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Language instructor vs student teacher

The differences between language instructors and student teachers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a student teacher has an average salary of $59,035, which is higher than the $57,946 average annual salary of a language instructor.

The top three skills for a language instructor include kids, classroom management and grammar. The most important skills for a student teacher are classroom management, math, and language arts.

Language instructor vs student teacher overview

Language InstructorStudent Teacher
Yearly salary$57,946$59,035
Hourly rate$27.86$28.38
Growth rate12%4%
Number of jobs45,06279,071
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age4642
Years of experience2-

What does a language instructor do?

A language instructor is responsible for teaching the students to master a specific language, both written and oral instructions, as well as its structure, development, and history. Language instructors prepare engaging lesson plans and educational materials for the students' easy comprehension. They evaluate the students' progress by conducting assessments, identifying areas of improvement, and adjusting teaching strategies to address those difficulties. A language instructor must have extensive knowledge of their language expertise, responding to the students' inquiries and concerns accurately.

What does a student teacher do?

A student-teacher is responsible for assisting their supervising instructors in maintaining the class orderliness during lectures and class activities. Student teachers' duties include helping with lesson plans, organizing learning activities, managing student behaviors, observing classroom procedures, preparing visual materials and other educational equipment, providing feedback for students, and keeping students' records for evaluation. A student-teacher must maintain excellent communication and decision-making skills to set goals and make consistent progress to the class while keeping students engaged.

Language instructor vs student teacher salary

Language instructors and student teachers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Language InstructorStudent Teacher
Average salary$57,946$59,035
Salary rangeBetween $40,000 And $82,000Between $46,000 And $74,000
Highest paying CityMonterey, CABoston, MA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaMaryland
Best paying companyKern Community College DistrictGreat Hearts Academies
Best paying industryGovernmentEducation

Differences between language instructor and student teacher education

There are a few differences between a language instructor and a student teacher in terms of educational background:

Language InstructorStudent Teacher
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common majorEnglishElementary Education
Most common collegeHarvard UniversityNorthwestern University

Language instructor vs student teacher demographics

Here are the differences between language instructors' and student teachers' demographics:

Language InstructorStudent Teacher
Average age4642
Gender ratioMale, 44.2% Female, 55.8%Male, 26.4% Female, 73.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 15.2% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 3.7% White, 69.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage16%9%

Differences between language instructor and student teacher duties and responsibilities

Language instructor example responsibilities.

  • Supervise and manage class; facilitate and teach conversational Tagalog including cultural aspects.
  • Distribute marketing materials to community organizations and businesses and lead community outreach strategy on behalf of ESOL department regarding various programs/schedules/opportunities.
  • Develop and implement communicative, task-base, learner-centered Tagalog language learning activities.
  • Design and teach ESOL classes to Hispanic senior citizens of mix language ability.
  • Identify and utilize effective methods to teach grammar, conversation skills and vocabulary to non-native speakers.
  • Design quizzes and exams including listening comprehension, grammar and vocabulary manipulation, and composition/ dialogue creation.
  • Show more

Student teacher example responsibilities.

  • Manage RTI reading groups using both basal materials and literature-base novel units.
  • Lead debates with advance students on topics including globalization, economics, and political history.
  • Develop lessons that integrate technology into mathematics and language arts for various grade-levels.
  • Enhance student engagement for learning math and science through maintaining collaborative learning classroom environment.
  • Used responsive classroom strategies for Pre-K and first grade.
  • Attend workshops on how to access and create IEPS and bill for services.
  • Show more

Language instructor vs student teacher skills

Common language instructor skills
  • Kids, 11%
  • Classroom Management, 9%
  • Grammar, 7%
  • Course Content, 5%
  • Group Classes, 5%
  • Foreign Language, 5%
Common student teacher skills
  • Classroom Management, 20%
  • Math, 13%
  • Language Arts, 8%
  • Social Studies, 6%
  • Kindergarten, 5%
  • IEP, 4%

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