Staff Responsibilities

Language Center staff consists of approximately 65 full-time lecturers across an array of foreign languages, an additional 10 occasional instructors, and central administration for the 15 language programs. Graduate teaching assistants with the Language Center are DLCL PhD students enrolled in their respective degree program. Responsibilities for these positions are listed in the menu below.

Language Center Director

The Director of the Language Center represents the foreign- and second-language programs to the University at large and is responsible for monitoring program excellence, the professional development of the teaching staff, and the use of technology in support of teaching and learning.

  • Monitoring of language programs
    • Monitors and reports all proficiency ratings of students in the language programs and reports these ratings to the University
    • Appoints language program coordinators for all language programs
    • Reads and interprets all teaching evaluations generated in language courses taught by non-academic council staff
    • Reports on the interpretation of the quality of teaching to department chairs, the DLCL Executive Committee, and to the H&S Dean’s Office
    • Recommends modifications in language programs and presents these to chairs and to the cognizant Dean
  • Administering the language requirement
    • Certifies language requirement exiting for the Registrar’s Office
    • Communicates directly with incoming Frosh regarding placement and exiting from the language requirement
  • Supervision and evaluation of language teaching staff
    • Initiates all formal evaluations (as per Faculty and Staff Handbook) of all non-academic council teaching staff
    • Conducts assessments of each staff member annually
    • Makes salary recommendations for the teaching staff to the H&S Dean’s Office
  • Hiring and retention of teaching staff
    • Initiates all non-academic council language teaching staff searches
    • Sits on all search committees for the hiring of non-academic council language teaching staff
    • Participates in discussions regarding re-hiring
    • Approves all language teaching staff hires and re-hires
  • Management of budgets
    • Advocates for staff, salary, and infrastructural resources
    • Allocates resources for language courses
    • Monitors expenditures across the academic year
    • Controls course and section size 
  • Technology
    • Sets policy directions in collaboration with campus partners
    • Advocates for resources for technology-use
Language Program Coordinator

A language coordinator is appointed by the Language Center Director for renewable three year terms.  Coordinator teaching loads are reduced by 3 courses across an academic year.  The language coordinator is the principal conduit for the communication of Language Center policies to the teaching staff and for monitoring those policies.  Coordinators are expected to hold the PhD degree and to be OPI and WPT certified.

Responsibilities include:

  • Advising the Language Center Director about enrollment trends, section cancellations, and section splits
  • Advising the Language Center Director about general staffing needs
  • Assigning courses to teaching staff members according to their expertise and programmatic need
  • Develop quarterly course schedules and (re)deliver them to the Language Center scheduling assistant in a timely fashion
  • Communicating with individual staff members about their teaching preferences for academic years and quarters
  • Convening teaching staff quarterly (at least) to review the curriculum, examine proficiency scores and so forth
  • Administering language-specific placement tests, guiding their assessment, and reporting scores and placement decisions to the Language Center administrative staff and to the cognizant teaching staff
  • Mentoring and observing all graduate student TAs each quarter throughout the academic year
  • Mentoring and observing new staff (lecturer and graduate student) members
  • Accepting student concerns and communicating them to the Language Center Director
  • Recommending language-specific curricular modifications to the Language Center Director
  • Guiding the teaching staff with respect to materials and curricular modifications
  • Delegating (in the case of large programs) responsibilities to level coordinators 
  • Communicating Language Center academic and administrative schedules and policies to the teaching staff
  • Administer graduate reading examinations where applicable
Language Program Lecturer

General Responsibilities: 

  • Ensure that your students reach the language objectives stated in the curricular documents (goal statements) of your program area. 
  • Plan all courses as well as individual class hours carefully with reference to program objectives.
  • Read and understand all course materials well in advance of teaching.
  • Be familiar with academic and administrative schedules and policies.
  • Be in frequent discussion and collaboration with colleagues and coordinators.
  • If you see something, say something to your coordinator and/or Language Center Director. 
  • Assist and mentor new teaching staff members and graduate students.
  • Participate in local and national professional development activities.
  • Mentor your students and encourage them to take upper-level classes and to pursue the Proficiency Notation and opportunities for study abroad.

Day-to-day Duties:

  • Prepare ahead for class.
  • Arrive to class five minutes early, set up your materials, and begin class promptly.
  • Do not dismiss class early, but instead have an extra activity or two on hand in case there is ever any extra time.
  • Hold two office hours per week per course that you are teaching.
  • Hold office hours at times convenient for your students and encourage them to visit you often.
  • Make rigorous use of office hours especially for students lagging in oral proficiency.
  • Report any instances of Honor Code violations immediately to your coordinator.
  • Report any requests for disability accommodations to your coordinator.

Group Meetings and General Meetings: 

  • Participation in meetings and placement testing is required.
  • Attend all group meetings that correspond to the course(s) you are teaching.
  • Arrive prepared and on time, and participate fully.
  • Attend all general meetings held by your language program.
  • Be available one week before the scheduled placement exam in mid-September in order to attend general meetings and other organizational meetings.
  • For the winter and spring quarters, be sure to arrange your travel schedule so that you are back in town by the Saturday before classes begin. This will help avoid difficulties that can arise from travel delays.

If you are ill or need to be absent: 

  • Class cancellation is only a last resort and should not occur more than once per quarter, if at all.
  • If you are affected by a sudden illness and cannot get to class, then notify your students via Canvas and likewise notify your coordinator and the Language Center Student Services Officer immediately.
  • If you know you must be absent for a future class, notify your coordinator immediately who will help to arrange for a substitute.  Also inform the Student Services Officer in the Language Center of impending absences.