Will AI replace Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary?
AI reaches most of this job’s work.
56/100
Very high exposure
More exposed to AI than 87% of US workers.
- AI already used in
- 35% of the work
- As AI tools mature: up to
- 84% of the work
What the job involves
Teach languages and literature courses in languages other than English. Includes teachers of American Sign Language (ASL). Includes both teachers primarily engaged in teaching and those who do a combination of teaching and research.
Where AI reaches the work
The job’s main tasks, heaviest first, by how far AI reaches them.
Already happening(9)
- Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers.
- Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as how to speak and write a foreign language and the cultural aspects of areas where a particular language is used.
- Keep abreast of developments in their field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional organizations and activities.
- Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others.
- Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction.
and 4 more
Within reach(11)
- Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts.
- Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records.
- Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students.
- Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks.
- Write letters of recommendation for students.
and 6 more
Out of reach(4)
- Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions.
- Participate in campus and community events.
- Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues.
- Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work.
Also called
Spanish Teacher · French Teacher · French Professor · German Professor · Spanish Instructor · Adjunct Instructor · Adjunct Spanish Instructor · Arabic Teacher
Related jobs
- Area, Ethnic, and Cultural Studies Teachers, Postsecondary44/100
- English Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary56/100
- History Teachers, Postsecondary60/100
- Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, and English as a Second Language Instructors41/100
- Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education35/100
What these numbers mean
The score is the share of this job’s work, weighted by how important and frequent each task is, that AI could do in half the time: tasks an AI model could do alone count in full, tasks that need software built on AI count half.
“AI already used” is the share of the work in tasks where people are recorded using AI today. “As AI tools mature” counts every task AI could halve, with or without extra software.
The percentile compares the score with every job’s, weighted by how many people in the US do each one. Exposure means AI could change how the work is done, not that the job goes away. These are estimates for the typical job, not predictions.
Sources
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration
- GPTs are GPTs: Labor market impact potential of LLMs (task labels), Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), OpenAI and University of Pennsylvania
- Anthropic Economic Index: labor market impacts (task penetration), Anthropic
- Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 (national and metropolitan areas), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics