Three Jobs at the University of Maryland

Here are three job postings involving language acquisition and teaching at the University of Maryland:

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Less Commonly Taught Langs: Sr Research Scientist/Area Director

The University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL) is seeking to expand its senior research leadership with the addition of a linguist whose interests focus on Less Commonly Taught Languages. Applications are invited for an Area Director (AD) to lead CASL's interdisciplinary research program in this area, which applies investigations of language structure and use to the range of challenges that U.S. government language professionals confront in the course of their work. These challenges include interpretation, translation, and learning of languages that are not widely taught or described. Current projects involve description of and resource development for languages of interest to the US government. Existing areas of expertise include Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. The successful applicant will oversee and develop new projects that apply basic research in language structure and use to projects in other CASL research areas, including second-language acquisition, cognitive neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and technology use.

View the full job posting at http://linguistlist.org/issues/23/23-2240.html

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Instructed 2nd Lang Acq: Asst/Assoc/Sr Research Scientist

University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL) is seeking to fill a research faculty position in Instructed Second Language Acquisition to work in its interdisciplinary national language research program. CASL seeks scholars with expertise particularly in the empirical investigation of effective and efficient language instruction. The ideal candidate will have strong foundations in classroom research methods, language teaching methodology, and language-learning outcomes assessment. Areas of specialization may include instructed SLA, study abroad, and/or task-based language instruction. The successful candidate will work with multidisciplinary teams - including second language acquisition researchers, anthropologists, industrial/organizational and cognitive psychologists, and computational/ descriptive/psycholinguists - on projects that optimize language, culture, and job training and promote and track the acquisition and maintenance of critical foreign languages.

The successful candidate will work with or lead multidisciplinary teams to examine innovative approaches that potentially promote fast and effective, job-relevant language learning, often to very high levels. Current research projects include studies of aptitude-by- treatment interaction, lexical learning, curriculum innovations, and technology for language learning, and investigations of other efficiencies in L2 instruction.

View the full job posting at http://linguistlist.org/issues/23/23-2241.html

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Distance Foreign Lang Learning: Asst/Assoc/Sr Research Scientist

University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL) is seeking to fill a research faculty position in Distance Foreign Language Learning to work in its interdisciplinary research program on second language acquisition, with a focus on technology-mediated language instruction. Rank is open. CASL seeks scholars with research experience in distance language learning, particularly instructor-mediated online learning. The ideal candidate will have experience and/or interest in designing and evaluating distance learning programs, conducting research in instructed second language contexts, teaching language online, and assessing language learning at a distance. Areas of specialization may include designing models for effective technology-mediated language training, exploring methods of using technology to maximize second language acquisition, and analyzing distance learning outcomes. Possible domains of application include online CMC analysis, online course development and evaluation, and application of new technologies to distance learning settings. The successful candidate will work with multidisciplinary teams, including IT engineers and programmers, linguists and computational linguists, as well as second language acquisition researchers, on research projects that help government agencies offer language training at a distance for a variety of job-related skills. Examples of current projects include: developing empirically-based best practices for distance language instruction, establishing an assessment system for online language programs, determining the effectiveness of technology-mediated language training tools, and developing and evaluating online language programs and courses.

View the full job posting at http://linguistlist.org/issues/23/23-2242.html