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Position Descriptions

Classroom Instructor Position:

ENGL 620 Classroom Instructor

.50 Teaching Assistant
20 Hours per Week

Applicants who have taken coursework in Second Language Studies, English as a Second Language, TESOL, Applied Linguistics and Linguistics will be given preference for classroom instructor positions.

This position serves as an instructor for the OEPP (Oral English Proficiency Program), teaching the ENGL 620 course, "Classroom Communication for International Teaching Assistants." ENGL 62000 is a course in English as a Second Language to help candidates for graduate teaching assistantships/instructorships develop language competence and acquire the cultural knowledge necessary for successful classroom communication in an American academic context. Enrollment in ENGL 620 is limited to 8 students per class.

The class meets twice a week for two hours in the classroom, with an additional one-half hour per student per week of required conferences. The course focuses on intelligible pronunciation, stress and intonation patterns; listening comprehension; paraphrasing and circumlocution; and coherent organization of information at sentence and discourse level. The course also addresses values inherent in the diversity and democracy of the American educational system and American students' expectations of instructors.

ENGL 620 is offered to students with varying oral English proficiency skill levels and with different goals for the outcome of the course. Students are grouped into course sections based on their OEPT score. In addition to our regular sections of the course for students who received a score of 45 or below on the OEPT, we periodically offer a professional development section of the class for students who are already certified but wish to continue improving their oral English skills. The professional development section is especially useful for students preparing to enter the job market. Organizing class sections according to the students' skill levels affords our OEPP instructors the opportunity to gain experience working in a variety of contexts.

Oral English Proficiency Testing

Classroom instructors also receive training to serve as Test Administrators and Raters for the Oral English Proficiency Test©. The initial rater training requires approximately 25 hours of time and is arranged with the OEPP Testing Coordinator. After completing training and meeting program standards for competence, prospective raters may be certified. Subsequent rating is done on a monthly basis, and requires 4 to 8 hours per month.

Given the responsibilities outlined above, an instructor should expect:

  • 4 hours per week in-class
  • 4 hours per week of required conferences
  • 8 hours per month rater training and test rating as needed.

Classroom Instructor Application Form 

 

Tutorial Instructor Position

.25 Teaching Assistant
10 Hours per Week

Applicants who have taken coursework in Second Language Studies, English as a Second Language, TESOL, Applied Linguistics and Linguistics and will be given preference for tutorial instructor positions.

This position serves as a tutorial instructor for the OEPP (Oral English Proficiency Program). The OEPP provides non-credit assistance in English as a Second Language to help candidates for graduate teaching assistantships develop oral language competence and acquire cultural knowledge necessary for effective communication teaching in North American academic contexts.

Tutorial instructors provide one-on-one teaching, auxiliary instruction and practice for students enrolled in English 620, "Classroom Communication for International Teaching Assistants."

Tutorial instructors provide individualized instruction that is not easily met via classroom instruction, as well as ensuring immediate feedback and error correction. Tutorial sessions may focus on any or all of the following:

  • intelligible pronunciation, stress and intonation patterns;
  • listening comprehension;
  • vocabulary pertaining to and beyond subject matter;
  • coherent organization of information at sentence and discourse level.

Students enrolled in English 62000 receive 50 minutes of tutoring time per week. Tutorial instructors meet with students for eight or fewer hours per week, and use the remaining time for administrative tasks, such as completing evaluation forms.

Tutorial Instructor Application Form 

 

Testing Office Assistant Position

.25 or .50 Teaching Assistant
10 or 20 Hours per Week

Applicants who have taken coursework in Linguistics or Applied Linguistics, and/or Statistics, and who have experience with statistical software packages, will be given preference for testing office positions.

This position works in the OEPP (Oral English Proficiency Program) testing office, handling a variety of tasks under the supervision of the director of testing and the administrative testing office coordinator.

Testing office assistants administer the Oral English Proficiency Test, a semi-direct computer-based test, to approximately 400 students per year. Testing office assistants set up the computer lab for testing, check-in students are they arrive to take the OEPT, and back-up testing files at the conclusion of the test administration. They also assign tests to be scored to raters, and prepare the final score reports.

In addition, testing office assistants run a variety of statistical reports and analyses. They will also assist with special projects. Past projects have included assisting with the development of the updated OEPT, working with the rater training program, and updating the practice test website.

Testing Office Assistant Application Form