Post job

What does a world language teacher do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
Quoted expert
Larry Herzberg Ph.D.

World language teachers are charged with teaching new languages to students. Depending on the learning institution they work for, a world language teacher might be tasked with managing a single classroom. This position requires complete fluency in the language or languages taught.

On this page

World language teacher responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real world language teacher resumes:

  • Lead debates with advance students on topics including globalization, economics, and political history.
  • Assist in developing a kindergarten dual-immersion curriculum that combine D.C. Standards with language-rich thematic units and project-base learning.
  • Prepare lessons utilizing PowerPoint and PollEverywhere.
  • Deliver effective classroom presentation techniques and review, correct and reinforce instructional lessons to enhance the learning and retention process.

World language teacher skills and personality traits

We calculated that 19% of World Language Teachers are proficient in World Language, Public Schools, and Student Performance. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Speaking skills, and Writing skills.

We break down the percentage of World Language Teachers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • World Language, 19%

    Participated in professional development activities specifically focused on integrating technology into World Language classrooms.

  • Public Schools, 14%

    Provided engaging instruction and developed positive relationships with students who had not been successful in comprehensive public schools.

  • Student Performance, 12%

    Collaborated with colleagues on daily and unit lesson plans, teaching strategies and student performance.

  • Instructional Materials, 12%

    Designed instructional materials, classroom activities and assessments.

  • English Language, 7%

    Developed material to help Japanese English Language teachers to aid in educational linguistics.

  • Assessment Tools, 6%

    Develop assessment tools and collect data for students in Spanish and English and regularly report on their academic progress.

Common skills that a world language teacher uses to do their job include "world language," "public schools," and "student performance." You can find details on the most important world language teacher responsibilities below.

Interpersonal skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a world language teacher to have is interpersonal skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "postsecondary teachers need to work well with others for tasks such as instructing students and serving on committees." World language teachers often use interpersonal skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "attained valuable interpersonal experience with younger children, especial early childhood development. "

Speaking skills. Another essential skill to perform world language teacher duties is speaking skills. World language teachers responsibilities require that "postsecondary teachers need good communication skills to present lectures and provide feedback to students." World language teachers also use speaking skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "instructed american students in spoken and written mandarin chinese, including grammar and colloquial speech. "

Writing skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of world language teachers is writing skills. This skill is critical to many everyday world language teacher duties, as "postsecondary teachers need strong writing ability to publish original research and analysis." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "obtained knowledge about the culture of china from elders who sought improvement with their english language and writing skills. "

Most common world language teacher skills

The three companies that hire the most world language teachers are:

Choose from 10+ customizable world language teacher resume templates

Build a professional world language teacher resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your world language teacher resume.
World Language Teacher Resume
World Language Teacher Resume
World Language Teacher Resume
World Language Teacher Resume
World Language Teacher Resume
World Language Teacher Resume
World Language Teacher Resume
World Language Teacher Resume
World Language Teacher Resume
World Language Teacher Resume
World Language Teacher Resume
World Language Teacher Resume
World Language Teacher Resume
World Language Teacher Resume
World Language Teacher Resume
World Language Teacher Resume

Compare different world language teachers

World language teacher vs. Adjunct spanish instructor

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. Spanish Instructors monitor the students' progress while maintaining a safe and healthy learning environment for everyone.

The annual salary of adjunct spanish instructors is $9,416 higher than the average salary of world language teachers.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between world language teachers and adjunct spanish instructors are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like student performance, instructional materials, and language acquisition.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between world language teachers and adjunct spanish instructor. For instance, world language teacher responsibilities require skills such as "world language," "public schools," "english language," and "assessment tools." Whereas a adjunct spanish instructor is skilled in "literature," "professional development," "learning process," and "community colleges." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Adjunct spanish instructors tend to reach higher levels of education than world language teachers. In fact, adjunct spanish instructors are 6.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.5% more likely to have a Doctoral Degree.

World language teacher vs. French instructor

French instructor positions earn lower pay than world language teacher roles. They earn a $468 lower salary than world language teachers per year.A few skills overlap for world language teachers and french instructors. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "public schools," "student performance," and "instructional materials. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, world language teacher responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "world language," "english language," "assessment tools," and "student achievement." Meanwhile, a french instructor has duties that require skills in areas such as "foreign language," "literature," "grammar," and "teaching methodologies." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

French instructors earn a lower average salary than world language teachers. But french instructors earn the highest pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $57,989. Additionally, world language teachers earn the highest salaries in the government with average pay of $50,074 annually.french instructors earn similar levels of education than world language teachers in general. They're 3.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for world language teachers in the next 3-5 years?

Larry Herzberg Ph.D.Larry Herzberg Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Professor of Asian Languages, Director of Asian Studies, Calvin University

For those wanting a career in academia, you probably already realize that the survival of East Asian language programs and all humanities programs will depend on offering hybrid courses that will combine online teaching via Teams or Zoom or Blackboard with in-person classes. The more skilled you become at using those online resources, the better equipped you'll be to teach the kind of hybrid courses which schools will increasingly offer to offset the decline in enrollments on their campuses, especially in the humanities.

World language teacher vs. German instructor

On average, german instructors earn higher salaries than world language teachers, with a $16,020 difference per year.Using the responsibilities included on world language teachers and german instructors resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "student performance," "instructional materials," and "target language.rdquo;

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, world language teachers are more likely to have skills like "world language," "public schools," "english language," and "assessment tools." But a german instructor is more likely to have skills like "foreign language," "course materials," "grammar," and "classroom discussions."

German instructors make a very good living in the professional industry with an average annual salary of $76,418. On the other hand, world language teachers are paid the highest salary in the government industry, with average annual pay of $50,074.german instructors typically earn lower educational levels compared to world language teachers. Specifically, they're 10.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

World language teacher vs. Instructor of spanish

Instructors of spanish typically earn higher pay than world language teachers. On average, instructors of spanish earn a $1,642 higher salary per year.According to resumes from world language teachers and instructors of spanish, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "student performance," "instructional materials," and "language acquisition. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. A world language teacher uses "world language," "public schools," "english language," and "assessment tools." Instructors of spanish are more likely to have duties that require skills in "classroom management," "literature," "teaching methodologies," and "professional development. "instructors of spanish enjoy the best pay in the manufacturing industry, with an average salary of $61,981. For comparison, world language teachers earn the highest salary in the government industry.The average resume of instructors of spanish showed that they earn lower levels of education compared to world language teachers. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 9.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.2%.

Types of world language teacher

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.

Browse education, training, and library jobs