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What you'll do in college

Languages Education programs train you to teach English, literature, or foreign/second languages to diverse populations. You will study linguistics, literature, grammar, and phonetics alongside teaching methodologies, second-language acquisition theory, and cultural competency.

Programs require rigorous reading and writing, as well as field experiences in language classrooms to practice designing engaging lessons that build students' communication skills.

What you'll do after college

Graduates primarily work as middle or high school English or foreign language teachers, or as English as a Second Language (ESL) instructors for children or adults. Opportunities also exist globally for teaching English abroad.

Outside traditional schools, alumni often find work in translation, technical writing, corporate language training, publishing, and international educational programs.

Selectivity vs. earnings

By acceptance rate

$55,430
472
100–72%
$55,959
947
72–55%
$56,971
473
55–0%
Acceptance rate · bar = degree-weighted adjusted 5-year earnings

By SAT median

$54,710
384
400–1100
$57,298
747
1100–1265
$53,719
378
1265–1600
Median SAT · bar = degree-weighted adjusted 5-year earnings

Majors in this category

Major Colleges Degrees Male/Female Intl 5yr Earn
Languages Education 377 2,489 19% / 81% 2% $55,411
English Education 263 1,613 20% / 80% 1% $55,657
Teaching English as a Second Language 46 127 20% / 80% 17% $56,755
Spanish Education 45 120 19% / 81% 2% $55,120
World Language Education 1 108 6% / 94% 2% $41,942
Spanish Language Teacher Education 51 84 12% / 88% 1% $60,271
Bilingual Education 10 65 8% / 92% 2% $65,366
TESOL 3 40 25% / 75% 2%
English Language Arts Education 2 36 36% / 64% 0% $60,196
Integrated Language Arts/English Education 1 31 26% / 74% 0% $53,593
Language and Drama Education 7 30 17% / 83% 3% $59,572
Bilingual and Multilingual Education 10 28 18% / 82% 4%
English Teaching 2 27 19% / 81% 0% $51,538
Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language/ESL Language Instructor 5 25 36% / 64% 4% $44,896
Adolescence Education English 1 18 28% / 72% 0% $50,024
Teacher Education: English Education 1 14 36% / 64% 0% $55,501
English/Language Arts Teacher Education 48 11 0% / 100% 0% $54,095
Language Arts Education 3 11 0% / 100% 0% $51,443
English/Language Arts Education 1 11 9% / 91% 0% $52,926
Spanish Teacher Education 1 11 27% / 73% 9% $60,302
Reading Teacher Education 3 10 0% / 100% 0% $54,257
French Language Teacher Education 15 9 11% / 89% 0% $57,740
French Education 7 9 44% / 56% 0% $52,918
Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages 1 8 0% / 100% 12%
German Language Teacher Education 6 7 14% / 86% 0% $62,643
Language Education 1 6 17% / 83% 17% $71,652
Languages and Literature Teaching 1 6 17% / 83% 0% $53,307
Adolescence Education Spanish 1 5 0% / 100% 0% $50,024
English Teacher Education 2 3 33% / 67% 0% $56,892
German Education 2 3 0% / 100% 0% $58,407
Bilingual/Bicultural Education 1 3 0% / 100% 0%
English as a Second Language Education 1 3 33% / 67% 0%
Teacher Education: Drama Education 1 3 0% / 100% 0% $55,501
Foreign Language Education 2 2 0% / 100% 0% $62,231
Foreign Language Teacher Education 10 1 0% / 100% 0% $58,710
Spanish Teaching 1 1 0% / 100% 0% $49,768