Language Instructor Projected Growth In The United States
Research Summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
Salaries have increased 10% for language instructors in the last 5 years
Projected job growth for language instructors is 11% from 2018-2028
There are over 21,462 language instructors currently employed in the United States
There are 45,062 active language instructor job openings in the US based on job postings
The average salary for a language instructor is $57,946
Are Language Instructor Jobs In Demand?
Yes, language instructor jobs are in demand. The job market for analysts is projected to grow 11% from 2018 to 2028.
Language Instructor Job and Salary Trends Over Time
Language Instructor Jobs Over Time
Language Instructor Job Growth Over Time
| Year | # Of Jobs | % Of Population |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 23,998 | 0.01% |
| 2013 | 24,772 | 0.01% |
| 2014 | 25,063 | 0.01% |
| 2015 | 24,702 | 0.01% |
| 2016 | 23,367 | 0.01% |
Average Language Instructor Salary Over Time
Language Instructor Salary By Year
| Year | Avg. Salary | Hourly Rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | $41,081 | $19.75 | - |
| 2009 | $43,012 | $20.68 | +4.7% |
| 2010 | $44,429 | $21.36 | +3.3% |
| 2011 | $46,053 | $22.14 | +3.7% |
| 2012 | $47,023 | $22.61 | +2.1% |
Number Of Language Instructors By State
Mouse over a state to see the number of active language instructor jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where language instructors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Most Common States For Language Instructors
| Rank | State | Population | # of Jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 436 | 32% |
| 2 | Vermont | 623,657 | 197 | 32% |
| 3 | Delaware | 961,939 | 212 | 22% |
| 4 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 200 | 19% |
| 5 | Wyoming | 579,315 | 112 | 19% |
| 6 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 1031 | 18% |
| 7 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1408 | 17% |
| 8 | Nevada | 2,998,039 | 523 | 17% |
| 9 | West Virginia | 1,815,857 | 309 | 17% |
| 10 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 1131 | 16% |
| 11 | Maryland | 6,052,177 | 988 | 16% |
| 12 | New Mexico | 2,088,070 | 329 | 16% |
| 13 | South Carolina | 5,024,369 | 776 | 15% |
| 14 | Connecticut | 3,588,184 | 552 | 15% |
| 15 | South Dakota | 869,666 | 128 | 15% |
| 16 | North Dakota | 755,393 | 114 | 15% |
| 17 | Alaska | 739,795 | 112 | 15% |
| 18 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 571 | 14% |
| 19 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 150 | 14% |
| 20 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 100 | 14% |
Most Common Cities For Language Instructors In The US
| Rank | City | # of Jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Annapolis | 3 | 8% | $59,299 |
| 2 | Fredericksburg | 1 | 4% | $54,977 |
| 3 | Mililani Town | 1 | 4% | $49,948 |
| 4 | Waterloo | 1 | 1% | $50,890 |
| 5 | Washington | 3 | 0% | $67,333 |
| 6 | Colorado Springs | 1 | 0% | $55,147 |
| 7 | Glendale | 1 | 0% | $50,029 |
Experts Weigh In On Language Instructor Job Outlook
We spoke to professors and experts from several universities and companies to get their opinions on where the job market for recent graduates is heading, as well as how young graduates entering the industry can be adequately prepared. Here are their thoughts.
Our Panel of Experts
Union University
Macalester College
University of Iowa
North Central College
The University of Vermont
Texas Tech University
Arizona State University
East Los Angeles College
Saint Mary's College of California
Kean University
Pepperdine University
DePaul University
Northeastern Illinois University
The University of Alabama at Huntsville
Dixie State university
Muhlenberg College
Wagner College
University of Cincinnati
University of Illinois at Chicago
Seattle Pacific University
What skills stand out on Language Instructor resumes?
Julie Glosson: -Area of specialization
-Language proficiency
-Work History
-Study abroad/Immersion type of experiences
What soft skills should all Language Instructors possess?
Julie Glosson: -Positive attitude
-Adaptability
-Ability to be a team player as well as work independently
-Willingness to grow and learn from mistakes
What hard/technical skills are most important for Language Instructors?
Julie Glosson: -Language proficiency
-Knowledge of content
-Pedagogical Skills in Language Acquisition
-Professional Development
What skills will help Language Instructors earn the most?
Julie Glosson: -Completed Terminal Degree (professors)
-Publications (professors)
-Other scholarly material (professors)
-Specialization in another area (either professor or K12 teacher)
-State certifications (K12 teachers)
-Other types of certifications or affiliations (either professor or K12 teacher)
Nanette Scott Goldman
Senior Lecturer in the Classical Mediterranean and Middle EastMacalester College
Department of the Classical Mediterranean and Middle East
What skills stand out on Language Instructor resumes?
Nanette Scott Goldman: Language fluency and teaching experience.
What soft skills should all Language Instructors possess?
Nanette Scott Goldman: With a Classical languages major, you learn to excel at clear writing, listening, memorizing, data analysis, critical thinking, promoting understanding across cultural boundaries, data organization, and presentation
What hard/technical skills are most important for Language Instructors?
Nanette Scott Goldman: With a classical languages major, you learn to excel at writing clearly, listening, memorizing, data analysis, critical thinking, promoting understanding across cultural boundaries, data organization, and presentation
Dr. Irina Kostina
Associate Professor of Instruction, The Director of Undergraduate Studies in the Russian ProgramUniversity of Iowa
Division of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures
What skills stand out on Language Instructor resumes?
Dr. Irina Kostina: Traditionally in Russia, we had this very important info in our resume: 1) education, 2) work experience, 3) publications.
Today being the Director of the Russian program at the University of Iowa, I would appreciate my colleagues who have the skills:
Critical thinking, patience, and leadership.
What soft skills should all Language Instructors possess?
Dr. Irina Kostina: Some of the soft skills are listed above. I would add to the aforementioned skills organization, communication, and teamwork.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Language Instructors?
Dr. Irina Kostina: Certifications, computer skills, writing, language, and presentation skills.
What skills will help Language Instructors earn the most?
Dr. Irina Kostina: Unfortunately, everything changed today. Before, degrees were very important, but today the skills are.
Social media marketing, content writing, website development, and so on... will help to earn more money and educational administration.
Brian Hoffert
Associate Professor of Religious Studies and History; Coordinator of History of Ideas; Coordinator of East Asian Studies\North Central College
Religious Studies
What skills stand out on Language Instructor resumes?
Brian Hoffert: Students who are looking for a career that has a focus on East Asia will generally need to demonstrate strong language skills and some kind of facility with one or more of the cultures in that region. I will discuss these two aspects in my responses to the next two questions.
What soft skills should all Language Instructors possess?
Brian Hoffert: I would say that cultural competency (being familiar with one or more East Asian cultures) is the key soft skill that employers would look for. It is a soft skill because it is difficult to "prove" this kind of competency on a resume, though the essential thing that students should consider is literally how much time they've spent in the culture in question. A degree in East Asian Studies will suggest that you have a basic understanding of Chinese, Japanese, and/or Korean cultures, but study abroad experiences demonstrate that you have actually spent time in the culture in question. At North Central, we offer short-term study abroad programs to the region (mostly focusing on China and Japan, but sometimes Taiwan, Hong Kong, and potentially Korea); these are helpful, but two weeks is not enough time to gain real competency. We, therefore, offer many long-term (one or two-semester) programs throughout the region, which will allow students to practice their "hard skills" (i.e., communicating in an East Asian language on a daily basis) but will also help them develop a deeper understanding of the culture. In addition, any kind of employment where one is in contact with one of these cultures is helpful, whether that is doing an internship in an East Asian country or working in a Japanese restaurant in Naperville.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Language Instructors?
Brian Hoffert: Language skills are the other major factor in securing employment in a field that involves East Asia. This can be demonstrated more easily by simply completing a certain number of language courses at North Central (or elsewhere), though learning Chinese and/or Japanese is significantly different from learning European languages because one can attain a high degree of proficiency after four years of college French, German or Spanish, but one may have difficulty reading a newspaper or watching tv after the same amount of Chinese or Japanese study. This is why it is highly recommended that students study abroad as part of their college experience, though to attain even a basic level of true fluency will inevitably require spending additional time in an East Asian country after graduation. Of course, it does depend on what you intend to do with your East Asian Studies (or Chinese/Japanese language) degree. If you want to be a translator, several additional years of serious study will be required, but you can get by with much less for other careers, like working for an East Asian company where a little knowledge of the language and culture may go a long way.
What skills will help Language Instructors earn the most?
Brian Hoffert: This is a difficult question since it depends on what you want to do and perhaps what major you pair with an East Asian Studies or Chinese/Japanese language major. For example, someone who double majors in Business/Marketing and Chinese or Japanese language can make a lot of money working in international trade, etc. Translation can pay extremely well if you get into a well-known post-graduate translation program; these programs are difficult, but there is a high demand for professional translation services, so you can be pretty much guaranteed excellent money immediately after graduation. Of course, you can go to school for another decade, get your Ph.D. and make a decent living as a professor (though there is a lot of competition, so this isn't the safest option--best for those with a true passion).
What skills stand out on Language Instructor resumes?
Angeline Chiu Ph.D.: There's a basket of different skills that are essential for teaching languages, and after some years of teaching (and teaching others how to teach), I am always struck by how some of these skills aren't immediately obvious to the outside observer even though they are as essential as those that are. The skills also all work together in complex ways, and you can't really pick out this or that skill in isolation from the others.
For instance, you need excellent interpersonal communication skills. This might seem obvious - you are teaching languages! - but being able to understand a language's grammar yourself and use it yourself is a world different from being able to explain it clearly to learners and help them use it. You also need to be able to instill a sense of purpose and vision: why are we doing this, in addition to how? This will be different depending on the group whom you are trying to teach (elementary? adult learners? I teach college undergrads myself), and it is incumbent on you as the instructor to lead from the front and demonstrate why language learning is important ... and fun!
You also need a good grasp of the culture and history of the language that you are trying to teach. Languages don't exist in an antiseptic bubble of grammar rules and vocab words. They are part of the human experience, and we have to remember that. At its best, language learning builds bridges among different communities and individuals; it can enrich our understanding of our own culture and those of others, and communication is absolutely key to every other human endeavor that involves other humans ... and that's just about all endeavors.
In that vein, if you will indulge a little digression: I'm very interested in translation, and I recently got together with a colleague in Japanese with similar interests. We did a little series of lectures/workshops about the issues of translating world literature from an original language into another one (say, Dante from 14th c. Italian into contemporary American English). To be an effective translator, you need to know much more than "only" the nuts and bolts of grammar and such. You need to be able to call on a personal skill set of many humanities/liberal arts and even social sciences competencies, from history to sociology to anthropology to linguistics to so many others. This is even more pressing in the world of real-time live interpretation work at, say, international conferences and such. Mistranslations or misunderstandings could have serious real-world consequences.
Having some travel experience also helps, along with a sense of always being a learner and a sharer and an explorer of the human experience, even when - especially when - you are the instructor. A little humility goes a long way, and attitude counts for a great deal.
What soft skills should all Language Instructors possess?
Angeline Chiu Ph.D.: Communication, communication, communication. All kinds of communication, be it clear, lucid speaking (whether one-on-one, in small groups, or in large groups), good concise writing that isn't full of jargon and excrescences, or even the seemingly simple but absolutely crucial everyday interactions with the people around you. They can make or break a work or school environment. I don't mean mere etiquette. I mean building a real sense of community and human connection as a base for all the other things the school/company/etc. is trying to do. What can we do that robots can't do? Be human beings in communication and community with other human beings.
Another note on communication: we have all seen situations in which garbled announcements or backtracking/confusing directions have caused all kinds of problems then and later. Focus, clarity, and efficiency in communication are key. And look people in the eye.
Related to this is, of course, the ability to work with others in all kinds of different settings and configurations. Collaboration and cooperation are essential, but they too rest on a foundation of clear communication.
The ultimate soft skill, though, is a little harder to quantify. I'm talking about learning how to learn. Life comes at you fast, at work or school or home, and the ultimate human skill is adapting to situations as they arise and being able to pivot, be flexible, be resilient, be creative in responding, and be able to do all that while remembering that we are working as humans with other humans, and there is much we do not know, and much we do not know as well as we ought to or think we do. Patience, grace, empathy, humility are part of the equation.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Language Instructors?
Angeline Chiu Ph.D.: What I tell you today might not be applicable tomorrow! Tech changes so fast. The best thing I can tell you is to keep current on what's going on. Also: don't be afraid of new things. At the same time, remember that something isn't automatically better just because it's new. Perhaps the real skill I'm describing is figuring what is useful for your purpose and what isn't, and don't try to apply every single shiny new tech toy that comes along. And for goodness sake, be careful about data and security and those basics that you think everyone knows but so many people don't.
What skills will help Language Instructors earn the most?
Angeline Chiu Ph.D.: Learn how to learn. This will apply everywhere. And have the gumption to think for yourself. But in terms of sheer dollar signs, I can't really tell you because the job market is constantly changing, and that kind of volatility is part of life. If you want to snag a job with a good salary in any field at any time, it's not only the world of narrow technical skills that you need. Those skills will constantly need to be updated and retrained as tech changes, and it's changing so, so fast. Besides, remember what I said earlier about what we can do that robots can't. Work on the fundamental and eternally applicable human side skills and competencies that come from liberal arts and humanities, the lessons and enrichments of languages, history, archaeology, literature, theatre, music, the arts. Be a complex, resilient, constantly learning individual who can apply themselves in many ways, including ways we don't know yet will be necessary in a world of ever-changing jobs, of jobs soon to arise that don't exist yet. You are not a faceless cog in a machine. You are a human being with a heart and mind of your own.
What skills stand out on Language Instructor resumes?
Dr. Ashley Voeks: If a language instructor is applying for a teaching job, work experience, not skills, are the most important part of their resume or CV. If a language instructor is looking to branch out and find an industry job, "skills" are only relevant if and when a resume gets past an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) and into human hands. In my experience, an ATS is only likely to let an applicant's resume through if it is properly formatted and tailored to the job ad. When an ATS scans a resume, it looks for the skills and years of work experience listed in the job ad and automatically tosses it if certain skills seem off, no matter how much they "stand out." In short: the skills that make a candidate stand out are the skills that the employer wants and specifies in the job ad itself.
What soft skills should all Language Instructors possess?
Dr. Ashley Voeks: All of them. The trouble with soft skills is that they're not really resume showstoppers. Anyone can say that they have good communication skills, a sense of creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, etc. The time for a job seeker (language instructor or otherwise) to really wow a potential employer with their soft skills is during the interview or in an anecdote in the cover letter. The bottom line: all soft skills are important, but showing a potential employer how you developed them is key.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Language Instructors?
Dr. Ashley Voeks: In terms of non-teaching jobs for former language students and instructors, of the clients with language backgrounds that I've personally worked with, hard skills/technical skills varied the most from one job seeker to the next, depending on their second major and/or minor in college, as well as the internship opportunities that they'd had during their studies since an internship often requires a student to acquire one or several hard skills that they would not have otherwise needed. That said, the hard skills that stand out in my mind are sales (toward the top of the list; very transferable), UX (User Experience, designing products that give a meaningful and relevant experience to users by considering emotions, attitudes, etc.), video production, AI, Blockchain (a transparent ledger; stores encrypted blocks of data), project management, affiliate marketing, and mobile app development. These are just some hard skills that come to mind - there are many more!
What skills will help Language Instructors earn the most?
Dr. Ashley Voeks: Clients and recent graduates who have negotiated "high" salaries in entry-level positions have been able to speak to their communication, collaboration, and self-management skills but have also had some technical competencies from internships or online boot camps and workshops. High-earning skills include web design, graphic design, online course content creation, project management, UX design, IT support, coding, Blockchain, social media marketing, etc. Almost all these skills can be gained through certificate-granting online courses.
Lorena Cuya Gavilano Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Spanish and Latin American CulturesArizona State University
Languages and Cultures
What skills stand out on Language Instructor resumes?
Lorena Cuya Gavilano Ph.D.: It depends. First, for K-12 instructors, native or high proficiency is a must. Candidates that stand out are those that have deep translingual and transcultural competence. Resumes and letters of intent that stand out typically demonstrate interactive and real-life experiences such as community outreach, study abroad, or virtual international experiences. It is very important to demonstrate experience and personal skills reaching out to and interacting with communities that speak and produce the target language and literature. Why? Because teaching languages and literature is not just about making sure that students understand (decode) reading and aural materials. It is necessary to immerse students in different ways of feeling and thinking. Second, for college-level instructors, resumes that stand out demonstrate organizational and communicational skills. It may seem natural that a language and literature instructor knows how to communicate well. Yet, communicating well may not be the strength of many job seekers. Leaving aside the research skills required in many of these jobs, colleges and universities are looking for candidates with some administrative/organizational experience, proving that they can be creative and make projects a reality.
Moreover, resumes that stand out tell the story of a candidate that is not only knowledgeable in the subject matter but is also a good team player. Being a good team player implies that the candidate is a good intercultural communicator and emotionally self-aware. Today, language and literature classrooms require more interdisciplinary and collaborative work. Therefore, experience in interdisciplinary projects is a plus. Furthermore, colleges and universities are trying more and more to incorporate a professional outlook into their language courses. For these reasons, experience and/or training in second languages are becoming a more prominent requirement for many jobs. At the college level, the perfect candidate demonstrates not only a good research record and agenda; the perfect candidate possesses knowledge of digital humanities, course professionalization, and community outreach experience.
What soft skills should all Language Instructors possess?
Lorena Cuya Gavilano Ph.D.: I mentioned some soft skills in my previous answer, but translingual and transcultural competence is necessary for effective communication and work collaboration. Transcultural competence requires understanding racial, ethnic, gender, age, disability, and structural issues in the workplace. It not only helps to avoid and resolve conflicts. Transcultural competence also helps to promote compassion and empathy. Translingual and transcultural competence are the foundation of work ethics. Furthermore, from year to year and from semester to semester, any instructor faces new protocols, new strategies, new pedagogical technologies, new teams, etc. Thus, the ability to adapt is another must.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Language Instructors?
Lorena Cuya Gavilano Ph.D.: 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 skills will help Language Instructors earn the most?
Lorena Cuya Gavilano Ph.D.: It depends on the individual ranks. Tenure-track professors, for instance, will need to prove research skills in the form of publications and grant applications in addition to other forms of educational engagements. However, something common to all language and literature instructors from K-12 to higher education is creative abilities to generate projects with students and projects within and surrounding communities. These skills can guarantee salary increases by the end of each year.
Diane Renée Mannone
Associate Professor of EnglishEast Los Angeles College
English Department
What skills stand out on Language Instructor resumes?
Diane Renée Mannone: The ability to teach close reading and critical thinking are vital, especially when helping students develop their unique voices, as well as the ability to construct engaging courses adaptable to all learning styles. Teaching argument is also key.
What soft skills should all Language Instructors possess?
Diane Renée Mannone: Working well with colleagues: collaborating, being a team player, involved in the department and campus, etc.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Language Instructors?
Diane Renée Mannone: Technical literacy and the ability to teach in myriad environments with diverse students.
What skills will help Language Instructors earn the most?
Diane Renée Mannone: All of the above.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Language Instructors in the next 3-5 years?
Elisa Findlay Ph.D.: For writers, I think it's most important to gain experience with a range of platforms and genres of writing, to be agile and adaptable as writing technologies continue to evolve. For example, in my research, I've studied the practices of professional social media writers-a job that is still relatively new in the grand scheme of things. I have found that the genre conventions and stylistic possibilities of social media writing are still really being invented and reinvented on these writers' job as the platforms on which they write continue to change.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Language Instructor job market given the pandemic?
Elisa Findlay Ph.D.: When advising students who are planning for the job market, I encourage them to develop transferable skills and habits of mind-like writing, rhetorical awareness, and critical thinking. This advice is particularly relevant in our current moment, given the precariousness of the job market.
Students should be flexible and open-minded about the types of jobs they might be qualified for and fulfilled from. I graduated at the height of the last recession and found myself moving to the Midwest to work as a sales writer at a healthcare IT company. This wasn't a career move I had planned on, but healthcare IT was one of the few industries still growing at that time. Because of my capacity as a writer and thinker, I learned what I needed to about healthcare and software sales on the job and progress in my role with the company.
Ultimately, this job led me to graduate school and inspired the dissertation research I completed while earning my Ph.D. I encourage students to stay open to the various and often circuitous paths that the job market can take them on and continue to build their transferable skills and habits along the way.
Will there be an increase or decrease in demand for Language Instructors in the next 5 years?
Elisa Findlay Ph.D.: An increase! In our twenty-first-century knowledge economy, where ideas and information function as commodities, writing is often the medium through which information is bought and sold. This means that more and more American workers' livelihoods hinge, at least in part, on their ability to write.
What type of skills will young Language Instructors need?
Jan Balakian Ph.D.: I would interview the ones that interest you. Our work is critical thinking and writing, and those skills are timeless. So, I would say English is the best major for any career.
How do you envision technology impacting Language Instructors in the next 5 years?
Jan Balakian Ph.D.: Of course, we are grateful that we can teach remotely. I would hate to see the hard book disappear, and it saddens me that our library is disappearing into a digital world. There's nothing like holding a book, writing notes in it, falling asleep on it. I hope there will always be room for both hard books and digital ones.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Language Instructors to find work opportunities?
Jan Balakian Ph.D.: Again, that is for the world outside to answer. But since we have the world's best location next to NYC, I always think of NYC as the best play for any professional reading/writing career. My most vital students go on to Ph.D. programs in literature. Andrew Rimbey is writing his dissertation at Stony Brook. Briana Murray just completed her M.A. with a 3.9 and thinking of studying for a Ph.D. at Princeton or Columbia, or NYU.
What experience really stands out on Language Instructor resumes?
Roshawnda Derrick Ph.D.: Related to linguistics, employers want to see keywords on a resume/CV that speak to a potential employee's experience with various related subfields within the field. This experience would cater to the position, but some keywords would include experience with: translation and interpretation, study abroad, volunteering abroad, some mention of an awareness of cultural competence and linguistic diversity in a professional setting, near-native fluency in a foreign language, and the ability to communicate and craft professional documents in a foreign language.
Additionally, it would be helpful if the graduate could show proof of relevant certifications, specialized coursework related to the position they are applying for, professional experience in another field, and internship experience.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Language Instructors in the next 3-5 years?
Roshawnda Derrick Ph.D.: Technology is forever changing and evolving based on the needs of any given field. As a result, technological needs will depend on the subfield that linguist works in and the type of research they do. For example, I work with sociolinguistic data, and Excel is an essential tool for organizing the data I analyze. In a teaching position, platforms like Zoom, YouTube, and Flip Grid are helpful.
What Language Instructor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Roshawnda Derrick Ph.D.: If a graduate needed to take a gap year, I would suggest enrolling in a graduate course (Ph.D. course), doing a research assistantship If a graduate needed to take a gap year, I would suggest enrolling in a relevant graduate course, doing a research assistantship position with a professor the student wanted to learn more from (even as an unpaid voluntary position). Finding a field-related internship would also be advantageous.
For assistance, I suggest contacting the department chair or a trusted professor within the department for more information and opportunities. In this scenario, it is also worth pointing out that the connections students make with their peers in college can last a lifetime. These connections could also lead to fruitful possibilities when searching for an internship or a new position..
What experience really stands out on Language Instructor resumes?
Dr. Li Jin Ph.D.: Based on what I know from our alumni, students' language proficiency and practical experience using their language skills in real-life tasks/projects help them stand out.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Language Instructors in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Li Jin Ph.D.: Many people claim Google Translate will make language learning obsolete soon. As a language educator, I'm afraid I have to disagree with this view, which has been around for decades. Google Translate is getting more useful. However, intricate cultural connotations, which are highly dependent on contexts, can only be accurately interpreted, then translated, by well-trained humans. Machine translation makes cross-communication easier but can never bring the joy people feel when communicating directly with people from another culture. Online software that supports language learning, such as Duolingo and various online dictionaries, will get more critical in the field.
What Language Instructor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Li Jin Ph.D.: The gap year is a perfect opportunity for graduates to keep polishing their language skills and strengthening their resume by interning or volunteering for projects that require commendable language skills. Some easy-to-find options can include translation projects for businesses or NGOs.
What type of skills will young Language Instructors need?
Timothy Barnett Ph.D.: Flexibility and broad knowledge will be beneficial, even as we are becoming a world of specialists. Things change so quickly that those students who have multiple sets of expertise and the ability to adapt to changing technology, politics, and economics will have an advantage over others. Traditional skills (strong writing, for example) will still be needed. Yet, even those traditional skills are changing as we read and write in multiple ways (and in various languages) today, and will do that even more in the future.
How do you envision technology impacting Language Instructors in the next 5 years?
Timothy Barnett Ph.D.: Everything will continue to change, and English and Humanities majors have to remember that technology jobs do not necessarily equate to programming. Technology gives us a million more ways to communicate for all kinds of purposes--to sell things, to organize politically, to publish, to connect--and English majors have to hone their ability to work with a variety of texts in complex ways if they are to take advantage of the many opportunities technology opens up.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Language Instructors to find work opportunities?
Timothy Barnett Ph.D.: For English majors, communication and textual analysis are always critical skills, and I think jobs emphasizing communication and investigation are a part of every industry. Technology, though, will be a mostly right place for English majors and politics, community organizing, and the law will continue to offer excellent opportunities. Our economy is built around information, more so than products, and English majors are adept at handling, evaluating, and disseminating knowledge in productive ways. Those skills will serve them well.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Language Instructors in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Ryan Weber Ph.D.: As companies continue to produce more video help, we might see an increased prevalence of video technologies, from paid programs like Adobe Captivate to screen recorders like Screencast-o-Matic. I also hear a lot more about how technical communicators should be familiar with application programming interfaces (APIs), which facilitate interactions between software programs. Honestly, though, the best approach for a technical communicator is to have a general background in some essential technologies - Word, HTML, maybe even some programming languages - and a willingness to learn new technologies.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Language Instructor job market given the pandemic?
Dr. Ryan Weber Ph.D.: The pandemic has taught many companies that they can accomplish at least some of their work remotely. I think that means that companies may hire dedicated remote employees, which could open up the job market for people who can now apply for jobs across the country. Applicants might no longer have to limit their job search to their geographic area. That means more opportunities and more competition.
Will there be an increase or decrease in demand for Language Instructors in the next 5 years?
Dr. Ryan Weber Ph.D.: The Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that the technical communication job market would grow 7 percent until 2029. That projection came before the pandemic, but I still see plenty of job ads for technical writers, so I think the market will continue to increase, especially once the country rebounds from the pandemic.
Dr. Lucia Taylor
Associate Professor, Department ChairDixie State university
Department of History, Humanities and Modern Languages
What experience really stands out on Language Instructor resumes?
Dr. Lucia Taylor: Being bilingual, bicultural, and biliterate is something that stands out in the resumes. Even though we are in a globalized world, saying you can "speak" a language doesn't prove you can communicate in different contexts with the language's fair use. Having a degree in a romance language, literature, and linguistics gives you the ability to navigate the world using different language registers. (When I talk about registers, think about how you speak differently to your family, colleagues, or an audience when giving a professional speech).
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Language Instructors in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Lucia Taylor: Online language learning is going to keep increasing. Again, with the pandemic, most higher education institutions have made use of the new technologies to complete their courses, in one way or another. However, I still believe there will be a need for human interaction in language learning. I am a consumer of application where you learn a language on your own, but I still find myself checking my old notes from my traditional classes. On the other hand, we are seeing a lot of jobs being automatized. However, creativity, critical thinking, and the ability to decode subtexts in a language will always require the human touch.
What Language Instructor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Lucia Taylor: Before the pandemic, I'd recommend traveling abroad so they could see the culture of their interest first hand. However, the current situation is harder to encourage people to go overseas. These days, it is more accessible to virtually "travel," and I'd recommend engaging with the internet to locate diverse cultures and points of view. Another great opportunity is to volunteer with local groups that serve immigrant populations. With this global crisis, there is plenty of evidence of translators and interpreters' need in a worldwide emergency.
Dr. Emanuela Kucik Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of English and Africana Studies and Co-Director of Africana StudiesMuhlenberg College
English Department
What type of skills will young Language Instructors need?
Dr. Emanuela Kucik Ph.D.: Young graduates need to have a versatile set of skills that will serve them well in a multitude of professions they might enter with an English degree, including skills that are often overlooked. These include, but are not limited to, the following: interpersonal communication skills; organizational skills; analytical problem-solving capabilities; ability to articulate and argue for a point of view; ability to create an original argument; capacity to respectfully listen to others' points of view; ability to pose direct, thoughtful questions; leadership capabilities; ability to write clearly; ability to work well both in groups and individually; self-motivated initiative; dependability for meeting deadlines; and creative and original thinking.
While many of these might seem "obvious," such as "dependability for meeting deadlines" or "capacity to listen to others' points of view respectfully," they are not skills that everyone possesses, and they are essential for success in a multitude of areas. For English-based professions, the candidate should also be able to demonstrate the possession of many of these skills in writing. For example, job candidates should show respect for others' perspectives in their written work and a capacity for posing thoughtful written questions and putting forth original arguments in writing.
How do you envision technology impacting Language Instructors in the next 5 years?
Dr. Emanuela Kucik Ph.D.: Technology is changing the field of English and writing in many ways. For instance, it is now easier for people to publish their work, as they can post it online in a variety of ways. Social media has also allowed people to publish their written thoughts in a quicker, less formal fashion, which produces think pieces and thoughtful commentaries on a broad range of topics that were often previously reserved for more formal writing venues, such as academic journals. Literary scholarship is also being digitized, which provides more comprehensive access to a broader range of material for a wider swath of people.
There is also a rise in audiobooks and digital books. In academia, this means that students are encountering the material for college classes in markedly different ways, which can lead to vastly varied interpretations of it that are predicated upon how the student is receiving the material (a student listening to a scene on tape might react to it differently than a student reading it in print, for instance). Essentially, writing -- how we do it and how we encounter it -- is changing rapidly, and I imagine it will continue to do so for years to come. The change is exciting, and it provides endless possibilities for re-imagining how we understand what it means to write, to read, and to absorb and re-shape the world around us.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Language Instructors to find work opportunities?
Dr. Emanuela Kucik Ph.D.: There are a wide variety of career options available to English graduates in the United States, including, but not limited to, the following: law; professorships; social justice work; non-profit work; middle and high school teaching; medicine (that's right! English majors can also go to medical school!); graduate school in public policy, public health, political science, philosophy, history, and other fields; journalism; editing; tutoring; creative fields; and diversity, equity, and inclusion professions.
A degree in English teaches students how to think critically and evaluate material; how to analyze language; how to articulate their thoughts clearly; how to form and present original arguments; and how to consider - and, when applicable, form counterarguments to - the arguments and opinions of others. By assigning literature written by a wide variety of authors from a multitude of backgrounds and time periods, English professors help students appreciate the diversity of our planet and understand the hierarchies that have been constructed within it. These courses help students make sense of the world around them, both in terms of how it has functioned historically and how it functions today, and they remind students of the central role writing has always had, and will always have, in both reflecting and shaping that world.
All of this knowledge is crucial and beneficial for a variety of fields. Learning how to think critically and evaluate material, for instance, is just as helpful for medical school as it is for law school. Racial bias needs to be eradicated within the medical field; however, one needs to be able to read and understand the bias present within various studies and purportedly "objective" scientific data and articles to do that effectively. English teaches you how to identify those biases and problems, how to argue against them, how to argue for solutions, and how to eloquently articulate those counterarguments and solutions in writing.
What general advice would you give to a Language Instructor?
Dr. Steven Thomas Ph.D.: The rapidly changing job market will demand the future workforce be able to think on their feet and communicate clearly. These are exactly the skills one develops in the English major
What type of skills will young Language Instructors need?
Lisa Beckelhimer: Entering any field or profession in the coming years will require strong communication skills, which is where English majors excel. New employees need to speak clearly, write effectively, and formulate their ideas in concise and engaging ways. English majors should practice reading, writing, revising, editing, and presenting their ideas verbally.
How do you envision technology impacting Language Instructors in the next 5 years?
Lisa Beckelhimer: Technology has already affected our area during the pandemic as more employees work remotely. Fortunately, writing and editing can be done from anywhere with technology. English majors should take coursework and find internships in web writing, digital editing, publishing and production, and data visualization. Future employees should also be comfortable working independently and remotely and using virtual platforms such as Teams, Zoom, and Webex.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Language Instructors to find work opportunities?
Lisa Beckelhimer: English majors can work virtually anywhere. All employers need employees who can communicate. Many times, students enter specific industries based on the writing they enjoy. Fields that hire English majors include advertising, publishing, business, education, digital content creation, arts administration, law, social justice work and activism, science writing, technical writing, healthcare, civic affairs, and more.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Language Instructors in the next 3-5 years?
Young Richard Kim Ph.D.: In the fields that I teach and conduct research, classics and ancient Mediterranean studies, we have long recognized the importance of the intersection of humanities and technology. Some of the most exciting work combines our strengths in history, culture, and language with computer science and programming, GIS and mapping, and the deployment of other digital tools to further our understanding of the ancient past and the present. At the same time, our teaching continues to be enhanced both by simple technology including social media, digital images and websites, and by more "high tech" tools, including 3-D printing, "big" data and computer-driven statistical analysis, and computer modeling of archaeological material and sites.
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Language Instructor job market given the pandemic?
Young Richard Kim Ph.D.: Unfortunately, the full economic impact of the pandemic remains unclear. So correspondingly, I think we will see significant uncertainty in the job market, and specific sectors will be worse off than others. Still, a well-rounded college education remains one of the best means to ensure that those seeking full-time employment are well prepared to adapt to the changing circumstances caused by the pandemic.
Will there be an increase or decrease in demand for Language Instructors in the next 5 years?
Young Richard Kim Ph.D.: In my view, one of the most problematic narratives about graduates in the Humanities is that there are no jobs out there. This could not be further from the truth, and both anecdotal and hard data show that employers are interested in hiring people who are not only skilled in critical reasoning, multi-dimensional analysis, and problem solving, but also mature in their historical and cultural literacy, empathy and understanding, and persuasive communication. Our local communities, country, and the work force need thoughtful citizens, colleagues, and co-workers, and I believe graduates in my own fields but also in the humanities writ large will be in greater demand in the years to come.
What experience really stands out on Language Instructor resumes?
Dr. Owen Ewald Ph.D.: The experience of completing a project that lasts longer than an academic term (semester/quarter) stands out since not all students do this. Even if there is no structure for such a project (Senior project/Honors project), try to create one with different classes in the same discipline-e.g., a paper on Hercules in Myth class, then a report on a coin showing Hercules in History or Economics class.
What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Language Instructors in the next 3-5 years?
Dr. Owen Ewald Ph.D.: The technology that will become prevalent is collaboration software like Slack, Teams, and Zoom. As with earlier generations of word-processing and spreadsheet software, most people will have to learn multiple programs throughout their working lives.
What Language Instructor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Dr. Owen Ewald Ph.D.: HS graduate: soft skills like showing up on time, and working cooperatively with others, hard skills from any role they can find in this economy. For example, my daughter worked in a drugstore, where she learned to work irregular shifts often and deal with various people. Still, she also learned the hard skills of disinfecting the checkout stations and inventory.