How to hire a foreign language teacher

How to hire a foreign language teacher, step by step

Here's a step-by-step foreign language teacher hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a foreign language teacher job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new foreign language teacher
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a foreign language teacher do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a foreign language teacher, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   A foreign language teacher's background is also an important factor in determining whether they'll be a good fit for the position. For example, foreign language teachers from different industries or fields will have radically different experiences and will bring different viewpoints to the role. You also need to consider the candidate's previous level of experience to make sure they'll be comfortable with the job's level of seniority.

   This list shows salaries for various types of foreign language teachers.

   Type of Foreign Language Teacher	Description	Hourly rate
   Foreign Language Teacher	Postsecondary teachers instruct students in a wide variety of academic and career and technical subjects beyond the high school level. They also conduct research and publish scholarly papers and books.	$18-35
   Instructor Of Spanish	A Spanish Instructor specializes in teaching the Spanish language in a classroom or one-on-one setting. Their responsibilities typically include preparing lesson plans according to the students' needs and capacity, researching and creating learning materials, facilitating discussions, conducting quizzes and examinations, organizing activities to enhance their language skills, grading the students' performances, and assisting students as necessary... Show more	$18-36
   Teacher-In-Training	A teacher-in-training is a teaching professional who offers technical teaching assistance to teachers in developing effective behavior management and instructional strategies to support student learning. The teacher must collaborate with principals while employing diverse techniques to increase the effectiveness of student learning... Show more	$11-26

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Classroom Management
   • Student Learning
   • Mandarin
   • Target Language
   • Public Schools
   • Professional Development
   • IV
   • Kids
   • Classroom Environment
   • Learning Styles
   • Instructional Materials
   • III
   • Language Curriculum
   • English Language

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Supervise and manage class; facilitate and teach conversational Tagalog including cultural aspects.
   • Work in conjunction with foreign language department in curriculum design and instructional strategies.
   • Conduct after school ESL courses for teachers.
   • Redesign curricular program to align with ACTFL performance guidelines and standards.
   • Collaborate with local administrators to create curriculum suitable for ESL students.
   • Evaluate entrance examination and place students in appropriate language level and coordinate language proficiency testing for all students.

   More foreign language teacher duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your foreign language teacher job description is one of the best ways to attract top talent. A foreign language teacher can vary based on:

   • Location. For example, foreign language teachers' average salary in oklahoma is 61% less than in new hampshire.
   • Seniority. Entry-level foreign language teachers 49% less than senior-level foreign language teachers.
   • Certifications. A foreign language teacher with certifications usually earns a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for an established firm or a new start-up company can make a big difference in a foreign language teacher's salary.

   Average foreign language teacher salary

   $53,918yearly

   $25.92 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level foreign language teacher salary

   $38,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 14, 2025

   Average foreign language teacher salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$76,152	$37
   2	New York	$74,141	$36
   3	Massachusetts	$70,968	$34
   4	District of Columbia	$65,690	$32
   5	Pennsylvania	$65,598	$32
   6	Connecticut	$56,734	$27
   7	Maryland	$56,166	$27
   8	Florida	$55,455	$27
   9	Louisiana	$53,027	$25
   10	Texas	$49,027	$24
   11	Ohio	$48,521	$23
   12	Illinois	$46,917	$23
   13	Georgia	$45,664	$22
   14	Nebraska	$45,323	$22
   15	Missouri	$44,296	$21
   16	Colorado	$39,416	$19
   17	Arkansas	$37,309	$18
   18	Oklahoma	$30,705	$15

   Average foreign language teacher salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Howard University	$99,467	$47.82
   2	Holton-Arms School	$84,372	$40.56
   3	University of California-Berkeley	$84,324	$40.54	4
   4	Tulane University	$80,217	$38.57
   5	Boston Public Schools	$79,958	$38.44	11
   6	Florida International University	$79,944	$38.43
   7	University of Southern California	$78,091	$37.54	5
   8	Dartmouth	$77,878	$37.44	2
   9	Ethical Culture Fieldston School	$77,496	$37.26
   10	Trinity Episcopal School	$77,206	$37.12
   11	Florida State University	$76,420	$36.74
   12	Princeton University	$76,401	$36.73	1
   13	California Polytechnic State University	$76,208	$36.64
   14	New York University	$75,249	$36.18
   15	Harvard University	$74,875	$36.00
   16	Brooklyn Waldorf School	$74,860	$35.99
   17	Riverdale Country School	$74,610	$35.87	2
   18	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	$74,558	$35.85
   19	Columbia University in the City of New York	$74,518	$35.83
   20	The Brearley School	$74,343	$35.74

4. Writing a foreign language teacher job description

   A good foreign language teacher job description should include a few things:

   • Summary of the role
   • List of responsibilities
   • Required skills and experience

   Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a foreign language teacher job description:

   Foreign language teacher job description example

   Who We Are:
   
   Excellence Community Schools (ECS) is a Charter Management Organization (CMO) supporting schools in the Bronx, NY and Stamford, CT. Our programs are based on a proven, nationally recognized model, which originated in our flagship school, the Bronx Charter School for Excellence, a 2012 National Blue Ribbon School.
   
   Our Mission and Vision:
   
   Our schools prepare young scholars to compete for admission to and succeed in top public, private, and parochial high schools by cultivating their intellectual, artistic, social, emotional, and ethical development. We accomplish this by offering a challenging and rigorous academic curriculum, which at the earliest of grades has an eye towards college preparation. To achieve this, our schools create a supportive and caring environment that at all times has high expectations of all students. We offer a differentiated, project-based learning environment that seeks to develop high-level analytic and critical thinking skills in all of our students. Our engaging and rigorous approach to educating our scholars is implemented by a collaborative team of teachers.
   
   Who We Need:
   
   We are seeking individuals who are dedicated, ambitious, and committed to student success and education reform. Qualified candidates must demonstrate records of achievement, high degrees of personal responsibility, and the drive to do whatever it takes to ensure that every child achieves academic success. This individual must be committed to excellence, lead by example, and see collaboration as a key component of success. MUST BE CERTIFIED TO TEACH ELEMENTARY EDUCATION IN CT.
   
   We are looking for French or Mandarin teachers for our Stamford, CT charter school who speak French or Mandarin. Candidates must have at least two years of experience teaching the French or Mandarin language in a classroom setting, preferably to Kindergarten - 5th graders. Our preference goes out to dynamic candidates who show creativity in their lesson plans and a passion for the language and its culture and traditions.
   
   Requirements
   
   2 years of teaching experience at the elementary school level preferred.
   
   CT State teaching certification required.
   
   Fluency in the French or Mandarin language required.
   
   Committed to teaching French to children required.
   
   Ability to differentiate instruction to meet the individual needs of students required.
   
   Bachelor's Degree required.
   
   Master's Degree preferred.
   
   THIS POSITION REQUIRES YOU TO BE FULLY VACCINATED AND YOU MUST PROVIDE PROOF OF VACCINATION.
   
   Note: Candidates who do not meet the above requirements will not be considered.
   
   Benefits
   
   Compensation & Benefits:
   
   Salary is commensurate with experience and qualifications.
   
   Health, dental, vision, & 403B retirement plan benefits available.
   
   Performance-based compensation for staff.
   
   To learn more about our schools, please visit or .
   
   

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are various strategies that you can use to find the right foreign language teacher for your business:

   • Consider promoting from within or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to find candidates who meet your education requirements.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to reach potential job candidates.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your foreign language teacher job on Zippia to find and recruit foreign language teacher candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites such as k12jobspot, learn4good, serious teachers, teachingjobs.com.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   During your first interview to recruit foreign language teachers, engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. During the following interview, you'll be able to go into more detail about the company, the position, and the responsibilities.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new foreign language teacher

   Once you've selected the best foreign language teacher candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's also important to follow up with applicants who do not get the job with an email letting them know that the position is filled.

   Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new foreign language teacher. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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