The 2020 African Flagship Languages Initiative (AFLI) Domestic Intensive Summer Program is hosted by the Center for African Studies (CAS) and the Department of Languages, Literatures, & Culture (LLC) University of Florida, on behalf of the Institute of International Education (IIE).

AFLI exposes learners to the culture and traditions of the languages both inside and outside the classroom settings. Instruction is performance-based and communicative-oriented provided by professional, native-speaking instructors. This summer, we are adopting synchronous (“live”) teaching for our classes through Zoom. Classes meet virtually for four hours Monday through Friday plus a mandatory 1.5-hour virtual conversational session on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays over eight weeks. Also, students meet host family virtually for two Saturdays in order to enhance communicative interactions and cultural understanding in the target languages. Students earn course credit equivalent to one academic year of instruction. (Beginning courses = 10 credits & Intermediate/Advanced = 6 credits).

The program is open to students of all majors – graduate and undergraduate – and designed to enable learners to reach functional proficiency in their language of choice in two or more skills (reading, writing, speaking, or listening) in preparation for the African Flagship Languages Initiative Overseas Fall program (in Ghana, Tanzania, Mozambique, Senegal, & South Africa) or for higher language proficiency study back at their institutions in fall.

NOTE: This year, because of COVID-19 pandemic, all AFLI activities will be conducted via Zoom. For this reason, it is important for every participating student to possess a laptop or a computer with a webcam, and a good internet connection. Smartphones have limitations and, therefore, may not be good enough for participation in the program.

Program Dates: June 1 – July 31, 2020

Application Deadline: May 15, 2020

Course Credit: equivalent to one academic year in university instruction

Applying to Attend AFLI:

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR APPLICANTS: Do not choose credit card for method of payment or your credit card will be charged the full tuition amount. Choose the “check or invoice” option to complete your registration. Tuition for the program is due June 22.

Application Deadline: May 15, 2020

For more information, contact: afli@africa.ufl.edu

Tuition & Fees:

Non-UF Boren AFLI fees are $4715 for Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced classes.

Non-UF FLAS fees are $4865 for Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced classes.

UF Residential AFLI fees may vary.

This covers instruction for the full eight-week session (June 4 – July 31, 2020). All tuition and fees are billed to students directly.

Language Offerings:

Akan – Beginning, Intermediate

Amharic – Beginning & Intermediate/Advanced

French – Intermediate & Advanced (with survival Wolof)

Hausa – Beginning

Igbo – Advanced

Portuguese – Beginning, Intermediate

Swahili – Beginning, Intermediate, Advanced

Wolof – Beginning, Intermediate/Advanced

Yoruba – Beginning

Zulu – Beginning, Intermediate

Funding Opportunities:

Boren Scholarships / Fellowships:

AFLI provides no direct funding to participating students. However, students are encouraged to apply for AFLI Boren scholarships and fellowships . Other possible funding sources include Title VI Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships both for graduate and undergraduate students. FLAS provides a stipend of $2500 and covers tuition costs.

Foreign Languages & Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships:

Summer FLAS awards are available from the following Title VI National Resource Centers for Africa* (funded by the U.S. Department of Education):

*Please check with individual institutions for specific deadlines and application procedure

AFLI Information for Instructors

The 2020 African Flagship Languages Initiative (AFLI) Domestic Intensive Summer Program hosted by University of Florida seeks qualified language instructors who have experience in online (synchronous) language teaching. We anticipate offering the following languages virtually: Portuguese, Swahili, Wolof, Yoruba and Zulu at beginning and intermediate levels; Akan/Twi, Amharic, and Hausa at beginning or intermediate level; and advanced Swahili and advanced French (with survival Wolof) depending on the demand. Potential instructors with relevant experience in online teaching should submit their application materials no later than April 17, 2020

Qualifications

Applicants should have a native or near-native proficiency level of the languages they apply to teach.

Applicants with online (synchronous) teaching experience in a college or university environment and with an advanced degree (M.A., or Ph.D.) are preferred, but other applicants will be considered based on need and qualifications.

teaching experience in a college or university environment and with an advanced degree (M.A., or Ph.D.) are preferred, but other applicants will be considered based on need and qualifications. Applicants should have strong command of the English language and demonstrate ability and enthusiasm for language instruction.

Applicants should possess skills in developing syllabus, selecting textbooks, and multi-media materials for language instructions (syllabuses must be in line with the objectives of the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Proficiency Guidelines for listening, speaking, reading and writing).

NOTE: Because courses will be taught via Zoom, we will first establish that each applicant has a good internet connection before engaging them.

Duties and Responsibilities

Attend the pre-AFLI program instructors workshop online ( June 1 & 2, 2020 ).

). Participate in mandatory student orientation and conduct proficiency assessment for students in order to place them ( Wednesday, June 3 & Thursday June 4, 2020)

Design and finalize appropriate syllabus for your section ( Thursday, June 4, 2020 )

) Teach one of the levels of the African language offered during AFLI (beginning, intermediate or advanced classes) for eight weeks, totaling approximately 140 contact hours (Classes will begin on Monday, June 8, 2020 ).

). Design proper conversational guidelines for your students’ conversational partners with whom you will be working closely and monitoring throughout the program.

Design and grade all required quizzes, tests, and exams.

Attend weekly instructors’ meetings (Fridays).

Application Procedure

Prospective instructors should submit a cover letter outlining synchronous language teaching abilities and experience; curriculum vita; sample intensive course syllabus; and letter of reference or language course peer teaching evaluation. Non-U.S. citizens must provide proof of permanent residency or appropriate visa status to allow legal employment by the University of Florida. Please include a scanned copy of residency permit or passport with applicable US immigration forms. Applications from non-U.S. citizens that do not include this information will not be considered by AFLI.

Please ensure the letter of application or CV also contains the following information:

Name

Home Institution

Language of instruction

Email

Phone

Mailing address

Name of recommender

Send application materials to:

AFLI – Center for African Studies

PO Box 115560

Gainesville, FL 32611

or

afli@africa.ufl.edu

Please use “your last name 2020 AFLI Application” as the subject line.

Applications considered beginning April 20, 2020

For more information, contact: afli@africa.ufl.edu