Job Description

We seek to appoint a full-time, non-fixed term Teaching Fellow in Russian who is expected to be able to teach core and optional Russian language modules at all levels, from ab initio to advanced. The post is offered at grade 7 (the entry point for lecturers). If appropriate and necessary, the Teaching Fellow might be asked to contribute to the teaching of cultural modules in Russian Studies, while there may also be the opportunity for suitably experienced candidates to contribute to MA teaching (e.g. MA in Translation Studies). In addition to the above, the teaching fellow will engage in administrative duties involving at least some of the following activities: year abroad coordination, examinations and assessment, course documentation and curriculum development, module leadership and quality assurance, academic guidance, and outreach.

Teaching

Our school, comprising Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Hispanic, Italian, and Russian Studies, as well as the Centre for Foreign Language Study (CFLS), is one of the most successful modern language units of this kind in the UK. It has a strong research culture, bringing staff and postgraduates from its constituent departments together in interdisciplinary discussions and collaborations.

The School fosters a culture of outstanding teaching and personal development in both the graduate and undergraduate communities, prescribing, in accordance with University strategy, that undergraduate teaching be research-based, research-orientated, or research-led, as appropriate, while striving to reinforce and enhance the characteristically strong bond between staff and students.

Russian Studies fosters a strong sense of community in the practice of teaching and learning, and there are currently around 150 undergraduates studying modules in Russian. Russian is studied mainly as part of the BA in Modern Languages, in conjunction with one or more languages taught in other language areas of the School: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Italian or Spanish. Russian is also offered as half of the Joint Degree programme with History and as a component of the Combined Honours in Arts programme. Around 75% of students entering the first year are beginners in Russian and around 25% have an A-Level in the subject. Students on other degrees are also given the opportunity to take up modules as beginners or post-beginners in Russian within the CFLS programme.

All students of Russian are required to take the relevant core language module in any given year (double for ab initio students in Y1 and Y2). They may choose other options from a range of modules in Russian literature, cinema, culture and translation. Students can take up to 60 (out of 120) credits from Russian modules in Y1, 80 (out of 120) credits in Y2, and the full 120 credits in the final year. The final year involves the completion of a compulsory undergraduate dissertation (20 or 40 credits), which is written in English.

All students are required to spend their third year in one or more of the countries whose languages they are studying, and to complete a Target Language Research Project. Russian Studies has exchange programmes with universities in Moscow, St Petersburg, Tomsk and Ulianovsk, as well as an Erasmus agreement with the Palacky University in Olomouc in the Czech Republic. During their year abroad students are obliged to complete an extended, independently researched, written task in Russian.

Responsibilities

• To teach core undergraduate Russian language modules, as well as the optional final-year specialist module in Russian for Professional Communication.
• In relation to the above teaching responsibilities, to carry out the following: preparation of course documentation and curriculum development; module leadership and quality assurance; academic guidance to students; formative marking, summative assessment and examinations.
• To prepare, assist and monitor undergraduate students who are spending part of their third year abroad in Russia; to supervise, remotely, their compulsory year-abroad written task; to maintain and develop effective relationships with our year-abroad partner institutions in Russia and elsewhere, taking responsibility for Russian-related student exchanges.
• If appropriate and necessary, to contribute to the teaching of cultural modules in Russian Studies.
• If appropriate and necessary, to contribute to relevant teaching on some of our Master’s programmes (esp. MA in Translation Studies).
• As appropriate, to carry out, on behalf of the School, outreach duties as representative of Russian, taking part in the organisation of Russian-related events of interest to staff, students and the local community.
• To engage in scholarship (broadly defined) that supports and develops their role as a Teaching Fellow.
• To undertake administrative tasks as required by the Director of Russian Studies and Head of School, including: acting as an academic adviser, attending committees, participating in working groups and other collective administrative tasks within the School, alongside colleagues in Russian and other languages.

Person Specification

Skills & Competencies

• Native proficiency in spoken and written Russian: Essential
• Near-native proficiency in spoken and written English: Essential
• Ability to work as a member of a team: Essential
• Ability to communicate clearly, precisely and effectively in written and oral forms: Essential
• Outstanding organisational and administrative skills: Essential
• Willingness to engage with and contribute to activity at all levels in the department and in the broader institutional environment: Essential
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills: Essential

Qualifications

• A BA Hons or equivalent degree in Russian at 2.1 level or higher OR in the case of qualified native speakers with Russian qualifications, a good first degree in another subject: Essential
• A postgraduate qualification in language teaching: Desirable
• Member of the Higher Education Academy: Desirable 

Experience

• Experience of Russian language teaching to non-specialist learners: Essential
• Experience in team-teaching: Essential
• Experience in module co-ordination: Essential
• Experience in course materials design: Essential
• Organisational and administrative experience: Essential
• Experience in e-Learning: Desirable 

Special Knowledge

• Ability to teach a wide range of language elective modules: Essential
• Understanding of cultural, political and social aspects of the Russian-speaking world: Essential
• Ability to coordinate relationships with Russian-based academic organisations: Essential
• Knowledge of UK university system: Essential
• Experience of academic programme design and implementation: Essential
• Knowledge of DUO (Blackboard) or equivalent system: Desirable
• Knowledge of whiteboard teaching technology: Desirable
• Knowledge of recent developments in Language Learning and Teaching: Desirable
• Experience of collaborative partnerships, outreach work and recruitment activity: Desirable 

It is essential that in your written application you give evidence of proven experience against the relevant selection criteria. Assessment of such experience will be further developed and discussed with those candidates invited for interview, along with those skills and competencies to be assessed in a presentation and formal interview. 

 

Best regards,

OLEKSANDRA SIKORSKA

Professional Recruiter

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