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Foreign language teacher skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
Quoted experts
Michael Gradoville Ph.D.,
Diane Renée Mannone
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical foreign language teacher skills. We ranked the top skills for foreign language teachers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 14.0% of foreign language teacher resumes contained classroom management as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a foreign language teacher needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 foreign language teacher skills for your resume and career

1. Classroom Management

Here's how foreign language teachers use classroom management:
  • Maintain a strong classroom management with the ability to keep students focus on task and highly motivated.
  • Job responsibilities included classroom management, grade/attendance recording, working with educational technology, and preparing creative and academically challenging lessons.

2. Student Learning

Here's how foreign language teachers use student learning:
  • Analyzed student learning in order to administer a variety of appropriate differentiated assessments.
  • Structured lessons to increase student motivation and vary the ways to assess student learning.

3. Mandarin

Here's how foreign language teachers use mandarin:
  • Coordinated community outreach in support of continuity of Mandarin program.
  • Design and teach Mandarin Chinese I and II language classes for 7th through 12th grade students.

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 teachers use target language:
  • Monitored each student progress by maintaining their attendance and progress report in the target language daily, weekly and by weekly.
  • Create lesson plans based on student's individual learning styles and academic progress in the target language.

5. Public Schools

Public schools are available for everyone. They are funded and controlled by the government. With state guidance, each school board determines the curricula, finances, and jobs for schools within its borders. The government also decides on academic standards and standardised tests.

Here's how foreign language teachers use public schools:
  • Integrated Restorative Justice philosophy as applied in Chicago Public Schools.
  • Established positive community relationships through quarterly dance performances to raise interest in funding arts programs in public schools.

6. Professional Development

Professional development means to have the essential training certification or education with the purpose of earning and having a successful career. Every job requires a different set of skills. However, new skills may be needed in the future. Professional development, in this regard, helps people to develop and polish the skills and become efficient workers.

Here's how foreign language teachers use professional development:
  • Volunteered to attend professional development seminars, present innovative teaching strategies to colleagues.
  • Conducted a professional development seminar focused on best practices.

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7. IV

Here's how foreign language teachers use iv:
  • Developed and documented Chinese I, Chinese II, Chinese III and Chinese IV Course of Study.
  • Researched, developed and implemented innovative Spanish IV curriculum.

8. Kids

Here's how foreign language teachers use kids:
  • Acted as substitute teacher for absent teachers -Educated kids aged 6-15.
  • Worked with students off all ages and all class sizes but mainly kids from 3-13.

9. Classroom Environment

Here's how foreign language teachers use classroom environment:
  • Establish and maintain standards of pupil behavior needed to provide an orderly, productive classroom environment.
  • Utilized technology to create an engaging classroom environment for eighth grade students.

10. Learning Styles

Here's how foreign language teachers use learning styles:
  • Provided differentiated instruction for all students based on assessed learning styles.
  • Employed visual and auditory learning styles to make lessons interesting and to reach all students in the way they learn best.

11. Instructional Materials

Here's how foreign language teachers use instructional materials:
  • Coordinated preparation and development of instructional materials for school programs.
  • Experienced in creating lesson plans, maintaining marks, and delivering instructional materials.

12. III

III is often used to describe the level of a class, clearance, or experience in a tiered system. This may mean a class level such as Calculus III or Spanish III, meaning the class may refer to the classes held before; however, there may also be an Engineer III, indicating the engineer can work on more complex issues and understands a great number of engineering principles and procedures.

Here's how foreign language teachers use iii:
  • Developed, aligned and implemented curriculum for Spanish I, II and III level courses.
  • French I, II, III) & ESL Teacher

13. Language Curriculum

Here's how foreign language teachers use language curriculum:
  • Developed and correlated Spanish History with the United States History for the 8th grade Foreign Language Curriculum.
  • Planned and taught Spanish and Japanese language curriculum to Kst-6th grade students at a Waldorf-inspired, start-up charter school..

14. English Language

Here's how foreign language teachers use english language:
  • Developed students' English language skills incorporating motivational activities and positive reinforcements.
  • Developed an evaluation plan for this newly devised program in order to monitor the progress of the designated English Language Learners.

15. Student Performance

Here's how foreign language teachers use student performance:
  • Direct students to supplemental lesson content when system alerts identity poor student performance.
  • Developed and implemented daily and unit lesson plans for 6th - 12th grades, administered tests and evaluations analyzed student performance.
top-skills

What skills help Foreign Language Teachers 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 teacher 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 soft skills should all foreign language teachers possess?

Diane Renée Mannone

Associate Professor of English, East Los Angeles College

Working well with colleagues: collaborating, being a team player, involved in the department and campus, etc.

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

Diane Renée Mannone

Associate Professor of English, East Los Angeles College

Technical literacy and the ability to teach in myriad environments with diverse students.

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

Brian BaerBrian Baer LinkedIn profile

Professor of Russian and Translation Studies, Kent State University

Visit a Russian-speaking country to improve your language skills, knowledge of the culture and history, and gain some relevant work experience. There is always a need for English speakers in Russia to translate, edit translations, and teach English. But make sure, if you go, to spend a lot of time speaking and listening to Russian!

What type of skills will young foreign language teachers need?

Dr. Vanessa LazoDr. Vanessa Lazo LinkedIn profile

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 technical skills for a foreign language teacher stand out to employers?

Dr. Keith Folse Ph.D.Dr. Keith Folse Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Professor, University of Central Florida

COVID has moved many online meetings, so operating a Zoom or similar meeting flawlessly is a useful skill, one that no one valued or even knew much about just a year ago. An even more valuable skill is being able to troubleshoot problems that are likely during an online meeting. Do you have good presentation skills, and could you conduct small workshops for large companies that want to train their employees to achieve good online conferences?

The answer to this question will vary as much as the many fields and employers that exist today. What are the needs of these employers? Do large employers even know their needs? They may not, but the consumers of those employers understand what they need, so I have a little different kind of tip here.

I would recommend that students identify their targeted fields, such as education or banking, or culinary, and then find 2 or 3 Facebook groups discussing that topic now. For example, thousands of teachers in hundreds of school districts across the US are teaching online now. Some use Zoom, some use Canvas, and others use something else. I am a member of Teaching Synchronously with Zoom in Korea (500+ members) and Teaching with Canvas (70,000+ members). Ask to join these groups. Lurk. Read. Study. Know what people are unhappy about and need. This is the type of information that companies need to thrive, especially in these challenging times.
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about foreign language teacher

List of foreign language teacher skills to add to your resume

Foreign language teacher skills

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

  • Classroom Management
  • Student Learning
  • Mandarin
  • Target Language
  • Public Schools
  • Professional Development
  • IV
  • Kids
  • Classroom Environment
  • Learning Styles
  • Instructional Materials
  • III
  • Language Curriculum
  • English Language
  • Student Performance
  • K-12
  • Student Participation
  • Language
  • Instructional Strategies
  • Curriculum Development
  • Spanish Language
  • Parent-Teacher Conferences
  • Course Content
  • Learning Process
  • Elementary Schools
  • ESL
  • Cultural Backgrounds
  • ELL
  • Mathematics
  • Course Materials
  • ESOL
  • Language Acquisition
  • PowerPoint
  • Syllabus
  • Social Justice
  • Thai
  • Social Studies
  • EFL
  • Student Interest
  • Private Lessons
  • Cultural Events
  • Cultural Awareness
  • American Culture
  • Spanish Classes
  • Learning Environment

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
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.

Updated January 8, 2025

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