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Foreign language professor skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

1 min read

Quoted experts

Michael Gradoville Ph.D.,

Lorena Cuya Gavilano Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical foreign language professor skills. We ranked the top skills for foreign language professors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 50.9% of foreign language professor resumes contained course curriculum as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a foreign language professor needs to be successful in the workplace.

8 foreign language professor skills for your resume and career

1. Course Curriculum

Here's how foreign language professors use course curriculum:

Designed and implemented a Research Method and Interdisciplinary course curriculum on basic researching.
Developed a comprehensive course curriculum and online course supplement.

2. Learning Styles

Here's how foreign language professors use learning styles:

Adapted lessons for different learning styles.
Balanced whole-group, small-group and individual instruction to accommodate different academic levels and learning styles.

3. ESL

Here's how foreign language professors use esl:

Assisted, and instructed ESL and disabled students-made, or advocated accommodations for instructional educational goals.
Conducted ESL classes with international companies, professionals and university students * Planning and implementation of school curriculum and lesson plans

4. Target Language

The target language is the language in which a text, document, or speech is translated into the final language. It is a foreign language that a non-native speaker intends to study or learn, as well as the individual elements of the language they want to learn. The target language is the opposite of the source text, which is the initial text to be translated.

Here's how foreign language professors use target language:

Identified authentic materials from copyright-permitted sources in the target language.
Prepare Foreign Service officers to be competent and confident in their target language in order to carry out their duties.

5. Course Content

Here's how foreign language professors use course content:

Developed course content for course subjects within the Humanities while maintaining communication with students consistently.
Collaborated with faculty in order to develop rigorous course content and assessments.

6. Public Speaking

Public Speaking or oration, as it is sometimes known, is the act of any one person speaking live in front of an audience. Although in the past the audience was only a physical one, nowadays oration might be done on an online video call, at a digital conference, at an online class, or elsewhere. The art of public speaking is very old, drawing its first established roots from Ancient Greece and likely from before, too. It is an important skill and asset in many industries.

Here's how foreign language professors use public speaking:

Conducted classroom instruction on Rhetorical Theory and Public Speaking for University Required Course.
Utilize collaborative communication and engage in public speaking on a daily basis.

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7. Teacher Training

Here's how foreign language professors use teacher training:

Organized teacher training seminars for English teachers from four communities.
Modeled instruction, provided teacher training, and provided diagnosis and assessment of student needs and progress.

8. Group Sessions

Here's how foreign language professors use group sessions:

Conducted full group sessions with students over the chapters of the Japanese textbook.
Tutored college students French and Italian in individual and group sessions

What skills help Foreign Language Professors find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on foreign language professor resumes?

Michael Gradoville Ph.D.

Assist Professor, Spanish, Arizona State University

I don't evaluate resumes for jobs, but this really depends on the job. Knowledge of acoustic phonetics is useful for those doing speech and hearing sciences. Lots of employers appreciate good knowledge of Excel and statistics. Knowledge of bilingualism is helpful for a variety of jobs. It all depends on the job or educational opportunity.

What hard/technical skills are most important for foreign language professors?

Lorena Cuya Gavilano Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Spanish and Latin American Cultures, Arizona State University

Hard skills for languages and cultures are somehow flexible. Instructors need to know about new pedagogies, digital humanities, educational technologies, and social media literacy. But all these requirements change very fast, so instructors should evidence knowledge of all these hard skills and the ability to adapt fast to new ones. The present pandemic had demonstrated how most instructors quickly adapted to new virtual classrooms. We ought to always be ready for any change. For this and other pedagogical reasons, adaptability is one of the most needed values in language education.

What foreign language professor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Michael Armstrong Roche

Associate Professor of Spanish, Spanish Section Head, Associate Professor, Medieval Studies, Associate Professor, Latin American Studies, Wesleyan University

Many recent graduates have discovered that they can just as well adapt to confinement and pandemic-related protocols abroad as they can stuck at home. A year abroad in a non-English speaking country can pay off disproportionately not only in fluency but also in your confidence and ability to adapt creatively to many kinds of challenges in the future. Even students who study abroad for only a semester before they graduate come back noticeably "seasoned," immeasurably more mature and independent as a result of the dozens of small and large adjustments to other ways of doing things they have had to negotiate every day while abroad. You will be more confident in your ability to handle adversity and even thrive with it if you study or work abroad for a year after graduating. (I make suggestions for recent graduates in Spanish after the next question.) Internships that involve use of other languages here in the U.S., particularly if you have not yet graduated and cannot opt for fellowships or teaching assistantships abroad, accomplish some of the same ends on a more modest scale.

What type of skills will young foreign language professors need?

Dr. Vanessa Lazo

Department Chair, Professor of Spanish, Faculty Leader of the Year 2020-2021, Austin Community College

Now more than ever, students will need adaptability, critical thinking skills, flexibility, and problem-solving skills. These skills are put into play as students learn a foreign language, regardless of the level in which they seek proficiency in any of our language courses. Beyond our department, these skills are also examined throughout the LIberal Arts curriculum. Skills that can be unique to studying a foreign language would encompass forming a worldview while comparing, contrasting, and, more importantly, connecting with cultures from around our globe.

What soft skills should all foreign language professors possess?

Annie Jouan-Westlund Ph.D.

Professor, Cleveland State University

Learning a Romance language, literature and linguistics teaches you to communicate effedtively in more than one language. It enables you to develop an open mind toward what seems foreign and consequently encourages flexibility and adaptability to new contexts and situations. Since speaking is not an isolated activitiy, foreign language graduates naturally develop strong interpersonal and communication skills necessary to become a good team player. Since they understand and appreciate other cutlures, foreign language graduates are flexible and resourceful employees who are not afraid of taking initiatives.

Do you want to know more?

List of foreign language professor skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a foreign language professor resume and required skills for a foreign language professor to have include:

Course Curriculum
Learning Styles
ESL

Target Language
Course Content
Public Speaking

Teacher Training
Group Sessions

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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Foreign Language Professor Skills

Updated January 8, 2025

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