Foreign Language Instructor

About us

McKellar Corporation is a service disabled, veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB). As a training company, McKellar partners with federal agencies to include the Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of State (DoS) to improve the performance of civilian workers and military components. Since 2006, McKellar has utilized its expertise and experience to improve the performance of our clients through a set of diverse services that include training, mentoring, and coaching. McKellar connects people across the national-security enterprise to the information, skills, and tools they need to do their jobs better. We take a deep dive into problems to develop innovative approaches and deliver sustainable solutions.

We are currently seeking Foreign Language Instructors for the following languages: ALBANIAN (Albanian, Kosovar), AMHARIC, ARABIC (Egyptian, Gulf/Saudi, Iraqi, Jordanian, Lebanese, MSA, Palestinian, Sudanese, Moroccan), ARMENIAN (Eastern, Western), AZERBAIJANI, BENGALI, BULGARIAN, BURMESE, CAMBODIAN/KHMER, CHINESE (Cantonese, Mandarin), CZECH, DANISH, DARI, DUTCH, ESTONIAN, FARSI, FRENCH, GEORGIAN, GERMAN (German, Austrian, Swiss), GREEK, HAITIAN-CREOLE, HEBREW, HINDI, HUNGARIAN, INDONESIAN, ITALIAN, JAPANESE, KAZAKH, KOREAN, KURDISH (Kurdish, Sorani), LAO, LATVIAN, LITHUANIAN, MACEDONIAN, MALAY, MONGOLIAN, NEPALI, NORWEGIAN, POLISH, PORTUGUESE (Brazilian, Continental), ROMANIAN, RUSSIAN, SERBO-CROATIAN (Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin, Serbian), SINHALA, SLOVAK, SLOVENIAN, SPANISH, SWAHILI, SWEDISH, TAJIKI, TAMIL, TELUGU, THAI, TIBETAN, TURKISH, TURKMEN, UKRAINIAN, URDU, UZBEK, VIETNAMESE (Northern, Southern)

Duties:

Plan and/or conduct small and/or large group language classes, both in person and remotely, using FSI-directed language teaching methodologies and techniques, equally stressing meaningful input, meaningful output, fluency, and language focus. In most cases, the Government will provide the teaching materials. Use the Foreign Language as a tool to accomplish United States Government objectives as the goal of the training that SLS provides.

Use established training materials and work collaboratively and closely with other instructors, under the direct guidance of the COR, ACOR, or GTM, who is usually the Language Training Supervisor (LTS), on training and/or testing matters.

In collaboration with the COR, ACOR, or GTM and others, adapt teaching techniques and approaches to the students' individual needs.

Provide feedback and analysis of the students' progress and problems to the COR, ACOR, or GTM and to instructional and other staff as appropriate.

Provide students with encouragement and constructive feedback.

Apply classroom management techniques to provide a respectful, student-centered environment conducive to learning.

Conduct informal or formal progress assessments and/or administer weekly quizzes and assessments to evaluate student progress.

Attend all section and other meetings as appropriate.

Incorporate the use of technology into the instructional program as appropriate and in collaboration with the COR, ACOR, or GTM.

Maintain an online classroom environment through the Foreign Service Institute’s Learning Management System (LMS).

Serve as a mentor to distance learning students with COR, ACOR, or GTM approval. Part-time distance learning instruction may supplement in-class instruction on occasions where the number of students cannot accommodate a full-time, distance-learning instructor.

Collaborate with staff in the Learning Consultation Service (LCS) in whatever way deemed appropriate by the COR, ACOR, or GTM. The LCS is a unit in SLS with specialists who assist language students with their learning by providing counseling and by administering and interpreting diagnostic instruments that assess learning preferences.

With pre-approval by the COR, ACOR, or GTM, plan and/or participate in non-classroom activities in the Washington area. Participation is voluntary and will be scheduled during regular working hours.

Contractors will be compensated at their normal hourly rate for participation. Activities may include visits to foreign embassies, local community organizations, community centers, neighborhoods, shopping areas, and restaurants where heritage speakers live and congregate, and often involve pre- visit training and after-action follow up.

Participate in the planning and delivery of language immersions. Participation is voluntary. Immersions may consist of one or more days of activities that take place outside of the Washington area, either domestically in the United States or overseas, and contain substantial non-classroom-like activities that foster practical, natural use of the language.

Contractors will be compensated at their normal hourly rate for hours worked during normal daily working hours for the time zones in which the work is completed and will additionally receive compensation as outlined in the Travel Section. As required by the COR, ACOR, or GTM, follow techniques, methodologies, and approaches used by the office/section.

As required by the COR, ACOR, or GTM, maintain attendance records for students.

As needed, assist with establishing class schedules, creating class syllabi, and scheduling student progress evaluations.

As needed, assist with orientation of new contract staff to the language section.

Materials and Curriculum Development (As Needed):

Collaborate with the COR, ACOR, or GTM to participate in and support on an as needed basis, the development of language training materials or SLS-relevant reference materials, including but not limited to text, audio, video, and technology-based media. All materials become the property of the United States Government, and the Contractor may not copy or reproduce them in any way for use outside of an FSI class, share them by any means outside of FSI, or publish them in any way without the express permission of the Government.

Assist with the creation and field-testing of new teaching, study, student advisory, and/or testing materials.

Assist with the recording of audio or video materials to be used in conjunction with established language training curricula or as ancillary resources for student self-directed study.

Assist in in-service staff development and orientation activities, including giving presentations or facilitating a workshop sponsored by FSI.

As needed, assist with the development of SLS-relevant research and development projects, including but not limited to instructional research and development and institutional (management) data handling and analysis.

As needed, assist with reviewing and editing Foreign Language and/or English in instructional materials.

Adhere to all copyright guidelines and restrictions and follow FSI and SLS procedures regarding copyright.

As needed, assist with drafting required documents in the curriculum development project approval process as well as provide status updates on approved projects on request.

Testing (As Needed):

In collaboration with the COR/ACOR or GTM and the Language Testing Unit (LTU), on an as needed basis, assist with testing for language proficiency examinations, interacting with the examinee in the instructor's native language or language in which the instructor has near-native proficiency. Support for proficiency tests may be face-to-face or by telephone or other technology-based medium (recorded audio, recorded video, videoconferencing). May support testing by providing information to an examiner about the examinee's performance on various parts of the test and about the content of the texts used in the test and assists with the selection and/or preparation of reading test materials.

May have the opportunity to become a trained tester or examiner by the FSI Language Testing Unit (LTU). Duties of the tester and examiner are defined by documentation in the LTU. FSI/ SLS/LTU provides all training required. The Tester and Examiner training process takes approximately one year to complete and includes introductory training, approximately 25 hours of review classes and mentoring meetings with a Testing Mentor, a written assessment on testing processes, observations of official exams, conducting mock practice exams, and conducting official exams observed by the Testing Mentor or LTU Head of Training.

Assist with the creation and testing of new reading kits to be used in face-to-face or remotely via telephone, WebEx, or other virtual methods.

Participate in producing audio or video materials for use in LTU testing and training.

May be requested to conduct end of training tests at one of FSI's field schools overseas. Contractors will be compensated at their normal hourly rate for hours worked during normal daily working hours for the time zones in which the work is completed and will additionally receive compensation as outlined in the Travel Section.

Adhere to all guidelines and follow all procedures regarding testing material security and safeguarding test score data.

Required Qualifications:

Foreign Language Proficiency: Candidates provided by the Contractor must be educated native or near-native speakers of the language (preferably Level S-4 or higher on the ILR proficiency

scale). Native or native-like user of the language, as evidenced through the ability to speak and write using articulate and nuanced language and the ability to understand the language in its spoken and written forms in virtually any context. The language user will typically have lived for an extended period in contexts where the language is a primary means of communication in society and/or the educational system. The language user will typically have university-level educational experience in the language.

Cultural Background: Candidates must possess the cultural background of the specific country or geographical region required by submitting proof of being raised or educated in said country, by living in a cultural enclave or heritage community in another country, or by demonstrating through work experience or academic preparation a deep understanding of the region. It is desired, but not required, that Contractors should have spent their formal educational (secondary school and beyond) years in the cultural environment and have been schooled there through the equivalent of American secondary school.

Knowledge of basic computer skills: e.g., email, Microsoft Office Suite, and familiarity with online meeting software (Zoom, Skype, MS Teams, and Webex), etcetera.

Preferred Qualifications:

Language Teaching Experience: It is strongly preferred, but not required for Contractors to have some experience in teaching adults.

English Proficiency: Candidates provided by the Contractor should possess sufficient proficiency in English (Level S-2 or higher on the ILR proficiency scale) to meet the training and administrative needs of the work in the section. ACTFL equivalents to the ILR scale are allowable for establishing language proficiency levels.

BA/BS, MA/MS, or Ph.D., or foreign equivalent degree(s) in any field preferred. Education completed in foreign colleges or universities may be used to meet the education requirements if shown that the foreign education is comparable to that received in an accredited educational

institution in the United States. Must provide such evidence when applying. Companies can go to https://www.naces.org/indexto identify institutions recognized as specializing in interpretation of foreign education credentials.

Experience developing Foreign Language instructional materials and/or curricula preferred. Experience using a Learning Management System as an instructor or administrator preferred. Experience teaching with a communicative approach preferred.

Experience incorporating a range of educational technology in teaching preferred. Experience teaching hybrid learning activities preferred.

Experience integrating social media applications for educational purposes preferred. Experience teaching with task-based learning materials preferred.

Experience administering proficiency-based assessments preferred.

Experience teaching with vocabulary-based language learning materials preferred Experience delivering training targeted to needs of diplomatic community preferred.

A minimum of three (3) years of experience teaching adult learners the Foreign Language they will be providing to FSI in a classroom setting (2 or more students).

BA/BS, MA/MS, or Ph.D., or foreign equivalent degree(s) in any field.

A minimum of three (3) years of experience teaching Foreign Language with proficiency- based or task-based curricula.

A minimum of one (1) year of experience administering proficiency-based assessments (i.e., serving as an FSI tester or rater, administering DLPT or ACTFL OPI exams, administering proficiency or task-based quizzes or weekly assessments as part of a standard language curriculum).

A minimum English proficiency level of a S-2/R-2 on the ILR proficiency scale.

Job Types: Full-time, Part-time

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Health insurance
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance

Work setting:

• In-person

Application Question(s):

• Do you currently reside in the United States?

Work Location: In person