Teachers of english
as a foreign language
Teachers of English as a foreign language teach students to speak and write the English language, either for the first time or building on their existing knowledge.
- Employees (UK)
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- Median annual pay
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- Exposure score ?
- 1.5/10 Minimal 5.9/10 Moderate strict reading, with tools is 5.9/10 with-tools reading, strict is 1.5/10
- Wage exposure
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Higher exposure than 68% of the 379 UK occupations we scored.
What this score means.
Most of this role's work is still hard for AI: physical presence, practised skill, judgement in context and direct care, the things that do not turn into text.
If you are in this role
Nothing here is under pressure today, but the frontier moves. Learn enough to direct AI at the paperwork around the job. People in hands-on roles who can do that become unusually useful inside their organisations.
A real share of the task list is within reach, especially drafting, summarising, research and analysis. People in this role who learn to direct AI well will pull ahead of those who do not.
If you are in this role
Treat AI like a capable junior you manage. Where you would hand a task to a junior with a clear brief, AI can do it now. Spend the time you get back on judgement and relationships.
Where the work usually starts.
These are the most important tasks a language model can already handle directly. In a typical engagement the first wins come from building workflows around them, so they stop eating the team's time.
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Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects and communicate those objectives to students.
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Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws or administrative policies.
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Prepare for assigned classes and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
These are the most important tasks AI can already handle when paired with the right tools and context. The first wins usually come from building workflows around them. That is the difference between a model that could do the job and one that actually does it inside your business.
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Observe and evaluate students' work to determine progress and make suggestions for improvement.
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Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects and communicate those objectives to students.
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Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs, abilities, and interests.
Every role has three or four places like these. Finding them takes an hour. Turning them into a workflow your team actually uses takes a few days.
Every task in the role.
Every O*NET task for this occupation, split by what AI can do unaided and what still needs a person. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central each task is.
Tasks via O*NET "Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors" (25-3011.00).
What AI can already do
5 of 37 tasks, unaided
Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects and communicate those objectives to students.
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws or administrative policies.
Prepare for assigned classes and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration.
Attend professional meetings, conferences, and workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.
What still needs a person
32 of 37 tasks
Observe and evaluate students' work to determine progress and make suggestions for improvement.
Observe students to determine qualifications, limitations, abilities, interests, and other individual characteristics.
Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs, abilities, and interests.
Prepare students for further education by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
Instruct students individually and in groups, using various teaching methods, such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
Assign and grade class work and homework.
Conduct classes, workshops, and demonstrations to teach principles, techniques, or methods in subjects, such as basic English language skills, life skills, and workforce entry skills.
Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among the students for whom they are responsible.
Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
Prepare and administer written, oral, and performance tests and issue grades in accordance with performance.
Provide information, guidance, and preparation for the General Equivalency Diploma (GED) examination.
Prepare and implement remedial programs for students requiring extra help.
Enforce administration policies and rules governing students.
Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
Select and schedule class times to ensure maximum attendance.
Review instructional content, methods, and student evaluations to assess strengths and weaknesses, and to develop recommendations for course revision, development, or elimination.
Register, orient, and assess new students according to standards and procedures.
Train and assist tutors and community literacy volunteers.
Collaborate with other teachers and professionals in the development of instructional programs.
Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress.
Guide and counsel students with adjustment or academic problems or special academic interests.
Select, order, and issue books, materials, and supplies for courses or projects.
Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons that promote learning, following approved curricula.
Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers, contests, or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.
Observe and evaluate the performance of other instructors.
Confer with leaders of government and community groups to coordinate student training or to find opportunities for students to fulfill curriculum requirements.
Participate in publicity planning, community awareness efforts, and student recruitment.
Advise students on internships, prospective employers, and job placement services.
Tasks via O*NET "Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors" (25-3011.00).
What AI can already do
23 of 37 tasks, with tools
Observe and evaluate students' work to determine progress and make suggestions for improvement.
Establish clear objectives for all lessons, units, and projects and communicate those objectives to students.
Adapt teaching methods and instructional materials to meet students' varying needs, abilities, and interests.
Plan and conduct activities for a balanced program of instruction, demonstration, and work time that provides students with opportunities to observe, question, and investigate.
Assign and grade class work and homework.
Maintain accurate and complete student records as required by laws or administrative policies.
Prepare and administer written, oral, and performance tests and issue grades in accordance with performance.
Provide information, guidance, and preparation for the General Equivalency Diploma (GED) examination.
Prepare and implement remedial programs for students requiring extra help.
Prepare for assigned classes and show written evidence of preparation upon request of immediate supervisors.
Use computers, audio-visual aids, and other equipment and materials to supplement presentations.
Prepare objectives and outlines for courses of study, following curriculum guidelines or requirements of states and schools.
Prepare reports on students and activities as required by administration.
Select and schedule class times to ensure maximum attendance.
Review instructional content, methods, and student evaluations to assess strengths and weaknesses, and to develop recommendations for course revision, development, or elimination.
Register, orient, and assess new students according to standards and procedures.
Collaborate with other teachers and professionals in the development of instructional programs.
Select, order, and issue books, materials, and supplies for courses or projects.
Attend professional meetings, conferences, and workshops to maintain and improve professional competence.
Confer with other staff members to plan and schedule lessons that promote learning, following approved curricula.
Observe and evaluate the performance of other instructors.
Participate in publicity planning, community awareness efforts, and student recruitment.
Advise students on internships, prospective employers, and job placement services.
What still needs a person
14 of 37 tasks
Observe students to determine qualifications, limitations, abilities, interests, and other individual characteristics.
Prepare students for further education by encouraging them to explore learning opportunities and to persevere with challenging tasks.
Prepare materials and classrooms for class activities.
Instruct students individually and in groups, using various teaching methods, such as lectures, discussions, and demonstrations.
Conduct classes, workshops, and demonstrations to teach principles, techniques, or methods in subjects, such as basic English language skills, life skills, and workforce entry skills.
Establish and enforce rules for behavior and procedures for maintaining order among the students for whom they are responsible.
Provide students with disabilities with assistive devices, supportive technology, and assistance accessing facilities, such as restrooms.
Enforce administration policies and rules governing students.
Train and assist tutors and community literacy volunteers.
Attend staff meetings and serve on committees, as required.
Meet with other professionals to discuss individual students' needs and progress.
Guide and counsel students with adjustment or academic problems or special academic interests.
Plan and supervise class projects, field trips, visits by guest speakers, contests, or other experiential activities, and guide students in learning from those activities.
Confer with leaders of government and community groups to coordinate student training or to find opportunities for students to fulfill curriculum requirements.
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Related occupations.
Other roles in Professional occupations, and roles close by exposure.
What it means for your sector.
This role's score comes from Eloundou et al's 2023 task labels, weighted by O*NET importance within each O*NET-SOC code, then bridged to UK SOC 2020 through ISCO-08 (the ONS coding index) and US SOC 2010 (the BLS crosswalk). Employment and median pay come from ONS ASHE Table 14.7a, 2025 provisional, which covers employees only.
Back to the mapMethodologySources (PDF)Built 29 April 2026
Pictures
- "Census pantograph and 1930s keypunches" by U.S. Census Bureau employees, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Shepard Barclay, St. Louis lawyer, in his office" by Missouri Historical Society via DPLA, no known copyright restrictions, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Accountant's Office LCCN2016824374" by National Photo Company Collection, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- "Employment service in Oulu in the spring 1931" by Finnish Heritage Agency (Museovirasto), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons