning about different cultures, times, and places, and crafting persuasive, emotionally-affecting arguments or stories.

ScoreEnglish Teaching AssistantUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,036

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.5

Growth rate 4%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

9.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.44%

Asian 8.75%

Black or African American 9.23%

Hispanic or Latino 17.35%

Unknown 4.74%

White 58.49%

Gender

female 67.52%

male 32.48%

Age - 45

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 45

Stress level

4.5

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

3.7

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an english teaching assistant

Explore english teaching assistant education requirements

Most common english teaching assistant degrees

Bachelor's

81.2 %

Master's

10.9 %

Associate

3.1 %

Start to develop specific english teaching assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Kids	33.14%
ESL	18.67%
English-Language	17.56%
English Language	17.56%
Language Learning	11.30%

Research english teaching assistant duties and responsibilities

Prepare and lead classrooms and activities in English to ESL secondary students, improving communication skills.
Develop expanded communication and teaching skills on explaining the human anatomy and its functions to achieve student understanding and patient education.
Design original course materials, assignments, and content for freshman writing classes.
Collaborate with Fulbright teachers to create presentations & lesson plans

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