UW-Madison seeks TA to teach a language of southern Africa

Expressions of interest due February 15, 2015

 

The Department of African Languages and Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA) is seeking a teaching assistant to work under the department’s language coordinator, taking responsibility for all classroom instruction of a language of southern Africa, preferably Zulu, Xhosa, Chichewa, or Shona beginning in August 2015.

The teaching assistant must be a full-time post-graduate student working toward an M.A. degree (possibly followed by a Ph.D. degree) in the Department of African Languages and Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

This is a preliminary call for expressions of interest. Candidates who receive encouragement from us will be asked to apply formally for
admission to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School for study in the Department of African Languages and Literature, with an August 2015 start date.

To express interest

Interested persons should send an email message to the department’s language coordinator, Professor Katrina Thompson (katrina.daly.thompson@wisc.edu) stating this interest; please attach three documents:

(1) A letter of about two pages outlining your academic background and research interests, describing how they fit with and can be accommodated by the Department of African Languages and Literature. The letter also should make clear the language of southern Africa that you would be prepared to teach and describe any experience or training that you might have in language pedagogy. A background in language pedagogy is not required, but a willingness to be trained to teach the language while also pursuing post-graduate study and research in a field covered by the department’s faculty members is required.

(2) A current CV.

(3) Copies of transcripts for all prior post-secondary academic work (they need not be official at this point).

The benefits of a teaching assistant position at Wisconsin include waiver of most university tuition and fees and a salary sufficient to
support the student at a basic level in Madison.

Deadline

If interested, submit an email message, as described above, to Professor Thompson by 15 February 2015.