The Department of Asian Languages and Cultures is an equal opportunity employer. The department awards TA positions based on factors other than race, national origin, ancestry, gender, age, creed, and disability.
The selection of new TAs:
- Priority will be given to applicants who have/will have graduate student status in this department, in the language program which the candidate is applying for.
- The language coordinator of each language program will organize a TA Selection Committee at the beginning of the second semester to evaluate all new TA applicants. This committee should consist of faculty members who are involved in basic language
teaching. - The above committee’s evaluation of TA candidates is base on the following criteria.
- Overall language abilities
- Potential to be a good teacher
- Teaching experience
- Academic performance
- English proficiency as demonstrated by the TOEFL score (560 minimum) and tape-recorded autobiography in English.
- The Selection Committee will evaluate and rank the TA candidates in the order of their overall ability, and submit the ranked list of candidates for review to the EAL&L Executive Committee.
English Proficiency: All non-native English speakers need to demonstrate their speaking proficiency in English before being assigned to classroom duties. Although TAs in our department are not expected to use English in classroom instruction, they should be able to discuss problems with students outside of class. Necessary proficiency is demonstrated by passing a SPEAK test administered on the UW-Madison campus. The Department makes a final recommendation as to whether a TA can be assigned to a class and, in case there are problems, what further training should be given.