Modern Greek Teaching Internship
General Information
Overview
Image by Shirley Zhou, 2011
The Center for Hellenic Studies (CHS) is collaborating with the University of Athens to offer a position for a graduate student to assist teaching modern Greek as a foreign language.
The successful candidate must have an undergraduate degree in philology, linguistics, or education, and must be currently pursuing a graduate degree in the instruction of modern Greek as a second or foreign language at the University of Athens. She or he must be affiliated with a philology, linguistics, or education department that will support his or her application to CHS Greece and must enjoy teaching and working with people. Teaching experience is preferable but not required.
The program will begin May 26, 2013 and conclude June 28, 2013.
The internship will consist of theoretical and applied work in the instruction of modern Greek within the context of the five-week language component of the summer internship program at the CHS Greece in Nafplion. The graduate student will assist a class of 7 undergraduate students and their instructor, Mata Dova (Associate Professor of Classics and Modern Greek Studies at Hellenic College in Brookline, MA, and a Fellow of Hellenic Language and Literature at the Center for Hellenic Studies in Washington, D.C.). The graduate student will
- Observe and participate in classes and field trips (12h/week).
- Interact with the students in modern Greek in class, during field trips, and extracurricular activities.
- Construct a theoretical model and teaching methodology on specific areas of the instruction of modern Greek.
- Write a paper based on their work.
- Tutor students during office hours (2h/week).
- Teach 2-3h of class on topics reflecting their work and using material that they have collected during their internship. This “model teaching” as well as the final paper will constitute the end of semester project.
- Meet with the course instructor to discuss the progress of their research, their lesson plans, and their paper.
About the Language Students
The Center for Hellenic Studies Internship Program in Greece brings together a group of American and Greek undergraduates for five weeks each summer in Nafplion where they participate in the Cultural Internship Program or the High School Teaching Internship Program. Interns apply their academic experiences in practical settings while learning from each other and their supervisors. The program also emphasizes scholarly development and community service.
While the Greek interns participate in a separate seminar on American culture (information 2012), the American interns all participate in an intensive, full-immersion course that aims to develop and strengthen the students’ speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills in Modern Greek through the cumulative acquisition of vocabulary and systematic conversational practice. The course includes at least 48 hours of classroom instruction over the five weeks of the program. On average students spend 9 hours in class or office hours, attend one lecture, and participate in one field trip each week. The methodology of the course, supported by the technology available in the Iatrou Building, incorporates traditional techniques of instruction into a background of full linguistic and cultural immersion. While grammar drills, vocabulary quizzes and translation exercises constitute the instructional foundation, students benefit from a wide range of opportunities to practice the newly acquired material outside of the classroom and to bring into the classroom their everyday experience. In particular, the language program takes advantage of the focused linguistic domains of the internships and the students’ daily interactions with native-speaking peers.
The 5-week program will begin May 26 and will end June 28, 2013. All selected participants will be asked to arrive in Athens on May 25th. After a week-long orientation, interns will begin their work at their institutions.
Living in Nafplion
All interns, including the graduate student will live in apartments in the Old Town of Nafplion within easy walking distance from the center, which is located in the Iatrou Building on the corner of Philhellene Square and King Otto Street. The apartments are fully furnished and generally accommodate up to four students. The interns are responsible for their own meals and laundry and for maintaining a clean and orderly living environment.
Excursions
While living and working in Nafplion, regular excursions provide all interns with the opportunity to visit other places of historical and cultural importance in the Argolid and beyond. A series of half-day trips take students to the archaeological sites of Mycenae and Epidaurus, and locations in the eastern part of the region, such as Kranidi, Ermioni, and Franchthi Cave. On full-day trips, students travel to the islands of Hydra or Poros. Interns also spend a weekend in Athens where they visit the Acropolis, the Acropolis Museum, Parliament, and the Foundation for the Hellenic World. This excursion includes free time, so students can visit other sites of personal interest.
Application
The application is now live!
Students interested in applying should:
- fill out the online application
- include in the application contact information for two references* and
- attach a PDF copy of his/her most recent transcript and a PDF copy of his/her résumé to the online application.**
*We ask that you provide us with the contact information for two faculty members who can speak to your academic work and evaluate your plans for participating in the internship program. If you cannot supply the contact information for two faculty members, please provide information for high school teachers, employers, or mentors who know you well. We will contact them directly about their recommendations.
**Application attachments MUST be in PDF format or it will not go through the system.
The CHS will contact finalists to schedule an interview.
Eligibility
The successful candidate should have an undergraduate degree in philology, linguistics, or education, and will be currently pursuing a graduate degree in the instruction of modern Greek as a second or foreign language at the University of Athens. The student must be affiliated with a philology, linguistics, or education department that will support his or her application and must enjoy teaching and working with students. Teaching experience preferable but not required. The minimum GPA is 3.0/4.0 or 7.0/10.0.
Students who have participated in CHS programs in the past are eligible to apply. However, students who have never had a CHS internship will have priority.
For more information regarding the Internship program and registration with the program’s mailing list please contact us.
Questions
If you have any questions about the program, please do not hesitate to contact a programs coordinator.
