English Teacher resume example & writing guide
- What should your English teacher resume include?
- Why use this English teacher resume example?
- Which skills are relevant for an English Teacher resume?
English teachers establish inspiring and supportive learning environments where students can hone their capabilities in reading, writing, speaking, and studying literature in the English language. Whether you’re a newly qualified teacher or a seasoned educator, your resume needs to have the perfect prose to capture recruiter attention. Use our example and writing guide to create a job-winning resume to secure your next teaching opportunity.
What should your English teacher resume include?
If you’re looking to secure a role teaching English, focus on the specific requirements of each job opportunity and tailor your resume accordingly. Demonstrate your command and love of the English language and literature, and your ability to inspire your students in these areas. Bear in mind, you may be teaching students in multicultural environments, so highlighting your capabilities in these areas can really make your resume stand out.
Why use this English teacher resume example?
Creating a compelling and convincing resume can be difficult. As an English teacher, you have the added expectation that your unique skills and experience should make this an easy task. While your talent for English language and literature is not in dispute, presenting your skills and experience the right way is where we can help you succeed via your resume.
Our example opens with a resume branding statement that will capture the hiring manager’s attention and compel them to continue reading your resume. This is closely followed by key teaching qualification areas that provide more information on your specific teaching experience and pedagogical approaches, combined with your soft skills in communication, collaboration, and relationship-building with students, parents/carers, and faculty.
The all-important professional experience section comes next. Start with your most recent teaching experience first and work back to earlier roles (covering a period of 10 to 15 years as a maximum). Focus on using action verbs at the start of each sentence, such as instruct, guide, or motivate. Highlight any specific accomplishments and successful learning outcomes (such as pass rates) as this will make your resume really stand out.
It’s important to detail where you received your foundational knowledge of English and teaching in the education section (including your licensure). This should include the degree, where completed, and if you graduated recently (in the last three years) the year. You can also include any awards and accolades, such as the Dean's List. Professional development and technical skills are also of great interest to recruiters, so include this information too.
Which skills are relevant for an English Teacher resume?
When outlining skills on your skills on your English teacher resume, make sure they are relevant to the job opportunity by checking the job description. Here are some key skills to include:
ELA curriculum development
Multidisciplinary lesson planning
Pedagogical best practice
Multimedia instructional tools
Student assessments
Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL)
Student engagement
Cross-functional collaboration
Summary example
Dynamic, results-focused educator with vision and skill for inspiring and empowering students in achieving academic goals.
Employment history example
English Language Arts (ELA) Instructor at FLAGS High School, Bronx, NY
2014 - Present
Develop and deliver high-level instructional curriculum supportive of high school students (grades 11 and 12) to cultivate advanced English language skills in the areas of content understanding, writing, and expression. Contribute to student advancement and current / future success for college and career choices. Promote interpersonal communications in a multi-cultural learning environment to foster high levels of performance in social and academic areas. Leveraged Common Core Standards in developing and implementing Curriculum Maps, Unit Plans, lessons, and evaluating students’ exams to meet school expectations.
Employed multimedia instructional tools, literary materials, and learning methods to promote a highly engaging and collaborative learning environment evoking innovative ideas.
Supported students to achieve high passing rates on Regents Exam and accumulating credits.
Fostered integrity and compliance in academic standards to align with institutional regulations by coordinating closely with faculty and administrators as well as parents and students.
Advanced Placement (AP) English Language Arts (ELA) Instructor at Theatre Arts Production High School, Bronx, NY
2011 - 2014
Guided and motivated select middle and high school students in acquiring, developing, and applying advanced English language skills, abilities, and content knowledge to prepare for and engage in college-level work. Promoted active participation while fostering creativity in a multi-cultural, learner-centered, performance-based environment.
Prepared and submitted syllabi and student examinations for review, approval, assessment, and scoring by university/expert AP faculty.
English Language Arts (ELA) Instructor at Roland Patterson School, Bronx, NY
2006 - 2011
Envisioned, developed, and evolved integrated ELA curriculum and teaching units, aligned to meet core content and government mandated standards. Created and maintained a stimulating, interactive, and thought-provoking learning environment by utilizing a workshop model, leveraging multimedia tools, and incorporating a broad range of literary materials. Prepared, customized, and delivered lessons/course materials designed to build on and expand full scope of ELA skills for top-tier to at-risk multicultural urban students, ages 13 -18. Collaborated with students, parents, administrators, and faculty to maintain and encourage academic integrity and compliance with institutional guidelines. Evaluated and recorded student coursework and progress.
Elevated student achievement and passing rate each year throughout tenure by designing and presenting original teaching units aligned with common core standards (CSS).
Introduced and trained teachers on state ELA assessment structure and scoring, including hierarchical identification and classification, while serving as spring 2011 Content Trainer.
Produced highly accurate student assessment; created, proctored, and scored winter 2010 and spring 2011 Languages Other Than English (LOTE) Regents Assessments.
Developed and crafted interdisciplinary lessons that effectively combined ELA strategies and skills with content from many other subject areas.
Leveraged ability to connect with and understand students’ experiences, interests, and goals to defuse disruptive classroom situations and distill teaching moments.
Education example
MA, Education at Hunter College CUNY, New York, NY
BA, English Literature at Hunter College CUNY, New York, NY
Certified Teacher of English: Grades 7 to 12
Skills example
Windows and Mac OS, Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe (Photoshop, Illustrator), Avid, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress
Innovative teaching methodologies
Customize teaching units
Multidisciplinary lesson plans.
Well-developed communication and presentation talents
Forging productive relationships
