Postdoc in Digitalized English-medium instruction

The Department of Communication and Learning in Science announces a call for a postdoctoral position with an orientation towards English-Medium Instruction. The position is fully funded for 24 months, starting in September 2022. International applications are encouraged, particularly from scholars with previous experience from researching EMI across or in several geographical contexts and with strong international research networks.

Information about the research/the project/the division
English-Medium Instruction (EMI) - a setting in which at least some participants have another first language than English, but in which all are expected to use English for some instructional/learning purpose - is growing around the world. Much like other contexts of education, EMI has changed "shape" in recent years as a result of more education being offered online, in hybrid formats or based on blended learning designs.

Research into EMI in higher education has extensively addressed the issue of language competence, problematising the ‘E’ in EMI as “standard” English, a lingua franca, or part of translingual or disciplinary literacy. However, the latest surge in online, hybrid, or blended learning initiatives forces students in EMI programmes across the world to develop their communicative competence to cope with a range of different forms of interaction; in addition to their linguistic repertoire, students must adopt and deploy multiliteracy skills, intercultural communicative strategies, and the ability to regulate multimodal resources. Despite advances in several (intersecting) research fields, there is a lack of understanding of what constitutes general communicative competence in these EMI contexts, and in particular how students integrate skills to enhance academic communication and learning.

For this postdoctoral position, we seek applicants that address this dearth of research in EMI in clearly defined and delimited research projects. We invite project proposals which use or develop established theories and methodologies from relevant fields in applied linguistics and educational science, specifically those addressing questions raised as a result of integrating content and language in higher education.

The successful applicant will join a dedicated team of scholars in a vibrant and growing research environment. The stated aim of the department is to become Scandinavia's leading research environment for communication and learning in STEM within the next decade.

Major responsibilities
As a postdoctoral scholar you are expected to be a highly active member of the ICLHE/EMI research group, which has an ongoing research strand dedicated to the thematic area of this position. In addition, in collaboration with colleagues you will be expected to seek external funding for research to enable further research of your own as well as research in collaboration with others. Finally, depending on your research experience and research interests, you will have the possibility to supervise students (comprising < 10% of your time) and be involved in some minor teaching engagements (< 5% of your time).

Qualifications
The successful applicant has a Ph.D. degree in a relevant field (typically applied linguistics, educational linguistics or TESOL) that is directly relevant to the research area (EMI, as indicated above) and the project described in their proposal/application. The PhD degree should not be older than three years.The applicant must have:
• Extensive and up-to-date knowledge of the field of English-Medium Instruction.
• Knowledge of and experience in applying qualitative (or, if relevant to the proposed project, mixed) research methods.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.
• A strong publication record in highly ranked journals/conferences relevant to the areas of research.
• Participated in international research networks within the research area (EMI).

Additional meritorious qualifications include:
• Documented teamwork skills enabling successful work with colleagues and external partners.
• Experience from conducting research in online, hybrid or blended learning environments.
• Experience working with students and/or teachers in close-to-practice language research.
• Experience working/conducting research in different geographical contexts of EMI.

Contract terms
This postdoc position is a full-time temporary employment for two years.

Application procedure
The application should be marked with Ref 20220108 and written in English. The application should be sent electronically and be attached as pdf-files, as below:

CV: (Please name the document as: CV, Surname, Ref. number) including:
• CV, include complete list of publications
• Previous teaching and pedagogical experiences
• Two references that we can contact.

Personal letter: (Please name the document as: Personal letter, Family name, Ref. number)
1-3 pages where you:
• Introduce yourself
• Describe your previous research fields and main research results
• Describe your future goals and future research focus

Other documents:
• Attested copies of completed education, grades and other certificates.

In addition to the CV and the personal letter, each applicant is required to submit a project proposal of no more than three A4 pages, including references. The document should be titled "Project proposal". The proposal should articulate, as precisely as possible, the research project(s) the applicant would be interested in conducting and why (focusing on the purpose, methods, possible results and the significance of those results in view of the state of the art of the research field indicated above).

Please use the button at the foot of the page to reach the application form. The files may be compressed (zipped).

Application deadline: 30 April, 2022

For questions, please contact:
Division Head, Associate Professor Andreas Eriksson
E-mail: andreas.eriksson@chalmers.se
Phone: +46 31 7725851

*** Chalmers declines to consider all offers of further announcement publishing or other types of support for the recruiting process in connection with this position. ***