TEACHING ASSISTANT (TA) POSITIONS

Teaching Assistantships

Teaching Assistantships are awarded to both incoming and continuing graduate students. Prior experience teaching is a major factor in assigning positions.  There are a limited number of TA Trainee positions which may be available for incoming students without the prerequisite teaching experience.

Apply for a Fall 2008 position
Requirements by course
International Teaching Assistantships
TA Trainee Positions

For positions beginning in the fall of 2008

If you are applying for admission to the Linguistics at the University of Florida for the fall of 2008 and wish to be considered for a teaching assistant or TA trainee position, you must apply by January 1, 2008.  Indicate on the application form the position that most interests you. If you are a continuing student in the program, you must notify the Employment Committee Chair (Dr. Wind Cowles: cowles@ufl.edu) of your interest in a position by January 30, 2008.

Requirements by course

Listed below are the courses for which we usually award Teaching Assistantships or Teacher Trainee positions. A brief description of the requirements for each course is given.

Lin 2000 Language: Humanities Perspective

This course is taught during the fall, spring, and summer sessions. It is a General Education course offered to undergraduate students not majoring in Linguistics.

A Teaching Assistantship for this course requires that the graduate student has taken both core and applied courses in linguistics. Students who have experience in teaching academic writing may be hired to teach a Gordon Rule section of the course; this section requires that the enrolled students do a number of writing assignments to receive credit for the course. Graduate students awarded this assistantship teach one or two sections of Lin 2000 on their own; they are responsible for all aspects of the course, from content to evaluation, under the guidance of the Lin 2000 supervisor.

Lin 3010  Introduction to Linguistics

This course is taught during the fall, spring, and summer sessions. It is a required introductory course for all linguistics majors.  During fall and spring semesters, the course is taught in two formats: 1) a large lecture class (approximately 100) taught by a professor, with TAs assigned to lead smaller sections (approximately 25 students each) in small discussion groups one day a week; or 2) smaller sections (approximately 30-35 students) taught solely by a TA.  During summer semester, the course is taught only in the second format, by TAs.

There are therefore two kinds of Teaching Assistantships for Lin 3010 with different duties: 1) when assisting a professor who teaches a large lecture class, duties include attending lectures, grading homework and exams, and leading weekly discussion sections with the undergraduate students; or 2) when teaching a small section of Lin 3010 on their own, TAs are responsible for all aspects of the course, from content to evaluation, under the guidance of the Lin 3010 supervisor.

In both cases, if the graduate student’s admission status required taking the comprehensive exam (all MA students, some PhDs), the graduate student must have passed the comprehensive examination with P (pass) or better before being appointed as a TA for Lin 3010. If not required to take the comprehensive exam (some PhD students), the graduate student must be competent in the core areas of linguistics, as demonstrated in coursework.

Lin 3201 Sounds of Human Language 

Lin 3460 Structures of Human Language     

These courses are taught fall and spring semesters, by faculty members, and TAs may be hired (budget permitting) to assist with grading, office hours, etc.  Positions are available only to continuing graduate students who are specializing in phonetics/phonology (for Lin3201) or syntax/morphology (for Lin3460).

ESL Service Programs

Academic Written English Program

The Academic Written English (AWE) Program serves international graduate students from all over the world who are enrolled in graduate programs at UF. In addition to three hours of classes a week, each student meets with their teacher regularly for writing conferences.

Teaching Assistants in this program must have prior experience in teaching English as a second or foreign language, in particular English for Academic Purposes to advanced students, or experience teaching academic writing to native speakers of English. It is desirable that the applicant for this assistantship has taken courses on the teaching of academic writing. During the first semester of the assistantship, the TA is required to take Supervised Teaching (Lin 6940) to prepare to teach independently in the Academic Written English Program the following semester(s).

Academic Spoken English Program

The Academic Spoken English (ASE) Program offers advanced oral English training for international graduate students, in particular those who have been awarded International Teaching Assistantships (ITAs) at the University of Florida. Teaching Assistants working in this program should, in addition to a keen interest in intercultural pragmatics and/or international communication, have some experience in teaching English as a second and/or foreign language in international settings. It is preferable as well that the TA be familiar with the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) or be taking a course in the Linguistics program that provides training in phonetics. During the first semester of the assistantship, the TA is required to enroll in Supervised Teaching (Lin 6940) for one credit in order to prepare for independent teaching in the ASE program during subsequent semesters.

English Language Institute

The English Language Institute (ELI) offers service courses at all levels to international students not enrolled at the University of Florida. Qualifications for a Teaching Assistantship at the ELI are a Master’s degree in Linguistics/TESL or a related area or that the applicant be working on a Master’s degree in Linguistics/TESL or a related area. Those enrolled in the Linguistics Program should have already taken TSL 6371 or an equivalent course before being appointed to an assistantship in the ELI.  During the first semester, the new teachers are required to take Supervised Teaching (Lin 6940).

INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS AS TEACHING ASSISTANTS

International applicants and students in Linguistics may be considered for teaching assistant positions for linguistics courses as well as in the ESL service programs (AWE, ASE, and the ELI), as listed above.  However, to be eligible for a teaching assistantship at the University of Florida, Florida State Law requires that you take the SPEAK or TSE test as soon after arrival on campus as possible.  This requirement applies to all students who do not come from a country in which English is an official language. The Linguistics program requires a score of 55 before consideration can be given for an assistantship. In additions, interviews are generally required for the ESL service programs.

Note: It is highly recommended that all international students who think they may want to apply for a teaching assistantship or who must teach as an assistant as a requirement for their fellowships/scholarships take the SPEAK test during the first semester of their period of residence at UF.

Foreign language departments on campus (Japanese, Arabic, Swahili, etc.) also often have Teaching Assistantships for speakers of those languages. If you are interested in one of those positions, please inform the graduate student coordinator of Linguistics; your interest will be forwarded to the relevant department.  If you are an international student, you are still required by Florida State Law to take the TSE or the SPEAK test even if you are assigned to teach your native language. However, the required score is 45.

TEACHING ASSISTANT TRAINEE POSITIONS

Teaching Assistant Trainee positions may be awarded to new graduate students
either during the fall or spring semester. The purpose of these positions is to train the new student for a future Teaching Assistantship. The duties involve providing support for a professor, such as grading, leading discussion sections, or providing help during office hours to students. Trainees are expected to take
Supervised Teaching in the relevant program during the semester they are acting as trainees.