How To Become An English Instructor: What It Is and Career Path

What is an english instructor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Rodney Foster

English instructors are responsible for teaching English literature, comprehension, writing skills, reading, and critical thinking. Some responsibilities include creating lesson plans for students, grading student essays and tests, ensuring orderliness in class, encouraging students to read out in class, write progress reports for students, create tests, assign essays and homework, and assign books for students to read. They are expected to have excellent speaking and writing skills and passion and knowledge about great works of literature.

They should also have excellent language skills and grammar as well as interpersonal and organizational skills. They also need to be certified by the state. They earn $51,398 per year, which breaks down to $24.71 per hour. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the career is projected to grow by 11% to create 155,000 new job opportunities between 2018 and 2028.

What general advice would you give to an English Instructor?

Rodney Foster

Instructor - Aviation Maintenance Technology Instructor - Airframe & Powerplant Technology, Orange Coast College

Orange Coast College (OCC) teaches Aircraft Maintenance Technology (AMT) and Avionics. Although the Government has dampened air travel by putting up restrictions to prevent a Covid-19 spread, there is still a certified mechanic/skilled labor shortage. I believe all our students will have permanent jobs within a six-month search. OCC AMT is listed as an essential workforce by the state of California and is back in classes full-time, Face-to-face labs, and online lectures. Our next semester registration maximum filled in two days and still has over 35 additional students per class on the waiting list.

ScoreEnglish InstructorUS Average

Salary

4.2

Avg. Salary $53,915

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

4.9

Growth Rate 12%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.28%

Asian 13.02%

Black or African American 6.94%

Hispanic or Latino 9.91%

Unknown 4.90%

White 64.95%

Gender

female 55.40%

male 44.60%

Age - 46

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 46

Stress Level

4.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

7.6

Complexity Level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.3

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Newest jobs for English Instructor in ,

Receive alerts for the newest job postings.

Key steps to become an english instructor

Explore english instructor education requirements

Most common english instructor degrees

Bachelor's

68.7 %

Master's

21.8 %

Associate

4.3 %

Start to develop specific english instructor skills

Skills	Percentages
Kids	34.86%
Curriculum Development	23.18%
Classroom Management	10.11%
Grammar	4.39%
Foreign Language	3.93%

Research english instructor duties and responsibilities

Assign and lead discussions on works of fiction and nonfiction.
Develop lesson plans, teach mechanics and creativity in writing, teach reading, math and manage resource room as needed.
Facilitate language development of ESL students through diversify group activities.
Develop supplemental grammar materials, writing assessments, reading activities, and vocabulary development tools for reading/writing/grammar curriculum.

Prepare your english instructor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your english instructor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an english instructor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable English Instructor Resume templates

Build a professional English Instructor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your English Instructor resume.

Apply for english instructor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an english instructor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do english instructors rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

English Instructor reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jan 2023

Pros

The transfer of knowledge and the joy on the student's face when they understand

Cons

The low pay which is often offered