All careers

English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary

Teach courses in English language and literature, including linguistics and comparative literature. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

What you’d do

  • Teach writing or communication classes.
  • Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
  • Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
  • Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
  • Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
  • Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
  • Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as poetry, novel structure, and translation and adaptation.
  • Assist students who need extra help with their coursework outside of class.

Skills that matter

  • Reading Comprehension
  • Instructing
  • Writing
  • Speaking
  • Active Listening
  • Learning Strategies

How to get there

Extensive preparation: most need graduate school, such as a master's degree or higher

Also called

  • English Instructor
  • English Professor
  • Instructor
  • Professor
  • Assistant Professor
  • Associate Professor

Related careers

See all careers

  • Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary

    Teach courses pertaining to the culture and development of an area, an ethnic group, or any other group, such as Latin American studies…

    Extensive preparation: most need graduate school, such as a master's degree or higher

  • Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary

    Teach languages and literature courses in languages other than English. Includes teachers of American Sign Language (ASL).

    Extensive preparation: most need graduate school, such as a master's degree or higher

  • Philosophy and Religion Teachers, Postsecondary

    Teach courses in philosophy, religion, and theology. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination…

    Extensive preparation: most need graduate school, such as a master's degree or higher

  • Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary

    Teach courses in sociology. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.

    Extensive preparation: most need graduate school, such as a master's degree or higher

  • History Teachers, Postsecondary

    Teach courses in human history and historiography. Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of…

    Extensive preparation: most need graduate school, such as a master's degree or higher

  • Art, Drama, and Music Teachers, Postsecondary

    Teach courses in drama, music, and the arts including fine and applied art, such as painting and sculpture, or design and crafts.

    Extensive preparation: most need graduate school, such as a master's degree or higher