Teaching Assistant at South Asia Summer Language Institute (SASLI)

The South Asia Summer Language Institute (SASLI) is a national, eight-week, intensive language institute housed in the Language Program Office (LPO) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and co-administered by the UW-Madison Center for South Asia. SASLI offers courses in South Asian languages annually from mid-June through mid-August. SASLI is also one of the institutes that comprises the Wisconsin Intensive Summer Language Institutes. SASLI is overseen by a national consortium of U.S. universities that contribute resources and language teaching staff to support this unique language institute.

The duties of this position are equivalent to that of a Teaching Assistant (TA) and are designed to provide teacher training in less commonly taught languages under the supervision of the Main Instructor/Lecturer assigned to the course, in conjunction with the SASLI Academic Director, the LPO Academic Director, and in coordination with the designated SASLI Pedagogy Coordinator and administrative staff members. Teaching Assistants are expected to perform the following duties under the daily supervision of the Lecturer of the course:

- The Main Instructor/Lecturer is primarily responsible for teaching one of the following languages: Bengali, Dari, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Pashto, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sinhala, Tamil, Tibetan, and/or Urdu in an eight-week intensive summer format. The Faculty Assistant will assist the Main Instructor/Lecturer in teaching one of the aforementioned languages. The majority of SASLI 2025 classes will be taught in an online, synchronous format, with one Elementary Hindi course offered in person.
- Following ACTFL recommendations, for modern, spoken languages, commit to communicating at least 90% in the target language in interaction with students for the duration of the program.
- Assist the Main Instructor/Lecturer of the course in preparing syllabus, and in developing, administering, and grading classroom and home assignments and exams.
- Assist the Main Instructor/Lecturer of the course in maintaining the student learning management system (LMS) on Canvas.
- Hold scheduled office hours a minimum of 2 hours per week with additional time available to students upon request.
- Work closely with the LPO and institute pedagogy staff to prepare for course observations and performance evaluations that ensure program guidelines and expectations are met.
- Demonstrate ability to collaborate with other instructors and program staff.
- Contribute to fostering a supportive and collegial working environment.
- Participate in all pedagogy workshops and instructor meetings organized by WISLI and individual institutes, including all required pre-service workshops during the first week of employment.
- Follow WISLI best practices and work toward level-appropriate standards of ACTFL proficiency-based instruction.

Teaching Assistants are responsible for assisting the Main Instructor/Lecturer with managing their classrooms, which includes assisting with:
Ensuring target language use in the classroom.
Maintaining an engaging and orderly learning environment.
Acting as the first point of contact for student academic and non-academic issues with support from the pedagogy coordinator and academic director.
Organizing course materials in Canvas.
Sharing course-related communications with students.
Managing classroom administrative tasks including taking attendance, reporting grades, and providing timely feedback.

During the eight-week summer period, there will be one scheduled teaching observation. Additional observations may be arranged for professional development purposes, to address classroom-related issues, or for funding agency oversight. All observations will be scheduled with prior notice.

The majority of SASLI courses will be offered in a synchronous, remote format for summer 2025. Instructors for remote courses are not expected to live in Madison and are expected to have sufficient internet access and technology to effectively teach without interruption and to meet all requirements of instructional staff at SASLI, including attendance at all meetings during pre-service orientation week, attendance at all mandatory pedagogy training meetings, holding of daily office hours, etc. Meetings and classes will be held during the business day based on the US Central time zone.

One Elementary Hindi course may be offered in-person in Madison, WI. Instructors selected for this course would be expected to relocate to Madison, WI, for the summer program and teach in-person. Applicants interested in teaching in-person for Elementary Hindi should note this in submitted cover letter.

For more information, please visit https://sasli.wisc.edu/instructor-application/

Positions are filled based on student enrollment numbers. Some notifications may come in late spring.

This appointment is for summer 2025 only. There is no presumption of reappointment.

• 85% Facilitates classroom and/or laboratory instruction for one or more courses including assessment of student performance
• 5% Assists with the development of instructional design and curriculum relevant to a course of instruction under the direction of an academic staff or faculty member
• 5% Serves as an initial point of contact for students as it relates to specific course or series content and expectations
• 5% Attends Staff meetings, pedagogy training sessions, and occasional SASLI extracurricular activities; assist with placing students in appropriate levels as necessary

Diversity is a source of strength, creativity, and innovation for UW-Madison. We value the contributions of each person and respect the profound ways their identity, culture, background, experience, status, abilities, and opinion enrich the university community. We commit ourselves to the pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, outreach, and diversity as inextricably linked goals.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison fulfills its public mission by creating a welcoming and inclusive community for people from every background - people who as students, faculty, and staff serve Wisconsin and the world.

For more information on diversity and inclusion on campus, please visit: Diversity and Inclusion

Required
Minimum of a Bachelor's degree in South Asian or Area Studies, Linguistics, Second Language Acquisition, or a related field

- Fluency or near-native fluency in the language being taught and in English required.

- One year of college/university experience preferred in teaching a South Asian Language as a second language at the elementary, intermediate, or advanced level in the US or abroad in one of the following languages: Bengali, Dari, Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi, Nepali, Pashto, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Sinhala, Tamil, Tibetan, and/or Urdu.

- Knowledge of current issues in language pedagogy and training in language proficiency preferred.

- Experience with remote teaching and technology in foreign language is strongly preferred.

Full Time: 100%

This position may require some work to be performed in-person, onsite, at a designated campus work location. Some work may be performed remotely, at an offsite, non-campus work location.

Terminal, 2 month appointment.

Minimum $52,000 SUMMER SESSION
Depending on Qualifications

Diversity, inclusion, and access are primary values for the Language Programs Office (LPO) and are integral to achieving our strategic goals. We seek candidates with an awareness of and commitment to the principles of diversity, inclusion, and access across all spectrums.

Short term summer position with no presumption of reappointment. Positions will run from June 9, 2025 - August 8, 2025.

Please submit the following information through the online jobs portal by the assured consideration date:

-Cover letter addressing teaching philosophy, language(s) and level(s) applying to assist with, and number of semesters taught in higher education language courses or equivalent experience (if applicable).
-CV
-List of 3 professional references
-Student evaluations of teaching encouraged if available. The SASLI hiring committee will review student and performance evaluations from instructors who have previously taught at SASLI.

Anne Naparstek
anne.naparstek@wisc.edu
608-261-1194
Relay Access (WTRS): 7-1-1. See RELAY_SERVICE for further information.

Teaching Specialist(TL024)

A10-INTL DIVISION/LANG PROGRAM OFFICE

Academic Staff-Terminal

309702-AS