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High school english teacher skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Yasmine Beale-Rivaya Ph.D.,

Adam Ellwanger Ph.D.

High school english teacher example skills

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical high school english teacher skills. We ranked the top skills for high school english teachers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 13.2% of high school english teacher resumes contained classroom management as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a high school english teacher needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 high school english teacher skills for your resume and career

1. Classroom Management

Here's how high school english teachers use classroom management:

Used classroom management techniques to foster peer interaction among students in defined learning situations.
Instituted positive classroom management strategies and disciplinary programs that effectively controlled challenging behavior issues

2. 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 high school english teachers use professional development:

Provided professional development for colleagues around performance-based assessment, using technology to facilitate student collaboration, and best instructional practices.
Stay abreast of research based instructional strategies by attending professional development sessions and reading professional educational research.

3. Curriculum Development

Here's how high school english teachers use curriculum development:

Served on curriculum development team.
Served as a high school English instructor and coordinated curriculum development that met state standards and student performance improvement processes.

4. Language

Here's how high school english teachers use language:

Fostered critical thinking and reasoning with language in a class setting designed to stimulate individual expression and creativity.
Promoted internationalization in Japanese communities by improving foreign language education and developing international exchange at the community level.

5. Student Learning

Here's how high school english teachers use student learning:

Designed and produced series of multimedia presentations; enriched student learning experience and contributed to retention of at-risk middle school population.
Implemented family contract to eliminate truancy trends and enhance student learning by parent/guardian involvement.

6. Language Arts

Language art refers to the ability to master a language.

Here's how high school english teachers use language arts:

Teach a variety of English/Language Arts courses to high school students in an online environment.
Chaired the English-Language Arts Department 7-12th grades.

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7. Learning Environment

Here's how high school english teachers use learning environment:

Consulted with inclusion instructor to develop differential lessons and to accommodate individual educational plan requirements and to enhance learning environment.
Provide a learning environment that is student-centered and aligned with CEP academic goals and educational objectives.

8. English Language

Here's how high school english teachers use english language:

Supported academic language acquisition of English Language Learners and helped cultivate their basic interpersonal communication skills.
Created differentiated lesson plans for English Language Learners and multicultural students.

9. Grammar

Grammar is the system or rules of the structure of a language. The set of grammar rules helps us decide the order or arrangement of words to form a sentence forming a grammatically correct sentence. Grammar denotes the study of how a sentence of a language is constructed, its morphology, and syntax. It is also the knowledge prescribed in speaking or writing in a given language using the permissible set of constructions and avoiding those that are not permissible. This also includes the proper use of punctuation marks within a sentence.

Here's how high school english teachers use grammar:

Planned and prepared daily lesson plans and materials on literature, grammar and vocabulary development.
Modeled standard and nonstandard grammar comparatively for practical exercises.

10. American Literature

Here's how high school english teachers use american literature:

Researched, organized and implemented curriculum and class discussions on classic and present-day American literature.
Developed core curriculum for new courses in American Literature, Contemporary Literature, and Exposition.

11. Student Achievement

Here's how high school english teachers use student achievement:

Led over 150 students to achieve 88% proficiency in student achievement, 20% above the district's average.
Adhere to Florida state standard, benchmark, and school objectives to maintain student achievement and learning goals.

12. Student Performance

Here's how high school english teachers use student performance:

Adapted and modified student tasks focused on actively achieving significant increases in student performance on all wide-ranging testing.
Participated in many teaching seminars focused on improving student performance for lower and higher performing students.

13. State Standards

State Standards refer to the educational standards within each state. These standards are set by the Department of Education of each state and outline what students must learn within each grade and subject. The teachers' training and standardized testing is also based on what the standards outline.

Here's how high school english teachers use state standards:

Organize focused and challenging lesson plans aligned with the common core state standards designed to meet the needs of all students.
Designed and implemented lesson plans and assessments to align learning to North Carolina State Learning Standards and Common Core State Standards.

14. Learning Process

Here's how high school english teachers use learning process:

Communicated information on student progress to families and leadership teams and collaborated with them to meet goals and support learning processes.
Coached 50+ students to identify barriers to the learning process and aided them in developing creative solutions to their challenges.

15. 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 high school english teachers use public schools:

Continue to involve Native American teens in teaching projects in D.C. public schools and at Green Acres School.
Adapted the Pittsburgh Public Schools Curriculum to meet the needs of at risk students.

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What skills help High School English Teachers find jobs?

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

What skills stand out on high school english teacher resumes?

Dr. Yasmine Beale-Rivaya Ph.D.

Professor of Spanish Linguistics, Texas State University

Job candidates whose resumes indicate advanced foreign language skills and international sophistication generally receive greater consideration from potential employers.

The skills that I think will be the most important are demonstrating that one has the ability to respond to customers in a way that resonates personally with them. In terms of language, that means being able to communicate with customers in their language, and especially, in their dialect. It won’t be enough to just be able to speak the language. Employees will need those unquantifiable skills and a deep knowledgebase that only comes through a sustained and broad knowledge of the culture and literature. This level of cultural sophistication is in demand across various professional ﬁelds, such as journalism, international relations, translation, interpretation, publishing, higher education, global business, health care, and customer service.

I believe employers are going to look for employees who can produce professional material in the target language at a high skill level and also produce material that is targeted to their different customer markets. Content will need to be creative and reference all those items that form part of a person’s cultural memory and traditions. Thus, companies will not be able to rely on auto-translations.

Among our language offerings at Texas State are Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, Russian, and Portuguese, which are all designated as Critical Languages by the U.S. Department of State. Academic programs that enable students to acquire foreign language skills while acquiring intercultural competency in critical languages help prepare them to meet the specific demand for specialists in global communications and international affairs.

Advanced language study in the form of minors or second majors complements the skills of graduates in other academic majors such as International Relations, International Studies, History, Political Science, Psychology, English, Anthropology, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Economics, Mass Communication, Communication Studies, Journalism and Mass Communication, Criminal Justice, and Computer Science, providing students the opportunity to enhance their professional career opportunities.

What soft skills should all high school english teachers possess?

Adam Ellwanger Ph.D.

Professor of English, University of Houston - Downtown

It is also important that you speak well -- that you are a good conversationalist. People in education want to hire people who will be collegial co-workers and have a dynamic classroom presence.

What hard/technical skills are most important for high school english teachers?

Adam Ellwanger Ph.D.

Professor of English, University of Houston - Downtown

Writing, Editing, Teaching, Reading.

What high school english teacher skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Suzanne Tiemann

Professor, Park University

I think that learning is on a continuum. By advancing their degrees and graduate credit, teachers can move up the district’s salary schedule while continuing to perfect their craft.

What type of skills will young high school english teachers need?

Kimberly Lewinski Ph.D.

Associate Professor, La Salle University

My hope is that so many people have gotten a glimpse into the life of a teacher this past year and all the hard work that goes into educating children of all levels. It would be wonderful if teachers begin to gain the respect they deserve now that others could see firsthand it's not as easy as it looks. I always said the problem with recognizing the hard work that goes into teaching is that good teachers make it look undemanding and flawless, straight up easy. People can't see the hours of planning and preparation that are required to make those lessons look so effortless.

What technical skills for a high school english teacher stand out to employers?

Dr. Keith Folse Ph.D.

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?

List of high school english teacher skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a high school english teacher resume and required skills for a high school english teacher to have include:

Classroom Management
Professional Development
Curriculum Development
Language
Student Learning
Language Arts
Learning Environment
English Language
Grammar
American Literature
Student Achievement
Student Performance
State Standards
Learning Process
Public Schools
Classroom Environment
Instructional Strategies

Blended Learning
Instructional Materials
IEP
ESL
Course Content
Student Data
Social Justice
Drama
Assessment Tools
Test Scores
Fine Arts
Student Engagement
Child Left Behind
Social Studies
Parent-Teacher Conferences
IV
Poetry

Freshmen
III
Learning Styles
IB
Public Speaking
School Administration
British Literature
PowerPoint
Reading Comprehension
Syllabus
Course Materials
Homework Assignments
Progress Monitoring
Tenth Grade
School Management

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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